Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game - And How It Got That Way

Monopoly is the world's most famous proprietary game: but why has it proven such an outstanding success over competitors? Monopoly, game fans and public libraries alike will find engrossing MONOPOLY: THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS GAME, which offers insight into the history and developers of the game. Chapters describe the game's creation, marketing, evolution, and attractions and include many insights on how the Internet and technological advancements have changed the game. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Very good book if you want to know how the board game got started...

"Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200" You probably know this phrase even if you aren't an enthusiast for the game Monopoly, because the game has so completely infiltrated into not only American but also worldwide culture. It doesn't have the history of chess or backgammon, but Monopoly is in its own way a classic. Since it was introduced in 1935, it has sold over a quarter of a billion copies all over the world, so the business game is an overwhelming business success. In _Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game & How It Got That Way_ (Da Capo Press), Philip E. Orbanes shows how millions of players, racing around a board by throws of dice, building pretend houses and hotels, and extracting rents of phony money, have not only reflected the American economy, but have affected that economy and the economy of the world and its attitudes toward free enterprise. Orbanes is fitting as author for a book like this; he had done R & D for Parker Brothers, is a president of his own game company, and is a chief judge in national and international Monopoly championships. The history of ancient classic games is often obscure, but Monopoly was invented; it had predecessors and was modified into its current form. It started off as "The Landlord's Game" which was patented by Lizzie Magie in 1904, not just as a game but as a way of showing the unfairness of rents and the benefits of a single tax. George Parker, of the game manufacturer Parker Brothers, himself tried it in 1909 and thought it was too complicated and pedantic. Economics professors and their students liked the game, but only after an unemployed plumbing repairman, Charles Darrow, was invited by friends to play their version, was Monopoly born. Darrow loved the game, and set about making his own version, typing Community Chest cards, buying play money from the dime store, and cutting houses and hotels from wood moldings. He made the familiar colors for the properties and made a board that looks almost the same as the current version. He sold it to department stores, and then to Parker Brothers in 1935; the firm has continued the the myth that the game sprung fully formed from Darrow's brain and hand, but Orbanes's history shows a more complicated origin. The game spread all over the world, with some pockets of resistance. The communists didn't like Monopoly, and resented that it had an underground following. When there was the American National Exhibition at the Moscow Trade Fair in 1959 (famous for the Nixon-Khrushchev kitchen debate), the model American home had a game in progress on a table in the living room. Russians wondered why they couldn't play it, too. Monopoly was officially published in Russia in 1987, and the Soviet system fell three years later. In this day of computer and video games, people still sit down for an unelectrified Monopoly game, played the way their grandparents did seventy years ago. The game is cheap, and since retailers know they will be selling a s

More than you ever imagined there was to know about a board game. If there is anyone more qualified to write this book than Orbanes, then you would have to conclude that he or she had spent far, far too much time in the search for trivia. Orbanes served as Senior VP of Research and Development at Parker Brothers, the owner of the game. During his many years associated with the game he has collected an amazing number of facts, friends, games and memorabilia. Not only that, but he served as the judge for the world championships for many years, so he knows the big name players, has discussed their strategy with them, has been with when they won or lost. This has got to be the ultimate book about the game. The only thing I can think of that he hasn't done is develop a Monopoly version of Trivial Persuit.

Monopoly's impact on world history is truly amazing. As one of six children, Monopoly was a beloved favorite in my family. But, I had no idea how much more than "just a game" it is! The author takes you on a 100 year journey from the mind of Lizzie Phillips (who conceived Monopoly's forerunner as a political tool) to radical professor Scott Nearing (who popularized the game), through movers in the Roosevelt Adminstration, and on to Parker Brothers who published Monopoly and spread it worldwide. The Monopoly game helped prisoners escape in WWII, served in the Cold War, and on and on. Along the way, hundreds of millions of players played it, competed in tournaments, and absorbed it into our culture in more ways than I could have imagined. I also learned the best properties to buy, and the appendices list every version published, which is great in case you want to start collecting. I loved this book and highly recommend it as a fascinating, well-researched, delightful read!