It would be an okay game if it taught about the "X of Y" in which X is anything and Y is anything. But really it's just a game of "who can roll the dice best?" where the players influence the outcome of the game as much as in Candyland. (Of course, the players do have to play "correctly", which means "purchase everything you land on".)
> But really it's just a game of "who can roll the dice best?" where the players influence the outcome of the game as much as in Candyland.
That's mostly true, but deciding what to buy, how to bid, and negotiating for properties are all important parts of the game.
Part of the purpose of the game is showing how capitalism is unfair because it exploits people by randomness of birth and circumstances rather than their ability to work.
It teaches that property breeds property, and by the laws of compound interest, whoever gets a big lead first usually wins.
Everyone who's played Monopoly more than a few times quickly understands that:
1. If it's early and you have an opportunity to acquire property, you take it
2. If you are out of cash and land on an unbought property, it's usually best to mortgage your other properties. This teaches the lesson of how leverage and debt, judiciously used, is to the capitalists's advantage.
3. If it's getting later in the game, usually nobody should willingly grant someone else a monopoly unless they themselves get one in return.
