In Monopoly world, Gloucester man is chairman of the board

Orbanes is responsible for the single, greatest change in Monopoly since it was introduced during the height of the Great Depression. One morning while taking a shower, Orbanes thought of adding a third die to the game to help speed things up.

That special third die has been included in every standard Monopoly set Hasbro has sold since 2008, and has helped cut the average game length to less than 90 minutes.

“Phil is basically the central hub of the Monopoly world,” said Kevin Tostado, who is directing a documentary on Monopoly called “Under the Boardwalk.” “I knew that in making the movie I had to have him on board.”

How could a board game become someone’s life calling? Well, if you can remember the thrill of being the first player to buy Boardwalk, or own all the railroads, or have hotels across the board on every property you own, Orbanes said, you’ll have your answer.

“Monopoly is the great equalizer. That’s one of the reasons I was so excited by it when I was eight years old,” said Orbanes, who is now 62. “It was the first activity I participated in with my aunts and uncles where I felt equal. I wasn’t the little kid who they were patting on the head saying there, there, or do this or do that. I was holding my own.”

See Orbanes's tips for winning at Monopoly here.

As head judge, Orbanes is firm, fair, knowledgeable, meticulous and engaged, colleagues said. “He approaches the game with a sense of humility that players respect,” said former US Champion Matt McNally.

But it’s his undying passion for the game that sets him apart.

“I can see at times when he’s judging that he wishes he was playing the game,” Tostado said.

“I think keeping a straight face is probably one of the toughest things for him when judging,” agreed Orbanes’s son, Philip Jr. “He sees a trade that, because you’ve played the game hundreds of times, you know will lead to a player losing. He wants to tell them, ‘Don’t do it!’ But he has to keep a poker face and not spoil the deal.”

Just how many games of Monopoly has Orbanes played in his life?

“Not as many as you’d think; most people don’t want to play me,” he said, chuckling, in an interview before this week's competition. “They think I have an unusual edge. But my real advantage -- actually the privilege I’ve had – is that I’ve had the chance to watch the best players in the world complete. I’ve learned all the vital strategies.”

Monopoly, as Orbanes explains, can be anything but child’s play. Great players memorize the statistical odds of landing on Kentucky Avenue, keep mental counts of which Chance cards have been played, and employ calculated tactics -- the “Housing Shortage Strategy,” for instance -- to bankrupt other players.

Judges, meanwhile, are essential in tournament play because Monopoly’s rules include “a number of gray areas,” Orbanes said. Officials rule on the fairness of trades, issue verdicts when a player goes out of turn, and adjudicate when players try to purchase houses and hotels via auction.

“In Monopoly you’re not required to pay a rent. Did you know that?” Orbanes asked. “Let’s suppose that you land on my property and you owe me $200. If you want to be nice and pay the rent to me, that’s fine. But if you say nothing, then it’s up to me to ask for it.”

Orbanes once saw a player lose in the US Championships because he forgot to ask. “Once he realized it, it was too late,” he said. “He was just crushed.”

Chance, so to speak, had little to do with Orbanes’s rise in the gaming world. George Parker, of Parker Brothers fame, started his first game company at age 16, peddling card games in his hometown of Medford. Orbanes was just a few years older when he founded his first game company, selling homemade sets to put himself through college.

At 32 he landed his “dream job” as head of research and development for Monopoly’s manufacturer, Salem-based Parker Brothers. Monopoly tournaments -- he’s traveled everywhere from London to Singapore, and judges the US Championships every four years – and Monopoly books (he’s written three) followed.

In 1995 Orbanes co-founded a boutique game company in Danvers called Winning Moves Games, which puts out an bigger version of Monopoly with skyscrapers called “The Mega Edition.” His son works by his side, promoting such classics as Mille Bornes, Pay Day, and Risk.

“I have still never beaten my dad in a game of Monopoly,” Philip Orbanes Jr. said. “It’s gotten to the point where if I didn’t know him, I’d think he was a shifty guy because his deals in Monopoly are terrible but he always tries to convince you they’re the best in the world.”

The senior Orbanes’s favorite tournament? The 1992 World Championships in Berlin, the first to include players from former Soviet-bloc countries.

His favorite player? That might be Angelo Repole, a 10-year-old from Staten Island who was one roll away from winning the 1979 US Championships – but lost when he landed on Park Place.

“The crowd just let out this collective moan,” Orbanes remembered.

The big story at this year’s world tournament, which concludes Thursday when the world champion is awarded $20,580 (the sum of all the money in a standard Monopoly game) might be Orbanes’s speed die, which is being used for the first time.

The die accelerates the rate at which properties are purchased and, later in the game, increases the odds of players landing on built-up properties.

“With the speed die it’s not uncommon for a game to end in 60 or 70 minutes,” Orbanes said. “I created it, but it was need driven. It wasn’t, ‘What can I do to put my mark on the game?’ It was, ‘How can I satisfy this criticism that Monopoly takes too long so the game doesn’t fade in popularity?’”

Of course, Monopoly hasn’t needed much help. The game turns 75 years old in 2010, and according to Hasbro, is as popular as ever.

The secret to its lasting power? That’s easy, Orbanes said: no matter who’s playing, on a good day, even an 8-year-old can win.

“A friend of mine at Parker Brothers, Chris Campbell, once said, ‘Monopoly is 75 percent skill and 75 percent luck,’” Orbanes said. “There’s really a lot of wisdom behind that reply. In some games no matter how good your skill is, luck predominates. That’s the way it goes.”