Source: My UM

Monopoly is a popular classic board game that has held its appeal to this day. Many of us have played Monopoly, but few have played it so well as to qualify for an international competition. Meet Dr Kuok Sin Chi, a UM alumna who now works as a lab technician in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Last month, she became the first to represent Macao at the 2015 MONOPOLY World Championships.

Combining Theory and Practice

After studying Monopoly for only a year, Kuok surprised herself and everyone else by winning the Macao regional competition, which was part of the Macau Amusement Expo 2015. That win qualified her for the 2015 MONOPOLY World Championships. After the initial rush of excitement was over, it dawned on Kuok that she would compete against the best players from around the world. In an attempt to make up for her lack of experience, she devoured one book after another on the subject. Knowing the importance of combining theory and practice, she played online simulation games to test the effectiveness of the different strategies. She also played with real people in order to learn how different players think during a game.

Proud despite the Outcome

In August, not long after she received her PhD degree, Kuok was invited to join a research team at Cornell University to participate in the team’s research on probability model analysis and the application of structural health monitoring. Last month, she returned to Macao to participate in the 2015 MONOPOLY World Championships. She lost by a small margin in the qualifier for the semi-final, but she has no regrets. ‘I feel honoured that I was able to compete with the best players from around the world, and I learned a lot from them. I thoroughly enjoyed the process, and the outcome is secondary,’ she says.

Unique Advantage from Science Background

As Kuok, a bona fide science major, can attest, Monopoly is not a monopoly of business students. Indeed, her science background gave her a unique advantage in the competition. ‘I joined Prof Yuen Ka Veng’s research team during college years, and since then I have often needed to conduct research using probability analysis. The decisions you make in the game of Monopoly require probability analysis, and so my science background gave me some advantage in the competition,’ she explains. Monopoly is
a game of investment strategies and negotiation skills. The player needs to make decisions about the buying, selling, construction and development of real estate projects and public transport, all of which are closely related to Kuok’s major civil engineering. ‘In fact, many regional winners at the world championships are engineers, so I met many like minded friends,’ she says.

Ups and Downs Like in Real Life

In the game of Monopoly, as in real life, one experiences ups and downs, and has to constantly make decisions that shape how future events turn out. Playing Monopoly has made Kuok more keenly aware of the truth of the adage, ‘Think twice before you do anything.’ ‘Every move and decision you make, whether in the game of Monopoly or in the game of life, has consequences and shapes how future events turn out,’ she says. ‘But of course, even with the most prudent and thoughtful planning, you still can’t guarantee the outcome because luck still plays a part. So as long as we give our best, we won’t have regrets. ’

A Lifetime Experience

This year is the first time Macao has been represented at an international Monopoly competition, and Kuok describes her participation in the event as a lifetime experience. ‘I’m definitely coming back to try again,’ she says. Kuok hopes her participation in the international Monopoly competition is just the beginning of many more opportunities for the city of Macao. ‘I hope to see Macao represented at more international competitions. This shouldn’t be the monopoly of any one country or city,’ she says.