The annual NCAA Division I National Monopoly Tournament (A.K.A. March Monopoly Madhouse) is approaching the final round where each of the Regional Champions will compete for the National Championship. But the Regional Championship games need to happen first.
The tournament uses the standard Monopoly Board, but has some rules that are unique to the tournament:
- The players roll only one dice
- No hotels can be built on properties, and the maximum number of houses that can be built to improve a single property is three.
- Special rules apply when one player’s roll would land his token on a property where all of the properties of that color-group are owned by one other player:
- The roll may be invalid. If it is, the player rolls again until he gets a valid roll, and then he moves his token accordingly. A roll is invalid for either of the following:
- It would land the token on either an unimproved property or a maximally improved property, and the number shown on the dice exceeds the number of properties in that color-group.
- It would land the token on an improved but not maximally improved property, and the number shown on the dice equals or exceeds twice the number of properties in that color-group.
- Once a player has paid rent for one of the properties, if subsequent rolls take him to other properties of the same color-group on the same trip around the board, he pays no rent for landing on them.
Players with varying degrees of luck and skill competed through the regional brackets. For many minutes at each of the Regional Championships, thousands of fans from the various schools sat in the stands and cheered on their players.
The national media chronicled the details of the last trip around the board for the final player to go bankrupt in each of the Regional Championships of interest:
From the Northern Regional Championship
- The player entered his last trip around the board from Boardwalk and landed on Mediterranean Avenue, where he paid $30 rent.
- From Mediterranean Avenue, the player landed on Reading Railroad and then on Oriental Avenue where he paid $90 rent.
- From Oriental Avenue, the player landed on Electric Company and then on States Avenue where he paid $20 rent.
- From States Avenue, the player landed on Pennsylvania Railroad and then on Tennessee Avenue where he paid $70 rent.
- From Tennessee Avenue, the player landed on New York Avenue (no rent) and then on Indiana Avenue where he paid $250 rent.
- From Indiana Avenue, the player landed on Illinois Avenue (no rent) and then on Atlantic Avenue where he paid $800 rent.
- From Atlantic Avenue the player landed on Pacific Avenue where the $130 rent was more than he could afford.
From the Western Regional Championship
- The player entered his last trip around the board from Go and landed on Mediterranean Avenue, where he paid $4 rent.
- From Mediterranean Avenue, the player landed on the Reading Railroad, and then on Vermont Avenue where he paid $270 rent.
- From Vermont Avenue, the player landed on Connecticut Avenue (no rent) and then on St. Charles Avenue where he paid $50 rent.
- From St. Charles Avenue, the player landed on Community Chest and then on New York Avenue where he paid $80 rent.
- From New York Avenue, the player landed on Free Parking and then on Kentucky Avenue where he paid $700 rent.
- From Kentucky Avenue, the player landed on Atlantic Avenue where he paid $330 rent.
- From Atlantic Avenue the player landed on Water Works and then on North Carolina Avenue where he paid $130 rent.
- From North Carolina Avenue, the player landed on Short Line Railroad and then on Park Place where the $500 rent was more than he could afford.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.