The other day, I mentioned \u201cclassic\u201d board games. I figure that probably one of the most classic board games has to be Monopoly. It\u2019s been around longer than I have and even has an official birthday \u2014 March 19. That\u2019s the date Parker Brothers acquired the rights for the game from Charles Darrow, the original inventor of the game \u2014 or at least he claims to be the inventor of the game. Apparently the very first edition of the game that would later become Monopoly was invented by Elizabeth Magie about 30 years before Charles Darrow sold the game to Parker Brothers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly, the original game was designed to help people understand taxes. That may be why a lot of kids today think the game is so boring. Elizabeth Magie\u2019s (who is credited with putting together the first version of the game) goal was to not only understand the tax system better but also real estate. Her name for the game that became Monopoly was \u201cThe Landlord\u2019s Game,\u201d and it was meant as a parody of a growing commercial practice as well as an educational tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Charles Darrow made a few tweaks to Magie\u2019s idea and sold the game to Parker Brothers, after the company initially rejected it due to 52 \u201cfundamental errors\u201d such as the length and complexity of the game. Obviously, Parker Brothers later changed their mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The original game is based on real-life places in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But Monopoly is truly an international game \u2014 it\u2019s been sold in 114 countries and translated into 47 languages. More than 300 versions of Monopoly have been created, including \u201cStar Wars,\u201d \u201cPokemon,\u201d and \u201cGame of Thrones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The little \u201cMonopoly Man\u201d pictured on all the games was inspired by J.P. Morgan, a banker who helped finance the construction of railroads and organized several major corporations including General Electric. Even though the character was inspired by J.P. Morgan, the Monopoly mascot has a real name \u2014 Rich Uncle Pennybags. Pennybags has become the face of Monopoly and is generally known as \u201cMr. Monopoly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other characters on the board have names too\u2026 that unfortunate guy in jail is \u201cJake the Jailbird\u201d and the bobby hauling Jake away is named Officer Edgar Mallory. Mallory\u2019s name is actually a play on an old stereotype of the Irish cop \u2014 an image popular in the early 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every standard game of Monopoly contains $15,140. Parker Brothers prints about 50 billion dollars in Monopoly money every year \u2014 that\u2019s more than twice as much money as the U.S. Mint prints in actual money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may have noticed, there\u2019s no inflation in Monopoly \u2014 values on the game board are the same today as they were in 1935.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parker Brothers has manufactured over 5 billion green houses \u2014 I guess that makes them the largest real estate builder.The original Monopoly game sold for $2 \u2014 they cost around $20 today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had heard that the most landed on square in Monopoly was Illinois Avenue, but my extensive research couldn\u2019t confirm that\u2026. it appears the top three most landed on spaces are Jail, Illinois Avenue and Go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The original board pieces were inspired by Charles Darrow\u2019s niece and were created to resemble figures on her charm bracelet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And finally \u2014 if you think about it, this should come as no surprise, there is a special Monopoly version available just for cheaters \u2014 called “Monopoly: Cheaters Edition.” It was launched in 2018 and has incorporated cheating into the rules. In this version of the game, players can attempt to get away with \u201cborrowing\u201d money from the bank, skipping spaces and avoiding rent payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So if you\u2019re looking for a \u201cclassic\u201d board game \u2014 if you can sort through all the special editions to find it \u2014 Monopoly may be for you\u2026..\u00a0
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The other day, I mentioned \u201cclassic\u201d board games. I figure that probably one of the most classic board games has to be Monopoly. It\u2019s been around longer than I have and even has an official birthday \u2014 March 19. That\u2019s … Continue reading