Everyone eventually stops playing Monopoly because no one cares about seeing the game through to its end. Before there’s a victor, the game usually implodes from player boredom, cumulative interpersonal- or self-hatred, real financial issues to attend to, or a combination of all three. Monopoly is a game used to pass time in electricity-free cabins. It’s not one that you win, so no one cares about actually mastering it.
That’s no one except Elpher, the Imgur user who’s sardonic about his life’s purpose: conquering Monopoly. The player posted a step-by-step guide that detailed both things we already know (Monopoly is where the hatred is) and how to be the best Monopoly player. The key is actually simple: Players must build monopolies, hence the title. It also helps to remember that there are a limited amount of houses and hotels.
“A little-known rule of Monopoly is that the game has exactly 32 houses and 12 hotels,” Elpher notes. “Once you run out of houses, no more can be purchased until they re-enter the supply by being sold or upgraded to hotels. If there are more players who want to build houses than there are houses available, they are auctioned off to the highest bidder, one at a time.” Thus, get all the houses, and you control the game.
The game is still tedious, but the entire process can be found below.