'Monopoly' Fanatics Have a Monopoly on Weirdness

Almost everyone has played Monopoly, but for some people it's a way of life.

In fact, some people have gone so far as to have their backs tattooed with a complete Monopoly board, while others have decorated their bathrooms in a Monopoly scheme.

Filmmaker Kevin Tostado isn't that obsessed, but he still dreams of being a Monopoly champion and representing the U.S. in the world championships in 2013.

But besides playing the game, he's done a bit of gamesmanship.

You see, by interviewing the best players for his new documentary, "Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story," he was able to get all sorts of tips for strategies that have improved his game.

"I've been wanting to play in the U.S. championship ever since I was 12," Tostado told AOL News. "Growing up, Monopoly was always around. I played it with my family and I liked it since I was good at math."

That was 14 years ago, but Tostado, 26, put his dream aside to pursue an engineering degree at Olin College near Boston and then went into filmmaking to work on projects such as webisodes for the now-canceled sci-fi series "Heroes."

But he never forgot his love for Monopoly. He even dressed up for Halloween as its iconic character, "Mr. Monopoly," whose top hat and handlebar mustache was modeled on early 20th century robber baron J.P. Morgan.

"When I was thinking of projects, I realized that if I was going to spend a long time working on something, it's got to be something I love," he said.

So he chose the game that monopolized his youth: Monopoly.

The documentary, which debuts for a weeklong run in San Diego on March 4, took Tostado and crew to nine countries, 19 states and Washington, D.C., and gave him a close-up view at the competitive world of championship Monopoly.

Of course, the best part may have been pumping current and former champs about their strategy.

"It was a perk that, as part of the documentary, the players shared strategy that they might not normally share with a player," Tostado said.

Some of the tips are common among players, such as that it's better to own orange properties as opposed to Boardwalk or Park Place because more people land on them, and the idea that staying in jail can benefit you when all the properties are purchased because it limits the amount of rent that has to be paid to other players.

"However, the biggest thing I learned was the 'housing shortage' strategy," Tostado revealed. "There are only 32 houses, and once those are tied up, you can't suddenly buy hotels just because houses are unavailable."

Before the documentary, Tostado applied for the 2009 championship and made it past the first round of qualification before bowing out from further competition.

"I was tempted, but I had to make a choice and decide whether to compete or finish the film and wait for the 2013 championship," he said.

It might have been the right decision. Since completing "Under the Boardwalk," Tostado has competed in two tournaments and, in one case, beat Lee Bayrd, who won the first U.S. Monopoly Championship in 1973.

Besides learning strategy, Tostado learned other skills that are great for Monopoly and in real life as well.

One of the players in the film, Tim Vandenberg, is a teacher who uses Monopoly to teach advanced mathematics, but there is a negotiating element to the game that is the hardest to teach.

"The best players are often lawyers, teachers and bankers, mainly because they can notice personality traits in opponents that can help determine what kind of deals they'll make," Tostado said. "In fact, one of the players interviewed, Anthony Jucha, an attorney in Sydney, Australia, insists he won't trust a lawyer who is not good at Monopoly.

"Personally, some people might have thought I was a nerd, but I learned a lot of interpersonal skills playing Monopoly that certainly helped when I was trying to get this film together."

For instance, Tostado says that Monopoly is not a good game for trash talking, in-your-face behavior.

"Showboaters, loudmouths and grandstanders tend to get a negative rep and people are less likely to trade with you," Tostado said. "Matt McNally, the former U.S. champion, has the right style. He knows that to be successful, you want people to mind losing to you."

"Under the Boardwalk" has played at various festivals, and Tostado hopes the San Diego premiere and another run in New York set for May will lead to other cities. However, he's trying to get more and has set up a campaign to raise funds on the crowd funding website Kickstarter, for $20,580, the exact amount of money found in each Monopoly game.

Obviously, the success of the film is important to Tostado, as is fulfilling his dream of being U.S. Monopoly champion. However, given the choice of winning an Oscar for best documentary or a championship, his preference is clear.

"It's a tough question, but I think I'd rather win the Oscar, because that could lead to more film work, whereas there aren't that many jobs for Monopoly champions other than the tournament, which comes once every four years."

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