Monopoly is an American board game published by Parker Brothers. The game is named after the economic concept of monopoly, the domination of a market by a single entity.
The history of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903 when an American woman named Elizabeth (Lizzie) J. Magie Phillips created a game through which she hoped to be able to explain the single tax theory of Henry George (it was intended to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies). Her game, The Landlord's Game, was commercially published in 1923.
A series of variant board games based on her concept were developed
from 1906 through the 1930s that involved the buying and selling of land
and the development of that land. By 1934, a board game called Monopoly
had been created which formed the basis of the game sold by Parker
Brothers and its parent companies through the rest of the 20th century,
and into the 21st. Several people, mostly in the Midwestern United
States and near the East Coast, contributed to the game's design and
evolution. By the 1970s, the idea that the game had been created solely
by Charles Darrow had become popular folklore: it was printed in the game's instructions and even in the 1974 book The Monopoly Book: Strategy and Tactics of the World's Most Popular Game by Maxine Brady.
In 1941, the British Secret Service had John Waddington Ltd., the licensed manufacturer of the game outside the U.S., create a special edition for World War II prisoners of war held by the Nazis. Hidden inside these games were maps, compasses,
real money, and other objects useful for escaping. They were
distributed to prisoners by Secret Service-created fake charity groups.
Because of the lengthy court process and appeals, the legal status of Parker Brothers' trademarks on the game was not settled until the late 1970s. Ralph Anspach won a lawsuit over his game Anti-Monopoly on appeals in 1979, as the 9th District Court determined that the trademark Monopoly was generic, and therefore unenforceable. Criticisms
Wired magazine believes Monopoly is a poorly designed game. Former Wall Streeter Derk Solko explains, "Monopoly has you grinding your opponents into dust. It's a very negative experience. It's all about cackling when your opponent lands on your space and you get to take all their money.
Most of the 3 to 4-hour average playing time is spent waiting for other players to play their turn. "Board game enthusiasts disparagingly call this a 'roll your dice, move your mice' format.
The history of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903 when an American woman named Elizabeth (Lizzie) J. Magie Phillips created a game through which she hoped to be able to explain the single tax theory of Henry George (it was intended to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies). Her game, The Landlord's Game, was commercially published in 1923.
A series of variant board games based on her concept were developed
from 1906 through the 1930s that involved the buying and selling of land
and the development of that land. By 1934, a board game called Monopoly
had been created which formed the basis of the game sold by Parker
Brothers and its parent companies through the rest of the 20th century,
and into the 21st. Several people, mostly in the Midwestern United
States and near the East Coast, contributed to the game's design and
evolution. By the 1970s, the idea that the game had been created solely
by Charles Darrow had become popular folklore: it was printed in the game's instructions and even in the 1974 book The Monopoly Book: Strategy and Tactics of the World's Most Popular Game by Maxine Brady.
In 1941, the British Secret Service had John Waddington Ltd., the licensed manufacturer of the game outside the U.S., create a special edition for World War II prisoners of war held by the Nazis. Hidden inside these games were maps, compasses,
real money, and other objects useful for escaping. They were
distributed to prisoners by Secret Service-created fake charity groups.Because of the lengthy court process and appeals, the legal status of Parker Brothers' trademarks on the game was not settled until the late 1970s. Ralph Anspach won a lawsuit over his game Anti-Monopoly on appeals in 1979, as the 9th District Court determined that the trademark Monopoly was generic, and therefore unenforceable. Criticisms
Wired magazine believes Monopoly is a poorly designed game. Former Wall Streeter Derk Solko explains, "Monopoly has you grinding your opponents into dust. It's a very negative experience. It's all about cackling when your opponent lands on your space and you get to take all their money.
Most of the 3 to 4-hour average playing time is spent waiting for other players to play their turn. "Board game enthusiasts disparagingly call this a 'roll your dice, move your mice' format.