Mathematicians reveal the secrets to getting an edge playing board games this Christmas… Including what to buy in Monopoly and which character to choose in Cluedo

Many of us who play board games with our families during the holidays are desperate for some form of competitive advantage.

But some crucial benefits, such as the best character to choose in Cluedo or which properties to buy in Monopoly, have now been revealed – thanks to math.

According to Professor Marcus du Sautoy, a mathematician from the University of Oxford, Mrs. Peacock is the best character to choose in Cluedo as she starts at a position on the board closest to the most rooms. In Monopoly you can make money by owning orange properties due to their proximity to the 'Prison' square.

The prison is twice as likely to be occupied as any other space on the board – visited by anyone who lands on the Go to Jail space, draws a card and sends them there, or is punished for throwing three doubles.

Players leaving prison are more likely to roll scores of six, seven, or eight, because two dice allow different combinations of these numbers.

Mrs. Peacock is the best character to choose in Cluedo as she starts closest to most of the rooms

This means that people have a high chance of ending up on an orange estate, and anyone who owns it should statistically cash in more often.

For those who enjoy the more solitary quest for Wordle, math can help solve a puzzle faster.

Professor du Sautoy, in his book Around the World in 80 Games, passes on advice from Professor Barry Smyth, a computer scientist at University College Dublin.

Guessing the word “cones” followed by “tasting” to gather information about the letters in a word can lead to success in just over 96 percent of games.

The book also offers advice for anyone playing Risk who thinks controlling Europe is best, as it only has seven lands to take but offers five bonus armies per turn.

But players are reminded that Europe also has four countries vulnerable to attack and eight invasion routes. So the best continent to control is North America, which generates a large number of bonus armies but is still relatively easy to defend, with only three vulnerable countries and three invasion routes.

Professor du Sautoy passes on advice from Professor Barry Smyth, a computer scientist at University College Dublin, in his book Around the World in 80 Games

The sad news for Scrabble enthusiasts is that using math, instead of impressive words, could help them win. Those who know a good selection of high-scoring two-letter words are very likely to emerge victorious.

For battleships, the advice is to hide your battleships in one area, rather than spreading them out, which increases the chance of fooling opponents.

Professor du Sautoy said: 'Underneath every game there is a bit of interesting mathematics. So if you understand the underlying math, it will give you an edge.

“That's why my family stopped playing games with me,” he said.