For the first time as a family, we are playing Monopoly. It is an old Finnish version of the game, so old that the currency is in "Marks" which haven't been used since 2002, when Finland moved completely over to the Euro. The place names of the properties are Finnish streets and stations, and everything has been translated, sometimes poorly. However, it is in very, very good condition considering the age, which means that my wife has rarely played it. The notes are crisp, the board has no scratches or torn edges, and all the pieces are there.
But one thing is abundantly clear...
My wife doesn't want me to win.
So at this rate, the game is going to go forever, because neither my wife or daughter are willing to sell to me. My daughter sold me a cheap property and I built some hotels on it, but that was it. My wife has poisoned the well since. Even though my wife is not very interested in playing and I am trying to teach Smallsteps the game (as it is her first time playing), she just can't bring herself to do anything that helps me, even when it is in her best interest to do so, and even though I have been assisting her to speed the game along. I sold her my railway station, so she would have all four.
What has been interesting to observe is that Smallsteps is very cautious with her money, preferring to have more money in her hand, than investing into properties or houses. Yet at the same time (after I sold her a red property cheap), when she finally built two houses, she put them both on the one property in the hope of getting a larger income, instead of spreading them out and doubling her chances of an income. Funnily enough, the next round both my wife and I landed on the property she didn't put a house on.
That's the way the dice rolls.
Being risk averse isn't a bad thing in some situations, but it shouldn't be the standard position when playing a game for fun. Instead, playing something like Monopoly (which I didn't play much as a kid) can help get accustomed to risk, reward, winning and losing in a safe environment. Though, some families seem to take it all far too seriously and fight over it. Still, getting used to taking risks (whether a win or a lose) can familiarise ourselves with the types of emotions that can arise and take away the fear of feeling them. Fear to feel the sense of loss, can make us far too conservative.
And then of course, that good feeling of having money in hand (or in the bank) should be outweighed by the feeling of having money invested. But, that is not the way most people feel, especially women. For instance in Finland, men have significantly less savings in the bank than women, but significantly more in generative investments. The average return on even conservative investments is far higher than a savings interest rate from a bank. The gender wealth gap doesn't all come down to salary differences.
The challenge of course is that the held money can be seen and feels "safer" than money that is in an investment feels more theoretical. Well, all money is theoretical, isn't it? But even in Monopoly I watched how my daughter changed her attitude when we were running out of 2000 notes and I exchanged the pile she had for a couple 10,000 notes. While she had the same amount, suddenly she started acting poorer and more conservative. Her mood shifted slightly also, from the carefree big spender, to a more miserly position with tight purse strings.
We are only about halfway through the game and have been playing for a few hours already, but it has been quite fun to just chill out together. It is also a good lesson in patience for Smallsteps, as she has never played a game that is going to span two days like this. Normally the things we play are pretty quickly resolved and it is good to have this slower burn game that takes time to develop and play out. And then, it is going to be interesting to see what happens when the mortgages due to a lack of money, forced sells, and bankruptcies happen.
Will everyone stay chilled?
I think games like these are a good way to test emotional reactions and create strategies how to deal with them, as well as how to deal with other people who are also trying to win, which will mean others will lose. That isn't always the case in real life though, as there are win-win opportunities out there to invest in, but they are not as common as investors will fool themselves into believing, because to have a win-win, the product the company makes also has to add value to the world - not just monetary value, but wellbeing value. Most companies don't do this and the most profitable tend to be those who add the least value to our lives. And that is where the investors go, because it offers the higher ROI.
This is where Monopoly teaches a fundamental lesson.
A monopoly means one winner, and everyone else loses.
The more concentrated wealth and resource control becomes, the more losers there will be.
Taraz
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