Last time, if the first part of this review of Monopoly, I discussed how Monopoly is an awful game experience which teaches terrible lessons. As someone who believes in redemption, today I will discuss how to modify the game to not only make the game a bit more enjoyable, but also so young people can learn better lessons to help them thrive in the world of business and entrepreneurship.
I’m going to discuss four rules that when added to Monopoly completely changes the experience. No longer is the game a long, slow dirge toward a single winner. It becomes a fast-paced, upbeat race to winning—a game with no losers.
Rule #1: All rents come from the market, not other players.
In the standard Monopoly game, rent is paid by other players. If you think about it, this makes no practical sense. If you are real estate investor, which all Monopoly players are, why would you spend your time moving from place to place owned by others? It should be obvious that people who pay rent are those who need housing, which shouldn’t be the players. Rents come from renters.
This rule truly unsettles veteran players, which is, of course, the point. This rule alone changes the game from a dog-eat-dog, win-lose affair to one where people can be genuinely happy for others’ good fortune. Since positive effects accruing to one person doesn’t result in negative effects to another, no one is worse off.
In and out of business, we all know the truth of this rule. We form communities to assist each other. Nowhere is this more obvious than in industry, where networking groups, professional societies, and fraternal organizations serve a vital role in getting people to collaborate, share ideas, and support each other. In these groups and their non-commercial counterparts we do not take from one another, we give and we support.
I have found one of the best ways for me to grow and develop my business is to reach out and team up with individuals who others might see as my competitors. From my chair, I have no competitors. I have co-advocates. The well of human needs will never run dry. There is more than enough work to go around. It is tragic that we often must take a time to unlearn the lessons of childhood to embrace this simple philosophy that benevolence is good business.
Rule #2: The game is over when the last hotel is sold.
I often disregard this rule and the game comes to an end earlier. The lessons usually become obvious well before this rule comes into play. Nevertheless, this rule encourages quick and proactive action. The sooner deals can be made, the sooner wealth starts to grow.
In business, prudent, but proactive action is one of the marks of great business leaders. The market is in constant flux. Being able to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities is only the first step to great leadership. You must take advantage of that knowledge before others to make the best use of your insights. Good leaders of business are men and women of action. Resolve to be proactive and you’ll set the curve while everyone else will trail behind struggling to catch up.
Rule #3: Properties not purchased remain unsold. No auctions.
In the standard Monopoly game, if a player can’t or is unable to purchase an unowned property, the property is auctioned off to the highest bidder. This is another wholly unrealistic aspect of the game. I have never heard of an owner auctioning off his or her property if the first prospective buyer took a pass on the deal.
The auction rule encourages vulturism, where some people hoard their money until everyone else is out of money to pick up properties for a bargain. I’m not against bargain hunting per se, but I do have a problem with people passing up good opportunities today anticipating great benefits by deferring action. Usually, those great benefits will never materialize. Unlike in Monopoly, the world’s economy is not a closed environment. Business leaders should always work on the assumption that money will be available to find a deal. It incumbent on the leader close the deal as soon as possible or else someone else will.
Rule #4: Property owners can partner to form color groups under any agreed upon terms.
Collaboration
It is with this rule that Monopoly makes the transition to a fully collaborative game, though interestingly not a collective one. The traditional game prohibits building houses and hotels unless you own all the properties within a color group. This sets up a strictly win-lose dynamic. Collaborative games generally have a single goal that all players are trying to accomplish. Neither of these approaches are particularly realistic. In reality, win-lose thinking is rarely productive. Similarly, it is not common when everyone is rowing in the same direction. People hold different agendas, goals, and beliefs. In addition, not everyone is in a position to contribute to all projects. Despite well-meaning intentions, including people without appropriate contribution sets up poor incentives and is not fair to the real contributors.
In reality, people work together for limited engagements. We work with some people when it makes sense and work with other people at other times. Short term collaborations are great at keeping things fresh, exchanging ideas, and sparking creativity. Loose connections prevent the emergence of unproductive sentiments of obligation or resentment. I want people around me who are there because they want to be around me right now, not because they feel forced out of a sense of duty or obligation. The practice of short term, at-will collaborations is extraordinarily useful in business.
Dealmaking
The partnering rule gives actual practice at the fundamentals of deal making. In any deal, people bring with them different resources and make different contributions. How do we reward people for their proportional contribution? If some people bring more resources at the start, are there ways to make the subsequent contributions to build greater equity during the course of the engagement?
In this version of Monopoly, perhaps one person has two of the three properties in a color group. Normally this person would be deserving of a greater share of the income from these properties, but if the other partner offers to build more houses on the properties, they both would more or less contributed the same to the partnership and the rents could be divided equally. I, particularly, enjoy physically sealing partnerships with a handshake. It adds a personal element to deal making that builds trust. I hope players take that lesson to heart when they return to the real world.
The partnering approach also combats entitlement mentality. You don’t get to participate if you don’t bring value to the table. This is a critical lesson because it trains people to look for creative ways to generate value. In business, the best way to build a relationship with someone is by bringing them value—by being helpful. It is true that the quickest way to build wealth is to help as many people as you can.
This partnering rule, perhaps more than all the others, really creates the magic of the experience. Players become amazingly generous in their contributions to partnerships. Win-win relationships emerge where people care less and less about the accounting for relative contributions. Every contribution enriches everyone, so people just want to find ways to boost their own contributions. I’ll mortgage my own properties to lend money to a player who can buy a critical property. Playing the game this way gives players a clue as to why angel investors exist. It may be counter to some popular narratives, but wealth creation makes people more generous.
Ditch the Cash
Although not a new rule, I’ll also offer you a suggestion that will enhance the game experience, while also better emulate real life. The cash from my Monopoly game is still in the cellophane. I keep track of my cash balance on a sheet of paper. It reflects the balance of my fictitious checking account. Documenting income and expense here speeds the game up and removes the hard cap on how much money can be realized during game play.
A New Monopoly Game
The rules provided above radically transforms the game experience—changing it from a race to destroy and dominate to a race to collaborate and construct.
In the final part of this review, I’ll summarize ten fantastic lessons we draw from the new game experience that propel us onto expanded greatness and goodness.
