Some economists and mathematicians have been spending a lot of time thinking about Monopoly - and they've come up with some ideas that you should bear in mind if you are playing over the festive period.

• The average roll is seven
• One way or another players end up spending a lot of time in jail
• Building three houses on a street offers the best rewards

You want to buy up the areas that are around seven spaces away from the jail - the orange properties.

This is Pearse Street, Dame Street and Westmoreland Street on old school Irish Monopoly boards, or The Gaiety Theatre, The Olympia Theatre and The Abbey Theatre on newer versions.

If these tips don't work, you can always resort to the 'taking a few €500 notes when the banker isn't looking' method.