monopoly-monte-carlo

How do variations in starting conditions affect players' chances of winning?

Developed and tested with GHC 8.6.5.

Branches

• master - All players start with equal assets
• double_money_first - The first player starts with twice as much money as the other players
• double_money_last - The last player starts with twice as much money as the other players
• last_baltic - The last player starts with Baltic Avenue
• last_boardwalk - The last player starts with Boardwalk

Strategy and Rule Modifications

All players follow a simple, hard-coded strategy. An open question, requiring an AI approach to answer, is if a player following an optimal strategy can overcome an initial disadvantage against suboptimal adversaries.

With the official rules in mind:

1. There are no interplayer transactions other than rent payments and bulk transfers upon bankruptcy.
2. An unowned property is not auctioned when a player lands on it and declines to buy.
3. A jail player always moves to "Just Visiting" on its next turn. It does not try to roll dice for freedom.
4. When a player lands on an unowned property, it always buys the property if it has adequate funds.
5. All real estate development happens in a clockwise order of preference. For example, if the player has a monopoly on Mediterranean-Baltic and a monopoly on Park Place-Boardwalk, the player will add improvements to the former first as long as room for improvements remains.
6. Divesting real estate, to pay rent or taxes, also follows a clockwise precedence.
7. "Chance" and "Community Chest" are not implemented. These spaces on the board are ignored.

Turns Limit

Without the posibility of players making deals, Monopoly games can last indefinitely. To mitigate this infinite loop condition, a game is abandoned when there is no winner after each player has taken 20,000 turns. The simulation continues until completing the user-specified number of games.