There are memories that transcend generations. Today's I Remember JFK reminiscence is one such. Odds our our parents enjoyed the game of Monopoly before we Boomer kids ever came along. But we certainly enjoyed it ourselves, as have our children and grandchildren.
There are probably few households in America that don't have a Monopoly set stashed in a closet somewhere. According to Hasbro, the current owner of the game, more that 750 million people have played Monopoly since it was patented in 1935. That makes it the most popular commercially sold board game in history.
Certainly, there are few Boomers out there who didn't have a well-worn game, probably handed down, that would be set up for play while you and your friends would debate about who would be the banker, who would handle the real estate deeds, and, most importantly, who got to use the race car.
Monopoly was devised by an unemployed heater salesman by the name of Charles Darrow in 1932. The Great depression was raging, and Darrow was looking for a way to make a buck.
In 1904, Elizabeth Magie patented a game that proved to be mildly successful called The Landlord's Game. It was actually a bit of a protest on her part to devise the game, as she was opposed to landlords getting wealthy at the expense of their repressed tenants.
Darrow had played The Landlord's Game, a favorite of intellectuals, but saw a need for a less stern version of the same game for the general masses. So in 1932, he created Monopoly.
Originally consisting of a round, hand-decorated oilcloth board with hand-carved houses and hotels and powered with dime store play money, Monopoly became a fast seller in Philadelphia department stores. Darrow struggled to keep up with the demand, and began farming out some of the printing work.
By 1934, he approached Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley with the idea of them purchasing the game. They both pooh-poohed it, Parker Brothers citing 52 fundamental errors. They felt that the game was too complex for the average masses.
Perhaps they should have played The Landlord's Game before meeting with Darrow.
Undaunted, Darrow began producing more compact versions of the game, and Philadelphia stores snatched them up. Seeing this, Parker Brothers reconsidered and purchased not only Monopoly, but also any lookalikes like The Landlord's Game. And Darrow, of course, went from rags to riches.
The set I played with was 1950's vintage. I remember the board being yellow, and I was delighted to find the image above (thanks, www.boardgamecompany.co.uk. Also, a big tip o' the hat to www.monopoly-history.com for the pic of the game tokens. I soon learned that the strategy is buy, buy, buy. He who gets three properties of the same color has the power. But as the game winds down, deals can be made to spread the wealth around and keep the action going. According to Hasbro, who now own Parker Brothers, one game went on for 70 days!
So here's to a big part of the memories of many generations: a friendly game of Monopoly.
Comments (5)
You mentioned the game that went on for 70 days. Here are some other statistics I found on the web:
Longest game ever played
In a treehouse---240 hours (10 days)
In a moving elevator---384 hours (16 days)
Underground---100 hours (4 days 4 hours)
In a bathtub---99 hours (4 days 3 hours)
On a balance beam---200 hours (8 days 8 hours)
Underwater---1,200 hours (50 days)
On the back of a fire truck---101 hours (4 days 5 hours)
Anti-gravitational game---36 hours
Largest outdoor game---938 x 765 feet
Largest indoor game---122 x 122 feet
Smallest game---1 square inch. for 30 hrs.
And here is a site that lists past and present versions of the game:
http://jergames.blogspot.com/2006/02/monopoly-versions.html
Posted by David S Paleg | January 23, 2008 11:00 AM
Posted on January 23, 2008 11:00
Great column. I remember one Summer playing one continuous game of monopoly with my neighbor. We were high school students. The reason it is so memorable is connected to what happened that ended the game. We'd been playing for weeks -- keeping it set up on her covered patio.
One day, while playing, a news flash came on saying that the Civil Rights Amendment had just passed. I jumped up and said something like "yahoo." Now, before I tell you what she said, let me explain that we were living in the South. My family was a NY transplant family. Her's was very Southern. She said, "well, maybe you want to eat and drink with them, but I don't"
I was mortified to hear such an opinion. My parents had been civil right's workers. Her words stung me. We NEVER played our Monopoly game again and we were barely even acquaintances after that.
Point: I love Monopoly ---- I hate bigotry. Don't mix them.
Keep the game fun. Thanks! Ann
Posted by Ann Fry | January 23, 2008 12:12 PM
Posted on January 23, 2008 12:12
Great post. I love Monopoly. The longest game I have ever played was about 4 hours. Thanks for the post.
Posted by Reach For The Stars | January 23, 2008 5:41 PM
Posted on January 23, 2008 17:41
This and Risk are the longest board games I've ever played. I've been involved in games of Risk that have lasted MONTHS.
Posted by rich | May 7, 2009 3:39 AM
Posted on May 7, 2009 03:39
What I really appreciate about our material culture, when there is little to appreciate, is the little bit of common experience and continuity it sometimes gives us as it does with Monopoly and Risk, too. Everyone knows and has played Monopoly. Generations of players. I played it at 9 or 10, 15, 17. I played Risk in high school and into adulthood. I recall Parchesi as fun though simple. Uno. The Game of Life. Sorry. But I do think Monopoly and Risk by far, excel above the rest. You can always alter rules to shorten the length of the game.
How odd that our culture should be defined by industry and marketing but when it comes to music, TV, movies, games, cars, and other such things, I am fine with it. It is odd that what eventually became a consistent material culture everyone everywhere shared in common, now there is so much diversity and competition from abroad, that we have too many choices and little in common. Different music choices, different entertainment, movie remakes, games, styles, cars all look similar since 80s with few exceptions.
And technology changes so quickly that what we have is not experienced by the next generation and there is a break and a divide between each successive generation. The Boomers were probably the longest running unity and continuity of culture we had at any time in our nation’s history. We were so lucky, Boomers. Part of the reason was that we did not have too many choices as we have now. We had 3 TV channels and only airwave broadcasts. We all went to bed before midnight as TV went off by then. Now we can stay up and always have TV, internet, etc. We got so many choices now. I loved being a boomer. Come on and testify, brothers and sisters ;-)
Posted by Scott I | May 7, 2009 9:30 PM
Posted on May 7, 2009 21:30