Probability and Monopoly
Wednesday November 12, 2008
Monopoly used to be and probably still is for that matter, one of my all time favorite board games. If you asked me when I was younger about the math involved in Monopoly, I would have answered, well you count and you add money! I probably wouldn't have told you it was all about probability - no pun intended. Well, Truman Collins has done a great job of letting us know what the probability is for landing on any given square given all the rules of course, as well as telling you about the proability of income, getting out of jail, losing and/or recouping mortgage. So now when you buy the game of Monopoly for that somebody special, be sure to let them know that it's all about the math! See the full article on Probability of Monopoly.
See also: Math and Chess and Math and Golf.
Comments
hello,
i was thinking would probability really help in monopoly because its not that what is probable actually happens everytime?
Probability can help one develop a sound strategy for a given property disbursement situation.
Probability doesn’t attempt to explain what happens every time, it explains what is likely to happen over time. In Monopoly, there are a few ways to land in jail, making it more likely to be in jail than, say, on Reading Railroad. Combine this with the odds of rolling a 6/7/8, and you should be able to see that landing on the orange properties is more likely than landing on the light purples.