Before the generation of technology most of us spent time on board games. After I grew up I noticed how beneficial these games are to adults as well as it is beneficial to teenagers and children. Board games teach us lessons about life.

Monopoly has an Egyptian version that is called Bank El Haz which means “Bank of Luck”. It’s the same as Monopoly but with Arabian country names. This made me think: Is this game all about “monopoly”? What is the purpose behind it? Is it economic domination, success by bankrupting others, or having more assets? And is the game all about “luck”? Some people agree that even their real life is all depending on luck.

There are usually 3 kinds of players in Monopoly:

1-The one who is the luckiest, who usually comes across all the important lands and buys them.
2-The one who has “normal” luck and comes across some important lands and other less important ones like the water company for example.
3-The one with the least amount of luck, the player who only comes across the less important lands. This person is usually me.

In real life you will find these three players. Sometimes there is a “dice” that controls our lives or business environment. This dice could be economy, politics, personal issues, health, global trends…etc. But “control” is not the right word. These factors; the dice, do have a control but they are not “in control”. This is one of the concepts I used to always win.

Okay let’s focus on the third kind player; the one with bad luck. Usually when I am at that situation, after the third round I find all the other players making deals, switching lands and setting a plan to start building stores to increase the rent. Since I’ve been crossing by the wrong places, then no one would be interested to make business with me and complete a set. 2 more rounds and I’ll be paying massive rents and selling the few lands I own. I’ll be the first one out of the game. I’m not luck for this game. The dice is always against my will. I better quit now and go watch a movie instead. But, I decided to play. I found out that you don’t have to twist or change the rules of the game to win, but you can change your perception. I started by making a SWOT analysis to fully understand my situation.

I was the richest player in the game since I didn’t spend my capital in buying many lands, that’s a strength. I don’t own many lands of high value that I can use for a lucrative bargain or trade, that’s a weakness. I have a great amount of cash that will soon shrink and disappear if I don’t invest it in anything, that’s a threat. But how can I invest while I don’t have any fixed assets or liabilities?! The answer is simple, if you don’t have your own project to invest in, then invest in another’s project that you believe in, and that’s the opportunity. If you cannot be an entrepreneur, you can become an incubator.

I started to look around me, analyzing the environment. Who is the most suitable candidate? The luckiest person of course, type 1; the player with the lowest cash, and highest number of lands. This player is actually in a deep threat. He/she doesn’t have much money to build stores and hotels, whilst the other players that are rated “type 2” will have both the money and the lands. Type 1 is my deal, he/she needs my money to build with it or else after 2 more rounds they will be selling all their lands to the other players. So I simply give player type 3 70% of my money.

The Contract

  1. You will have 70% of my current cash to build stores and hotels.
  2. If I come across any of the lands you built upon I will not pay you anything.
  3. As I am your partner and investor, I will take my share of 50% of the lands’ profit.
  4. The contract can be rewritten or terminated after full 10 rounds.
  5. If the contract is fully terminated the capital I provided at the beginning returns back to me without any interest.

Congratulations. As simple as that, you secured your capital into profitable assets. But, that’s not enough.

The type 2 players will feel threatened. This is another opportunity for me. I start working for my second deal.

I still have unused money with me (the 30% remaining from my capital). Invest them all, and leave some pocket money for the road.

Contract Number 2

  1. You will have a good amount of cash from me to assist you in building all the stores you need.
  2. If you have missing lands that I can provide you with to complete a set I will lend them to you for free.
  3. If I come across any of the lands that I invested in I will not pay any rent.
  4. As an investor and a minor partner I will take my share of 25% from the profits of my lands and investments.
  5. The contract can be rewritten or terminated after full 10 rounds.
  6. If contract is fully terminated the capital I provided at the beginning returns back to me without any interest. I also retrieve the lands I lent to you.

Congratulations your second deal! Basically you can reach a point where you can step across any land without paying anything. You actually own nothing but you are not paying any rents, and you are making money from “every” transaction made between any of the other players. A few rounds you will be the richest person. But is this enough?

I will be the mega entrepreneur for the next 10 rounds, but what will happen afterwords? Maybe the other players will be very threatened from my performance and will all collaborate against me! Yes that’s a logical thing to do if I were them. So after the 10 rounds are over they will all terminate their contracts and find a way to get me. Keep in mind that these players are much more smarter now than when they first started the game. They too will be thinking out of the box.

As an entrepreneurial person I should always read the future. My chance is in the first 10 rounds after the agreements. I should start to move from incubation into acquisition and acquiring, and start investing your profits into buying other organizations; lands and complete sets.

No matter what the “environment”, the “dice” or “luck” gave to me, I was still able to create my SWOT analysis and find a way. I dealt with the other players as partners instead of competitors or opponents. Can you apply this in your next Monopoly Board game? Can you then apply this approach in reality? Enjoy the experience and the “Monopoly Theory of Entrepreneurship”.

Written By: Mahmoud Mansi

Image Designs: SinisterMonopoly