# 1: Monopoly
208 Points (On 11 of 14 lists)
Highest Vote: (#1 by Mrs. Dick Courier)
Publication Date: 1933
Number of Players: 2-8
Designed by: Charles Darrow, George S. Parker, Elizabeth J. Magie Philips
Publisher: Parker Brothers
Description:The classic real estate game. Buy properties, build houses and hotels, collect rent from fellow players. Repeat as necessary until everyone else is bankrupt.
In the USA in 1933, Charles Darrow devised Monopoly. The patent was filed 31st August 1935 while the game was on sale in America. Based on an earlier game, The Landlord's Game, it was at first rejected by Parker Bros., as being too complicated to be a success. How wrong could they be! It came to the UK in 1936, made under license by Waddingtons. Darrow died in 1967 having realized he had developed one of the most successful board games of all times. It was awarded as Game of the Century by the TRA (Toy Retailers Association).
Monopoly was patented in 1935 by Charles Darrow and released by Parker Brothers. The game was actually one of a number of variants in existence at the time, all of which date back to an earlier, 1904 game by Elizabeth J. Magie, called The Landlord's Game. Magie was a proponent of the Single Tax put forth by famous author Henry George. The game was designed to show how the Single Tax would work - players could choose to play under regular rules or alternate "Single Tax" rules.
The game didn't really go anywhere and Magie lost interest in it. Variations of the game evolved, however, and homemade versions traveled up and down the Atlantic coast and even as far west as Michigan and Texas, being developed all along the way. Eventually the game was noticed by Charles Darrow who introduced it to the world in its current form.
Hey, How Do I Win This? Be the last player with any money.
Fun Gaming Facts:The spaces on the board are all based on locations in Atlantic City.
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
Early versions of the game all contained $15,140 in currency. In editions released after 2008, the game contains $20,580 instead as the quantity of certain bills were changed.
The pieces in the game: Wheelbarrow, Battleship, sack of money, man on horseback, racecar, Train, thimble, howitzer, shoe, dog, iron, top hat, and in Oz, a koala. Retired pieces include a rocking horse, purse and lantern.
In 2000, FAO Schwartz produced a "One of a Kind Monopoly" which sold for $100,000. (In real money, not monopoly money.) The pieces, houses and hotels are made of gold, the board is rosewood, the street names are in gold leaf, rubies, sapphires and emeralds are all used on the board. Oh, and the game included real cash instead of Monopoly money.
Hasbro states that the longest game of Monopoly ever played lasted 1,680 hours (70 days or 10 weeks or 2⅓ months).
Monopoly was banned in the USSR until 1987.
Two game shows have been spawned from Monopoly. As has the McDonalds Monopoly game. (Which these days is run by Albertsons, I think.)
Last month, a Kickstarter project was "The Doom That Came to Atlantic City" which was a boardgame that mixed Monopoly with Cthulhu. It was successfully funded.
Many inversions of Monopoly exist- Anti-Monopoly, where players try to break apart a monopolized city, The Mad Magazine Game, where players try to be the first to lose all their money and Go For Broke, where players were also trying to lose all their money.
Licensed versions include Kissopoly, Word of Warcraft, Simpsons, Disney, the Office, Nascar, NFL, The Godftaher, the Beatles, Klingon , Spongebob, Batman, Bass Lakes Fishing, Best Buy, BBK Clinical Research, Duel Monsters, Coke, Futurama, Justice League, Muppets, Mayberry, American Idol, QVC, Treehouse of Horror, Seinfeld, Star Trek, Transformers, the Wizard of Oz and many American cities and states.
And yes, of course, Hello Kitty.
Dice:Yes! Two six sided dice. Recent edition also include a third "speed die."
Purple and Orange?:Yes. While all the pieces are silver (or gold), several of the properties are purple (Baltic and Atlantic) or Orange (The New York Ave set.)
Awards & Stuff:Games Magazine Hall of Fame.
Related Games that Received Votes:Related Games that Didn't Receive Votes:Solarquest, which combines Monopoly with blowing stuff up with lasers.
Hey! It's an Amazon link with the price! $21.49 Next Turn:None! It's over! Final thoughts in a sec.
Topic: LoC #62 - Top 50 Tabletop Games (Read 44085 times)
