The heron and the otter and my friends

[austin_dern]

Continuing on pictures from the Zoo trip last weekend -- I didn't go there this weekend, and naturally, while it thundered and lightninged it didn't rain -- some more stuff just from the Asian short-clawed otters. They aren't trained to do anything for public show, but there are enough otters there's always somebody doing something interesting. I apologize for the odd color artifacts in the picture, but I think I've got the camera fixed now. The otters aren't alone in their enclosure; they share it with several binturongs, all of whom look like they'd rather have less noisy roommates, and several of whom look rather like mahto.

One otter had a brief but torrid affair with a komodo dragon that ended sadly and left them awkwardly avoiding one another. (I'm actually guessing these are komodo dragons, as there's no identifier sign, and big enough reptiles look alike to me. But the komodo dragon exhibit is empty.) That's not to say they don't get together to observe the monolith, of course. And they had plenty of room to go swimming. Don't worry, rcoony, there's still raccoons left to show.

And I just saw on the evening news the National Monopoly Championships were today, with the finalists playing out on a giant (apartment-sized) Singapore Edition Monopoly board. If I'd known I'd have probably gone at least to look; I have an excellent record of never coming close to winning a Monopoly game, but playing with a strategy that drags out the inevitable for hour after hour of aching predictability.

Trivia: The Boardwalk square in the Singapore edition Monopoly set is Queen Astrid Park. Source: Monopoly Singapore Edition game board, Hasbro.

Currently Reading: Military Errors of World War II, Kenneth Macksey.

Comments

[terminotaur.livejournal.com]

Wow, such cute otter pics. :)

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

The Zoo here did a great job finding animals that are usually doing something neat and come out looking great on film. Why, just look at the green polar bears they brought in...

Championship Monopoly?

[(Anonymous)]

I have an excellent record of never coming close to winning a Monopoly game, but playing with a strategy that drags out the inevitable for hour after hour of aching predictability.

I might have been interested in the championships just to see what a 'Monopoly strategy' really is. Whether or not trading properties is allowed, or the 'Free Parking' jackpot home rule was used, it always seemed to me that Monopoly came down to who hit whose properties more often by the random dice roll, because...

1) Getting $200 per turn around the board was usually more than enough to pay for the usual, if all you were doing was circling around a board without houses and hotels, or utility/railroad groups.

2) It was rare for a person to be lucky enough to get a street, expensive enough by itself, to bankrupt the other player without trading so both had streets. Then it became a matter of who hit whose property again.

So the question is, where does the strategy come in? What makes a 'Champion Monopoly player'?

-Skyler

Re: Championship Monopoly?

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Well, it's true that, in generla, the $200 will just accumulate.. but most peope spend that down very rapidly the first few rounds buying properties, so cash reserves drop like a stone ont he first go around. Until the point where monopolies or three-railroads form, though, you're usually making cash around the board.

However, there's a good amount of strategy, based on smart building (which property to develop when), trading, and making other game decisions based on upcoming dice rolls. If Park Avenue and Boardwalk are, say, 6 and 8 spaces away from you with hotels.. it might be best to put off developing a turn or two until you pass go, jsut so you'll have the cash if you need it. Also, the professional Monopoly players keep very close eyes on the Chance and Community Chest decks, since according the rules, they're never shuffled after the first go.. cards just slide back under on the bottom.

There are at least two boosk dedicated to winning Monopoly, as well. There is strategy, random as the dice make it.

--Chiaroscuo

Re: Championship Monopoly?

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Yeah -- almost all games have some randomness elements to them, but good strategies can give at least some direction to the game. For example, the two most obvious elements within one's control in Monopoly are that there's a slight bias towards more landings on the sides of the board from Jail to Free Parking to the Go To Jail square; and the number of houses all players can build is limited. The first gives some idea where it's better to concentrate your money resources.

The second gives you this problem: You can increase the cost of an opponent landing on your squares by upgrading houses to hotels -- and thus improve your chances of bankrupting him. But, that upgrade puts four houses back in circulation, meaning your opponent can use them to increase the cost of you landing on his square, improving his chances of bankrupting you. What's the right balance of building and holding?

I don't know. I'm lousy at the game. But I can pretty reliably build just enough that my income almost balances my expenses, so while I can't win, I can be terribly boring to beat.

Not helping matters, really, is that I most often play with my dad, and we enter into a particularly non-cutthroat brand in which we ask the other if we have plans for a tile before buying it. Drives mom crazy. Also driving her crazy is -- on the Singapore board, which comes with a Mer-lion token -- we pronounce Collyer Quay as it's spelled, rather than as ``Collyer key.''

Re: Championship Monopoly?

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

In general, the bump from two to three houses is the most critical when building. Four houses and hotels are gravy, but it's three houses that are the most critcal build.

As for four houses versus hotels.. that's most critical a decision when there are several monopolies going. With 32 houses in the game, it takes two mostly-built monopolies (3 properties x four houses x 2=24) to even start a housing crunch. If you're trying to prevent a well-cashed opponent from developing, it might be wise to stay at four, but the dreaded 'You are billed for housing tax' card whomps you more heavily for hour houses than with a hotel.

Also affecting lading spaces are cards like "Take a ride on the Reading" and "Go back three spaces". These, plus go To jail. make Light Puprle, Red, and Orange the best moneymakers.

--Chiaroscuro

[rcoony.livejournal.com]

Yay!