Like a fool's mate in chess or a tic-tac-toe given away, one competitor beats the other in less than 21 seconds. This is a theorization of a perfect game of the classic board game Monopoly, where your goal is to get rich through the real estate market and drive the other players into bankruptcy. Two players did the math and, after a few hours of work, they came up with the shortest possible game of Monopoly. Here's the video and the explanation of the theoretical game they recreated.
Once you become an expert in a game, or a scientist with some free time and a curious hypothesis, the practice of the game becomes a field of theorization, yielding very interesting information to analyze. The efficiency of matches is one of the most common characteristics in these studies, second only to strategy development.
From the simplest to the most complex games, patterns and regularities come to light when you seek them diligently, and exceptional moves that almost never appear in everyday games stand out. Some Monopoly players decided to put their knowledge to the test and theorized the shortest possible game of Monopoly. It lasts only four turns, and here's the video demonstration.
The players asked themselves how long the shortest possible game of Monopoly would take. Since a practical, real version would require thousands of attempts recorded on camera, they theorized the shortest game and then recreated it on video. To play in the shortest way and still have a winner (the rest go bankrupt), they used a 1 vs 1 game lasting four turns, two for each player. Here's the breakdown:
Player 1, Turn 1
- Dice: 6 – 6, lands on Electric Company, action: none, doubles and rolls again
- Dice: 6 – 6, lands on Illinois Avenue, action: none, doubles and rolls again
- Dice: 4 – 5, lands on Community Chest, "Bank error in your favor, collect $200", action: collects the $200 and now has $1700
Player 2, Turn 1
- Dice: 2 – 2, lands on Income Tax, action: pays $200, now has $1300, doubles and rolls again
- Dice: 5 – 6, lands on Pennsylvania Railroad, action: none
Player 1, Turn 2
- Dice: 2 – 2, lands on Park Place, action: buys it for $350, now has $1350. Doubles and rolls again
- Dice: 1 – 1, lands on Boardwalk, action: buys for $400, now has $950, doubles and rolls again
- Dice: 3 – 1, lands on Baltic Avenue, action: collects $200 for passing (now has $1150), buys 3 houses on Boardwalk and 2 on Park Place, spending $1000. Now has $150.
Player 2, Turn 2
- Dice: 3 – 4, lands on Chance, "Advance to Boardwalk", action: moves to Boardwalk and has to pay $1400 in rent, only has $1300. Bankruptcy, loses the game.
This entire shortest possible game of Monopoly is executed in 21 seconds by the players, and what was supposed to be an afternoon of fun turned into half a second of math and incredible bad luck for the first player. What did you think of this theorization?
