In Monopoly, this term means that no properties except possibly the utilities are monopolized. Everybody is just going around and around, collecting money when they pass Go and paying rent on undeveloped properties, railroads and utilities. This can become really tedious, so the following chart is provided to help you determine if anybody is going to eventually be pushed underwater or if they are all going to increase their cash holdings. It assumes that it takes 5.92 turns to complete a go around the board, which is greater than the five that is usually quoted because it takes going to jail into consideration.
| |
Expected Cost |
|
| Baltic, Mediterranean |
0.76 |
|
| Vermont, Connecticut, Oriental |
2.72 |
|
| St. Charles, Virginia, States |
4.76 |
|
| Tennessee, New York, St. James |
7.67 |
|
| Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana |
9.71 |
|
| Atlantic, Ventnor, Marvin Gardens |
10.69 |
|
| Pacific, North Carolina, Pennsylvania |
12.31 |
|
| Park Place, Boardwalk |
12.30 |
|
| Electric Company, Water Works |
8.96 |
different |
| |
22.39 |
monopolized |
| B & O, Reading, Pennsylvania, Short Line |
18.22 |
all different |
| |
27.33 |
two, one and one |
| |
36.44 |
two and two |
| |
59.21 |
three and one |
| |
145.74 |
monopolized |
| Community Chest and Chance |
-13.76 |
|
| Luxury Tax |
9.68 |
|
| Income Tax |
27.57 |
|
| Jail |
11.69 |
|
The weakest possible position in a Mexican standoff is to have no property of one’s own, so let us first investigate if such a player can be pushed under. If he can survive a Mexican standoff, then everybody can and you might as well just quit or arbitrarily decide that Go will only pay $100 until someone goes under. Persisting in a Mexican standoff is boring and is one reason why some people do not like the game of Monopoly.
The sum of all these expenses is compiled in the following table:
| |
Utilities Different |
Utilities Monopolized |
| All railroads different |
85.24 |
98.27 |
| Two railroads owned together |
94.35 |
107.78 |
| Two and two railroads owned together |
103.46 |
116.89 |
| Three railroads owned together |
126.23 |
139.66 |
| Four railroads monopolized |
212.76 |
226.19 |
Thus we see that, with nothing monopolized except the utilities, Mexican standoffs are interminable. Four railroads will push an unpropertied player under, but only just barely and a monopoly of the railroads is generally not considered a Mexican standoff. Hotels on Baltic and Mediterranean add $88.39 to these numbers so, if nobody owns more than one railroad or utility, the cost per go around the board is only $211.67, which is just barely over one’s $200 salary.
Since owning even a handful of mismatched properties is significantly stronger than owning nothing at all, especially if they include at least one railroad or utility, one can generally assume that all Mexican standoffs are interminable, including cases where someone owns all four railroads or someone has hotels on Baltic and Mediterranean, though not both.
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