Updated: 9/17/09
Today I've actually started to enjoy playing the game Monopoly City Streets, an online version of monopoly taking advantage of Google Maps to make the entire world the game's board. As early as this morning, there was still a tremendous amount of latency as I logged in and tried to expand my empire. But it seems that most of this is (hopefully) behind us now- the servers are up, the game is extremely responsive, and it's significantly changed the experience of game play.
For the uninitiated, the game launched just a couple of days ago and has been absolutely swamped ever since. The game's blog has documented some of the difficulties and the load- about 1.7 million unique visitors every day. I honestly expected a bit more, but I completely understand the difficulties in scaling- 1.7 million *unique visitors* is a tremendous load on any server infrastructure, especially when each user is responsible for hundreds if not thousands of requests against the servers. Well, it's nice to see it running as intended. Finally.
I have to admit, the technical aspects of this game intrigue me. What a interesting way to tie Google Maps into a game! I haven't had the time to dig into the OpenStreetMaps API yet, but this game inspires me to do so.
The use of OpenStreetMaps isn't the only thing i find interesting- the logic behind the game is equally thought-provoking, at times. Since this logic isn't documented anywhere, I spent the first couple of days hypothesizing and testing to find out some of those fundamentals- they form the foundation for any sort of strategy. And I still have some unanswered questions about that logic, though I think I've got the basics down. For posterity's sake, let me review (comments are welcome and encouraged):
Game Objective(s)
There's really only a single objective, as far as I can tell: you win by making money. Your score is a representation of your net worth, which consists of the value of your property and the money you have in the bank. That's it.
Property Values and Rent
So one of the first things I noticed is that each street that can be purchased is valued at $1m or less. I'm having to make some unproven guesses here (watch out!), but it looks like the following properties apply to streets:
- Without any construction, rent is always 10% of the purchase value of the street, rounded *down*. So a street valued at $114,000 will carry a rent of $11,000 per day. A street valued at $990,000 will rent at $99,000 per day. So if you don't plan on developing (which would be stupid... see below), buy round numbers to make a better margin.
- Development of houses (or any other type of construction) impacts the rent returned by the street. For example, the most basic house carries a cost of $50,000. Adding this basic house to a street valued at $100,000 (yielding a rent of $10,000 per day) will add $5,000 to the daily rent of the street.
- If you've played the game at all, you'll notice that the amount of rent added to the street per house appears to be somewhat subjective. It's not subjective- it's relative. To the value of the street. In fact, as the value of the street increases, the yield of the developed real estate increases as well. Here's what I mean: if you build a house on a street valued at $1m (as opposed to the $100,000 example above), the house, still costing $50,000, will add another full $50,000 to the daily rent of the street. It's all about location!
- Density (how many developed properties a street will support) is relative to its size; the spacing is always fixed. See the Housing section for more information about density.
- Undeveloped streets are particularly prone to Hazards (see below for an explanation of Hazards). If there is enough undeveloped space, prisons, factories, or other Bad Things (tm) can be built on them- and this will make their rent yield drop to ZERO (d'oh!).
I originally had thought that I, the player, would be paying out rent to other players somehow. Just know that rent is fixed, daily, and paid by the bank changes how the game is played. The entire focus of the game is property- obtaining, developing, and protecting. Player interacting is very limited- either to screwing somebody else or making offers. It's only day 3... I suppose there might be some potential for allies to develop, but there isn't an in-game, inter-player communications mechanism yet (the docs mention a "Friends' League", but I haven't figured that out yet), so that would be challenging. If someone wanted to spend a little time on a side project, an allies and alliances site would be a great companion. Of course, there would be some problems with username claims...
Housing and Development
There are a number of residential and business buildings that can be built on a street. The key variants (outside of their look and name) are:
- Purchase price: starting at $50,000 and going all the way up to $100m.
- Rent yielded per day: starting at $5,000 (the cheapest house on the cheapest street).
- Space used on the street. Varies wildly, but generally, they don't take up very much.
Not all houses yield the same rent-to-price ratio. The smallest houses (the $50k and $75k models) yield the best return on nearly all streets- usually between 40% of the purchase price in daily rent all the way up to a full 100%. This is balanced by density- by which I mean if you fill a street full of $50k models, you'll have a great daily return on the money you invested (100%, potentially), but the street will not yield its full potential. If you put some bigger ticket items on the street, you can increase the streets monetary yield substantially- but you will take a hit on your percent of return. You'll have to figure out when it's best to make high-yield streets- that'll be a key part of your strategy
I should also note that I've seen a chance card that allows me to demolish a building on another player's street- and I've had someone try and use that against me. It doesn't always seem to work (sometimes you apparently win the case in court), but you should be aware that nothing in life is certain- except death.
Location
Above, I wrote the words, "It's all about location!". Well, that's only partly true. I was concerned that there would be some prime real estate sucked up in the first minutes of the game that would seriously impact the fairness of the game moving forward. I had made the assumption that some real estate would be inherently more valuable than others- like city scapes and historical landmarks. So my first thought was to go attack the major cities and grab some prime real estate before it was all gone. That assumption proved to be flawed.
The logic behind the game is evenly applied throughout- so what is written above about Streets and Housing applies equally, regardless of the actual location. So streets will be the same price, based on their length, no matter where you go.
This isn't to say that property in cities might be more valuable- there are market considerations as well. Think supply and demand! Seattle, WA, for example, has a fair amount of property already taken by players. And not by a single player- by many different players. They are going to find expansion challenging, so they'll have to turn to buying already-owned properties. Since there are so many players and little room to grow, demand will outstrip supply and prices will rise. I would guess that they won't rise by much early on, since there won't be a great deal of disparity between the rent earnings of each player, but that will eventually change and that real estate will sell at a premium.
So the answer to the question: "Does location really matter?" is: Yes. And no. Choosing a spot where no one is going to bother you or encroach on your development will help early on, but (as with actual real estate) the prices of your development will not increase as much over time, as there will be far less demand. Consider that in your strategy!
Hazards and Bonuses
Disclaimer: I haven't apparently gotten into the game far enough to receive an actual Bonus, but I think I've figured out how they work.
Hazards and Bonuses are types of development that directly impact the rent yield (and potential resale value) of a street. Hazards generally stop the street from yielding rent *AT ALL*- meaning the player gets absolutely nothing from the street on a daily basis, though the value of the street is still included in their net worth. Bonuses protect streets from hazards, making it impossible for other players to sabotage it. There are also Bulldozers- which I mentioned earlier- which allows a player to demolish a development (including bonuses) on an opponent's street.
Hazards (in case you don't feel like clicking the "Gaming Rules" button in the game):
- Power Plant
- Prisons
- Sewage Works
Bonuses
- Stadium
- Park
- School (there's a typo in the documentation that excludes this)
You can tie it all together to formulate your strategy moving forward- just remember that your streets aren't safe from another player's evil intentions. I can't say exactly when these chance cards are offered- it appears to be either random, or random and weighted by either development or cash earnings.
Scoring
... is a bit of an enigma to me when I look at the leader board. As the rules go, your score is just your net worth. However, the leading players (currently there is one sitting at a score in excess of $240m) don't seem to have the same scoring applied to them. This may be indicative of a bug in the naming system (something they've admitted to recently), but clicking through on that top player shows the scorecard of an entry-level player who owns just 3 streets and whose net worth is $3m. Huh?
Other Notes and Thoughts
As I was writing the above, I clicked through on the "Leader Board" and attempted to access the "Friends" section, which I've been employing as a watch list (spying). Everything else in the game still works, but this section is down. Perhaps the "Friends' League" is coming??
A more important note: the docs say that "...rent is calculated automatically - so you can focus on being a property genius rather than a math professor." It's a bit of a lie and you should be aware of that. Keep the calculator handy. Manage your investments carefully- and think of them as just that, investments. You'll get a return and, in a strange turn of fate, you will control exactly how much your investments actually return. There's a reason why the "Chance" cards are called such- it really is the only element of randomness (or luck) in the game. Everything else is pre-calculated with cold precision.
On unfortunate byproduct of the above is that the game heavily favors people who find themselves in either (or both) of two categories:
- Early birds. People who managed to get online and in the game in the seconds that it was actually available when the game started. The advantage is that they received an extra $1m and rent for their properties for each day they were online earlier than everyone else. I think this is the single driving reason behind the consideration mentioned on the game blog for resetting the entire game after the scaling concerns are eliminated.
- Active players. Plan to login for a 10 minutes *every day*. It's absolutely critical- and they tell you so in the docs. Money will continue to accrue in your account, but not as quickly as it would if you were to be actively investing it. Remember that- if you have money left in the bank after you've finished playing for a day, you're leaving a ton of future returns on the table.
Hints and Tricks
After you've read the above, you'll be much better prepared to enter the game than I was. But then again, I knew there would be a learning curve- and exploring accounted for the first couple of days of game play. Because I'm a nice guy, I'll give you some points on strategy that you might not otherwise pick up right away (I didn't):
- Avoid other players as you get started. Stay under the radar for a few days, if possible. Don't piss anyone off. The last thing you want is to attract the attention of someone with some real cash (think what $20m could do to your development!)
- Given the above, find a spot that is likely to be untouched for a while. Once you build your portfolio of real estate (and your available capital) a bit, you'll want to diversify and go after some better real estate. If you start in a more contested space, you might get lucky and just make it big, but that's a risk you'll have to weigh independently.
- Keep a calculator handy, like I said before. Early in the game (for the first few days), you won't have a lot of money to throw at things. Maximize your returns early on- take advantage of the cheaper houses that offer a better value over time (the $50k and $75k models).
- Again, let your available capital dictate what kinds of streets you purchase. Buying 3 $1m streets on your first day will only give you $300k in rent tomorrow. Buying a single $1m street and filling it as full as possible with high-yield developments will give you vastly more to work with next time you log in.
- Fill up streets as much as possible. It maximizes the street's yield and it also limits room for hazard construction.
- Use your bonuses, if you get them, on your best streets.
- Update your strategy as your resources (capital and real estate) change. I've mentioned a few keys here that will help you get started, but they won't serve you well when you're rolling in the dough. Be flexible and adjust to the environment you find yourself in.
- Remember that the smartest players are going to be watching you. You've probably got a much later start than most, so you're already at a disadvantage. Be aware that being small doesn't mean there isn't a bulls-eye on your back.
Before you sharpen your claws and jump in expecting to own the world in 10 days flat, remember this: I offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of the above information, nor do I offer any warranty that it will do you any good. I see it as common sense, nothing more. Chance and luck will play their part. Your brains will play a bigger part. Good luck!
Other resources
The community-driven sites have been growing and this is not the only helpful site around. Donovan (see comments below) has given us an awesome property and real estate value analysis here.
"Not Giving Away" has also given some key pointers in the comments. I quote: "A couple of tips to add to Tom's useful ones though: the smallest properties can be squeezed into more space than others, so the returns would appear higher on these. And if you don't get a bonus build, spread your cottages between the cones: the space is too small for anyone to sabotage with Bad Things, so if you can fill a street by only half filling, still protected. When you have spare money, find your premium streets, and you'll have space to double your investments too, if you're lucky."
As I mentioned, there a number of community sites, most of which are still in their infancy. Check the official blog site, specifically blog comments, for links users have posted. Here are a couple I've found useful:
Let me know if you find any more useful sights. There's a link in the comments for a clans site, but it doesn't appear to be up yet. Hopefully, that will change in the next few hours. The associated blog site is up and has a very useful greasemonkey script. Well done!
Hacks and Other Evils
I'm not a proponent of gaming the system, but I am extremely curious about the technologies used and some ways we could take advantage of them. The game is built on flash, making a number of calls back to the server as the game is played. Obviously, there are the ties with OpenStreetMaps, but there's also the overlay of owned roads and developments that are part of the game's core infrastructure. The leader boards, bank, alerts, and profiles are all part of that infrastructure. If a person cared to reverse-engineer these things, a number of possibilities would open up:
- The allies/alliances application I suggested above
- Email alerts- when your bank balance changes or alerts are received, among other things. Eventually, I do expect seconds to matter in this game- notifications would go a long way.
- Publicly-accessible leader boards. No login required.
And you thought I had something more nefarious in mind? Sorry, I don't play that way. If I do well, I want to do so on my own merit, not by some subversive hacking. The above would be great additions to the core of the game. I actually expect that a public leader board will be published some time soon. Here's to hoping.
*EDIT*: there is a very basic alliances site up here, though it is *extremely* basic. Perhaps it'll see some added TLC over the next couple of days. Regardless, nice work on implementing a very, very powerful option for the game. I don't know if this post was the source, but if not, birds of a feather, eh?
Comments are more than welcome. I haven't seen any other guides, faqs, or introductions to game play out there. Let's get one started!
