Say board game and most people think of Monopoly. Games don’t get any more iconic than Monopoly. Monopoly brings back memories of playing with my grandpa and brother. And learning that even a nice grandpa becomes ruthless when playing Monopoly.
Monopoly was first sold by Parker Brothers in 1935. Monopoly was based upon a game created by Elizabeth Magie called The Landlord’s Game which she self published in 1906. From 1935 to 1991 Parker Brothers only published regular and deluxe versions of Monopoly. Since Hasbro acquired Parker Brothers in 1991 hundreds of versions of Monopoly have been released. These versions have been themed from I Love Lucy to Metallica to Harley Davidson to My Little Pony.
Game play is simple. Players roll two dice to move around the edge of the board which is made up of color coded properties. If you roll doubles you get to move that amount and play again. Roll doubles three times in a row and you go to Jail and Do Not Pass Go and Do Not Collect $200. If you land on a property owned by another player you pay rent to the owner otherwise it goes to the bank. If a player owns all the properties of a color then they have a ‘Monopoly’ and the rent goes up. Properties in a monopoly can be improved to raise rents by building houses and then a hotel. Chance and Community Chest cards add random events. When you Pass Go you collect $200. You win by making the other players go bankrupt.
One rumor is that during WWII, the British created a special set of Monopoly that included tools to aid Allied prisoners of war escape the Nazis. The games were distributed to POW camps where the POWs put the secret maps, real money and tools to good use! After hearing this as a kid, I put a false bottom in our Monopoly box and hid my secret stuff there.
Phrases from Monopoly have become part of American culture such as “Don’t pass Go. Don’t collect $200” and “Get Out of Jail Free card”.
Monopoly is probably the game that spawned the most “house rules” and arguments about those rules! I never read the rule book because I was taught as a kid and those “house rules” were passed down generation to generation. Family variations cover trading properties, getting out of jail, free parking and even dealing out properties to speed up play.
Cool kids always play as the battleship!
The Good: A True Classic. Started our family’s board gaming.
The Bad: Arguments about the rules! Talk about “house rules” before starting! The Dastardly: Your grandpa taking all of your properties and money.