MEZARPOLYHow do house rules change the game?
Every table has its house rules: taxes pile up in the middle, no auctions, double salary for landing exactly on Go. Which ones really make a difference? We changed the rules one at a time and played tens of thousands of games.
- How the experiment worked
- Much-debated rules that made no difference
- What really shortens games: rent inflation
- Games are shorter without mortgages
- Starting cash and salary
- Help for whoever is behind: the rule that keeps games open
- Summary
- Method and limits
How the experiment worked
Four bots with four different personalities (careful, balanced, aggressive, trader) played on the Crimson Classic map. Each time a single rule changed and everything else stayed the same. We played 12,000 games with the default rules and 6,000 with each change. A round: everyone takes one turn.
| Rule | Median rounds | 90% of games at most | Over 100 rounds | First set (round) | Round-15 leader wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default rules | 45 | 62 | 0.4% | 13 | 32.0% |
| Taxes go to the bank, not the pool | 45 | 61 | 0.4% | 13 | 30.9% |
| Auctions off | 46 | 62 | 0.3% | 13 | 31.6% |
| Even building off | 45 | 61 | 0.3% | 13 | 32.4% |
| No rent while in Jail | 47 | 65 | 0.6% | 13 | 32.6% |
| Three doubles to Jail off (engine setting) | 45 | 62 | 0.2% | 13 | 32.6% |
| Mortgages off | 39 | 52 | 0.1% | 13 | 32.1% |
| Starting cash ₺1,000 | 47 | 63 | 0.3% | 15 | 33.1% |
| Starting cash ₺2,500 | 44 | 61 | 0.2% | 11 | 33.5% |
| Go salary ₺100 | 47 | 63 | 0.3% | 13 | 30.8% |
| Go salary ₺400 | 47 | 68 | 1.6% | 12 | 32.8% |
| Quick mode (start with 2 properties) | 43 | 59 | 0.1% | 9 | 37.6% |
| Inflation off (engine setting) | 64 | 114 | 15.2% | 13 | 32.3% |
| Catch-up help off (engine setting) | 44 | 59 | 0.1% | 13 | 39.0% |
"Round-15 leader wins": how often the player with the highest net worth at round 15 goes on to win. The fair share with four players is 25%; the higher this number, the earlier the game is decided.
Much-debated rules that made no difference
Four of the most argued-about rules did not measurably change how long games last or who wins: taxes collecting in the Vacation pool, auctions, even building and three doubles to Jail. With each, the median game lasted 45±1 rounds.
The pool matters little because in Mezarpoly tax depends on the player's wealth, and the money in the pool is a small slice of all the money in the game. Auctions matter little because the bots usually buy reasonably priced property anyway. Pick these rules to suit your table.
What really shortens games: rent inflation
In Mezarpoly property rents slowly rise after round 21 (1.5× at round 31, 2× at round 41, up to 2.5×). Card amounts and airport rent also grow as the game goes on. With this switched off, the median game went from 45 to 64 rounds, 15.2% of games went past 100 rounds, and 90 games still hadn't ended after 600.
The reason is simple: if the Go salary stays fixed and rents stay fixed too, a player who has fallen behind can pay rent out of salary and crawl along for dozens of rounds. Inflation cuts off that tail without changing the early game. It is the real source of the "it never ends" complaint about classic property games. You can't switch it off in Mezarpoly; this experiment just shows its effect.
Games are shorter without mortgages
With mortgages off, the median game lasted 39 rounds instead of 45, and long games got shorter too (52 rounds instead of 62). A player who can't cover a debt by mortgaging goes bankrupt sooner. If you want a quick game, switching mortgages off in the room settings works.
Starting cash and salary
Starting cash changes game length a little, but changes when the first set appears a lot: with ₺2,500 the first set came at round 11, with ₺1,000 at round 15 (round 13 with the default ₺1,500). Raising the Go salary to ₺400 makes long games longer: 90% of games ended within 68 rounds instead of 62, and games over 100 rounds rose from 0.4% to 1.6%.
Quick mode (everyone starts with two random properties) brings the first set forward to round 9 and cuts the median game to 43 rounds. But games are decided earlier: the round-15 leader wins 37.6% of them.
Help for whoever is behind: the rule that keeps games open
In Mezarpoly a player who is behind gets an extra salary when passing Go (up to ₺250 for last place) and a small discount when paying rent (15% for last place). With this help switched off, games were no shorter (44 rounds), but the round-15 leader's win rate rose from 32.0% to 39.0%. So the help doesn't make games longer; it only keeps them undecided for longer. More in Can you come back from behind?
Summary
- The pool, auctions, even building and three-doubles rules don't change game length: choose them to suit your table.
- For a short game, switch mortgages off or turn on quick mode.
- A higher Go salary makes games longer; starting cash decides when the first set appears.
- What actually makes games end is rent inflation.
Method and limits
- The games were played with bots, using the rules engine of the Mezarpoly server. People trade and bid differently from bots; auctions in particular may matter more at a human table.
- "Inflation off", "catch-up help off" and "three doubles to Jail off" are not room settings; they were changed in the engine to show their effect. The others can be chosen in the room settings in the lobby.
Try it now
Mezarpoly is free: play in your browser with no download, with 2–8 people (8-player rooms are free too), with friends or bots. The rules are on the How to play page.
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