Monopoly
By Stephen Murray
The game of Monopoly is the one game almost everyone has
probably played at
some stage in their life. Who could forget the thrill of passing go and
collecting that
first 100 dollars....and then promptly losing it the next round with some fine...or
going “directly to jail”
There has been many different board pieces over the years
including very boring
wooden ones made during the second world war. My favourite piece was the
car...if some sod picked that before me Iwould get most upset. I was doomed to
lose, which I did most
of the time anyway. As it went on for hours, it would often
end in tears, such was the frustration
of landing on somebody’s house and hotel
crammed place on the board and losing the hard won cash.....cash, cash, cash.
That what Monopoly is all about, making money....the game
mirrors life quite nicely
with the fantasy of being successful. That driving force behind winning, and
making
the right decisions about what properties to buy, what to sell. Get it wrong , and
you lose everything.
I think that is why the game has been so successful, it
teaches us about the world of
finance before we really know anything about it.
But how did all start?
Charles Darrow
supposedly invented the game in the 1930’s...but he didn’t. He
successfully marketed the game and made it hot property. The real inventor
was a
Elizabeth Magie
(Timeless Toys Tim Walsh pg 45) who won a patent on a game
called The Landlord’s Game in 1903.
The Landlord’s Game has many features that Monopoly has, the
free parking, the
jail, and collecting 100. The game would improve over the years
leading up to
Charles Darrow’s final
touches and marketing skills, Ruth
Hoskins and her friends
renamed the properties to match the streets in their town and showed Charles the
game....Charles being a
desperate fellow, having been unemployed for three years
during the great depression saw
his chance. He gave it illustrations, more colour
and GO To Jail. The changes were inspired, the illustrations striking, it made all the
difference. He copyrighted his version in 1933 and began making copies to his \
friends and associates. (Timeless Toys pg 50 Tim Walsh)
The game took off, being the time of great depression it
must have taken the blues
away because it sold 20,000 copies a
week at one stage to keep up with demand
(Timeless Toys pg 53)
Parker Brother’s promoted the rag to riches story and
promoted the myth that
Charles was the sole inventor because it made for good PR (Timeless Toys pg 53)
The game has lasted the test of time and been hugely
successful, deserving its place
in popular culture.
