MONOPOLY History

Today, an estimated 480 million players from around the globe have been mesmerized by the MONOPOLY game since its creation in 1935. It remains a classic, passed down from generation to generation, making it the world's most popular game.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN
It was a dream and a piece of oilcloth. In 1933, Charles B. Darrow played a game on oil cloth on his kitchen table, fell in love with the game's exciting promise of fame and fortune, produced his own version and sold them one by one to friends and family. When demand for the game grew beyond his ability to fill orders, he brought the game to Parker Brothers who first rejected it on the basis there were 52 design errors.

Undaunted, Darrow continued to produce handmade editions on his own and was highly successful. Parker Brothers caught wind of the success and decided to buy the rights to the game. In 1935, owned by Parker Brothers, the MONOPOLY game became America's best selling game, and the rest is history!

AN INEXPLICABLE APPEAL
There is no accounting for the unrivaled devotion that the MONOPOLY game has garnered over the past sixty years. Some say it is the chance to build a fortune, take a risk, make an acquisition. Others insist it is the drama of competition. Edward P. Parker, former president of Parker Brothers suggested that the magic of the game MONOPOLY is "clobbering your best friend without doing any damage." With America struggling through the Great Depression of the 1930's, the MONOPOLY game offered the vicarious thrill of getting rich quick. In every era, the game provides players with the chance to fantasize. A sixth grader controls the railroads. A neighbor goes to prison. A wife seizes all of her husband's assets. A brother drives his sibling into bankruptcy. A child owns property.

Whatever the reason, the game MONOPOLY has inspired not only worldwide popularity, but also a long list of sensational stories and remarkable records.

THE CRAZIEST PLACES
While most players are content playing the MONOPOLY game on a card table or their living room floor, others choose more exotic locales for their games. The MONOPOLY game has gone to sea countless times. In 1983, the Buffalo Dive Club played for 1,080 hours -- underwater. Some 350 divers took turns to keep play going for 45 consecutive days. The game was even the favorite pastime on board the U.S. submarine, Seawolf, during a 60-day submersion.

The MONOPOLY game has also reached toward the skies -- a record has been established for the longest game in a tree house (240 hours). On a somewhat higher level, the West German MONOPOLY championship was once held on Zugspitze, the highest peak in the German Alps.

The game has had its ups and downs -- a 10-day game was once played in a moving elevator and a group of the MONOPOLY game fanatics battled the forces of gravity for 36 hours, setting a record for the longest inverted game.

PECULIAR SIZES
Sometimes, circumstances call for a special MONOPOLY set to be used. The students of Juniata College in Huntington, PA had a "big idea" in the spring of 1987 and turned part of their campus into a MONOPOLY board larger than a city block. Giant foam rubber cubes were used for dice, and bicycle messengers with walkie-talkies kept players informed of their moves.

In 1964, Parker Brothers built a special set for New England Divers, Inc. to use underwater. The special steel-backed board was laminated with cellophane and weighed 95 pounds. Conversely, the lightest recorded MONOPOLY game measured up at a mere one square inch.

In 1978, Neiman Marcus demonstrated its good taste by offering a $600 full-size chocolate MONOPOLY game in its Christmas catalog. Requests came pouring in from chocolate and game lovers alike. And in 1991, the Franklin Mint issued a collectible MONOPOLY game selling for $550 that included gold and silver pieces.

ATLANTIC CITY BLINKED
As many true devotees know, the MONOPOLY game properties were named for Atlantic City streets -- and not the other way around. When the famous seaside resort tried changing some of the street names made famous by the game, it stirred a passionate national uprising.

The year was 1972, and Atlantic City was launching a campaign to improve its image. One element of this campaign was a proposal by the Commissioner of Public Works to change the names of Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues to Fairmont and Melrose.

News of the proposed change sent shock waves through the MONOPOLY game playing public. When the Commission met at a public hearing to vote on the issue, they were joined by hundreds of enthusiasts who came to plead for saving the names.

Perhaps the argument that moved the Commissioner most was contained in a letter from then Parker Brothers president Edward P. Parker, who wrote, "Would you like to be the man to tell a MONOPOLY fanatic from California that the streets he came to see no longer exist? Would you be willing to take the responsibility for an invasion by hordes of protesting MONOPOLY players, all demanding that you go directly to jail, without even the dignity of passing GO?"

The Commissioner had heard enough. A vote was taken and the outcome was unanimous -- the names Baltic and Mediterranean would remain on the street signs and roadmaps of Atlantic City, a sweet victory for the MONOPOLY game lovers everywhere.

THE MONOPOLY GAME MAGIC AROUND THE WORLD
Many people consider the MONOPOLY game the quintessential American game, as it provides players with the opportunity to make their fortune. However, American as it may seem, the game has been embraced by the rest of the world as well.

The MONOPOLY game is licensed in more than 45 countries and the list continues to grow. The 26 languages in which the game is printed include Italian, Indian, Arabic, Portuguese, Croatian, Czech, Icelandic and Russian. Most foreign editions adopt their own currency and property names -- for example, Boardwalk becomes Mayfair in England, Rue de la Paix in France and Schlossallee in Germany.

THE WIDE WORLD OF THE MONOPOLY GAME
While some MONOPOLY game players are content with trouncing their sibling or best friend at the game, others crave more widespread competition. To accommodate the most die-hard of competitors, the MONOPOLY tournaments have been created on local, national and international levels. The World Championship, which first began in 1973, has been held in many prestigious locations and most recently, in 1996, in Monte Carlo. The current World Champion is Christopher Wu from Hong Kong.

from hasbro.com

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