Monopoly–the bane or blessing of family game night. To some, a civil competition of who can best manage their assets as the best capitalist. But to the vast majority of others, Monopoly is a cutthroat war dedicated to silencing the opposition so one can reign supreme. It is long, arduous, and borderline masochistic. Why oh why, then, is such a painful board game so popular? Well, it is actually by design.

Monopoly as we know it was created by Charles B. Darrow in 1935. He sold the idea to Parker Brothers, a game manufacturer, which led to Monopoly skyrocketing in popularity during the Great Depression as a form of escapism from the woes of economic strife. But, his form of Monopoly was the bastardized echo of the original game patented by Lizzie Magie in 1904 called the Landlord’s Game.

Lizzie Magie was a devout follower of Georgism, a radical economic theory proposed by Henry George. His theory was that utilizing a singular tax based on land value would lead to greater economic equality. His theories were incredibly popular, but his death in 1897 quelled supporters of his ideas. Magie remained devoutly loyal and aimed to return the previous fervor to his plans. So, she devised a board game to educate the masses on the merits of Georgism and point out the harmful class division in society. Thus, The Landlord’s Game came to fruition as US patent no. 748,626.

Many aspects of The Landlord’s Game are similar to modern-day Monopoly, from the “jail” space to the design of the board itself. But the key difference was in how the game was played. The Landlord’s Game had two versions: Monopoly and Anti-Monopoly. Monopoly had the rules we know and love, all aimed at establishing one monopoly. Anti-Monopoly was the antithesis of Monopoly; everyone worked together to create collective wealth. Magie hoped that by players playing through both versions of the game, they would realize Anti-Monopoly was the better, more moral economic system, and thus would adopt her beliefs. She tried to sell it to Parker Brothers, but was shot down. Unfortunately, The Landlord’s Game was not very popular with the American public. Well, all except for one demographic: economics students.

Turns out, colleges bought the board game as a teaching aid for economics students. They ended up enjoying their “lesson” so much, they began to create pirate copies of the games to give to their friends in other classes or their families. As homemade versions of The Landlord’s Game spread, the rules morphed and changed. The Anti-Monopoly rule set became obsolete as players found the Monopoly rule set more fun to play. After all, who doesn’t want to bankrupt their friends? In the process, however, the message of the game for a more equitable society was lost. Ironically, the ruleset that was meant to be difficult and “unfun” became the de facto game. 

This leads us back to Charles Darrow. In 1932, Darrow was introduced to one of these homemade copies by childhood friends. He was enamored by the game and asked his friend, Charles Todd, to give him a copy of the board and rules. Darrow had just lost his job as a victim of the Great Depression and hoped the game would give him the break he desperately needed. Fortunately for him, Parker Brothers was also down on their luck. So, in 1935, they bought the rights to the game that they rejected 31 years ago. With it, Magie’s legacy was swept under the rug. She would not be rediscovered until the 1970s during an investigation into the Parker Brothers’ trademark on Monopoly.

With the tumultuous name-sake history of such a board game, one cannot help but wonder what could have happened if Magie’s original game had reached the success Monopoly has nowadays. Would anything have actually changed? Or would we still pick Monopoly over Anti-Monopoly? Regardless, in either timeline, we would still cry over landing on our friend’s property space. 

Information retrieved from The British Library, Britannica Encyclopedia, and KPBS.