The Boy Scouts of America Monopoly tournament passed "Go" for the second year in a row Saturday.

The second annual tournament attracted plenty of scouts from around Thousand Oaks, but it also brought in some heavy hitters in the world of competitive Monopoly.

For starters, the participants were given a strategy session from the first Monopoly world champion, Lee Bayrd of West Los Angeles, who beat four challengers to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the popular board game in 1975.

Held at St. Paschal Bylon Catholic Church, the event also drew a handful of players who all frequent tournaments in the area and who compete professionally — and could be referred to as Monopoly sharks.

The tournament, however, was about the scouts. Fifty-two people registered Saturday morning to play. While the event raised money for the Boy Scout council's endowment to continue to offer scouting in the area, tournament proceeds also will go to a college scholarship for disadvantaged youths, according to organizers.

Last year, Lee Hess, tournament organizer and self-proclaimed "Monopoly-aholic," and other organizers set a modest goal of raising $1,000 or $2,000. To their surprise, the first tournament raised more than $7,000. "It was kind of beyond our wildest dreams," Hess said.

This year the hope was to double that amount, and organizers expected to achieve that.

It wasn't difficult to figure out what was going on in the church's hall on Saturday. The walls were lined with large posters resembling the spaces on the game's board, listing the event's sponsors. On the floor were a couple of dozen round tables, with Monopoly boards on them.

The play started with one 90-minute game with several people to a table.

After lunch, a raffle and an auction, a second 90-minute game was played. Then the top-six players (determined by total assets at the end of the games) moved on to the final game. That game was played until a winner was determined.

While the majority of people left the tournament as participants, not as champions, it was clear to everyone what makes Monopoly the type of game that can be played in large, officially sanctioned tournaments.

"It's a game that almost everyone knows how to play," Hess said.

While many play the game as a fun way to pass the time and socialize, others play it for the strategizing, much as in a good game of chess.

"It's all strategy and how to beat what the other players are doing, especially if you're playing someone who really knows what they're doing," said Kevin Morrow, 15, of Thousand Oaks.

"You always have to think several moves ahead of them, and they're thinking several moves ahead of you."