Monopoly Game Rules. The player then follows the instructions on the card. Player can also buy houses and hotels to place on properties, which increase the amount of rent another player will owe if they land on a property. Players can buy, sell, and trade properties between each other too. Monopoly is the classic fast-dealing property trading board game. Find all of the latest versions in the store, play free online games, and watch videos all on the official Monopoly website!

*Monopoly*
The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game
Designer(s)	Lizzie Magie^[1]^[2] Charles Darrow
Publisher(s)
Publication date	1935; 84 years ago
Genre(s)	Board game
Players	Some versions 2–6 Other versions 2–10
Setup time	5–10 minutes
Playing time	60–240 minutes (1–4 hours) [average]
Random chance	High (dice rolling, card drawing)
Skill(s) required

A British edition of Monopoly

Monopoly is a board game currently published by Hasbro. In the game, players roll two six-sided dice to move around the game board, buying and trading properties, and developing them with houses and hotels. Players collect rent from their opponents, with the goal being to drive them into bankruptcy. Money can also be gained or lost through Chance and Community Chest cards, and tax squares; players can end up in jail, which they cannot move from until they have met one of several conditions. The game has numerous house rules, and hundreds of different editions exist, as well as many spin-offs and related media. Monopoly has become a part of international popular culture, having been licensed locally in more than 103 countries and printed in more than 37 languages.

Monopoly is derived from The Landlord's Game created by Lizzie Magie in the United States in 1903 as a way to demonstrate that an economy which rewards wealth creation is better than one where monopolists work under few constraints,^[1] and to promote the economic theories of Henry George—in particular his ideas about taxation.^[3] It was first published by Parker Brothers in 1935. The game is named after the economic concept of monopoly—the domination of a market by a single entity.

1History
2Board
- 2.3Post-2005 variations
3Equipment
- 3.5Money
- 3.6Tokens
4Rules
- 4.1Official rules
5Strategy
6Related games
- 6.1Add-ons
7Media
8Tournaments
9Variants

History[edit]

Early history[edit]

Lizzie Magie's 1904 board design

The history of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903,^[1] when American anti-monopolist Lizzie Magie created a game which she hoped would explain the single tax theory of Henry George. It was intended as an educational tool to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies. She took out a patent in 1904. Her game, The Landlord's Game, was self-published, beginning in 1906.^[4]

Magie created two sets of rules: an anti-monopolist set in which all were rewarded when wealth was created, and a monopolist set in which the goal was to create monopolies and crush opponents.^[5]

Several variant board games, based on her concept, were developed from 1906 through the 1930s; they involved both the process of buying land for its development and the sale of any undeveloped property. Cardboard houses were added, and rents were increased as they were added to a property. Magie patented the game again in 1923.^[6]

According to an advertisement placed in The Christian Science Monitor, Charles Todd of Philadelphia recalled the day in 1932 when his childhood friend, Esther Jones, and her husband Charles Darrow came to their house for dinner. After the meal, the Todds introduced Darrow to The Landlord's Game, which they then played several times. The game was entirely new to Darrow, and he asked the Todds for a written set of the rules. After that night, Darrow went on to utilize this and distribute the game himself as Monopoly. Because of this act the Todds refused to speak to Darrow ever again.^[7]

After the game's excellent sales during the Christmas season of 1934, Parker Brothers bought the game's copyrights from Darrow.^[8] When the company learned Darrow was not the sole inventor of the game, it bought the rights to Magie's patent for just $500.^[9]

Parker Brothers began selling the game on February 6, 1935.^[10] Cartoonist F. O. Alexander contributed the design.^[11] U. S. patent number US 2026082 A was issued to Charles Darrow on December 31, 1935, for the game board design and was assigned to Parker Brothers Inc.^[12] The original version of the game in this format was based on the streets of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1936–1970[edit]

In 1936, Parker Brothers began licensing the game for sale outside the United States. In 1941, the British Secret Intelligence Service had John Waddington Ltd., the licensed manufacturer of the game in the United Kingdom, create a special edition for World War II prisoners of war held by the Nazis.^[13] Hidden inside these games were maps, compasses, real money, and other objects useful for escaping. They were distributed to prisoners by fake charity organizations created by the British Secret Service.^[14]

In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, the German government and its collaborators were displeased with Dutch people using Monopoly Game sets with American or British locales, and developed a version with Dutch locations. Since that version had in itself no specific pro-Nazi elements, it continued in use after the war, and formed the base for Monopoly games used in the Netherlands up to the present.

1970s–1980s[edit]

Economics professor Ralph Anspach published a game Anti-Monopoly in 1973, and was sued for trademark infringement by Parker Brothers in 1974. The case went to trial in 1976. Anspach won on appeals in 1979, as the 9th Circuit Court determined that the trademark Monopoly was generic and therefore unenforceable.^[15] The United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case, allowing the appellate court ruling to stand. This decision was overturned by the passage of Public Law 98-620 in 1984.^[16]^[17] With that law in place, Parker Brothers and its parent company, Hasbro, continue to hold valid trademarks for the game Monopoly. However, Anti-Monopoly was exempted from the law and Anspach later reached a settlement with Hasbro and markets his game under license from them.^[18]

The research that Anspach conducted during the course of the litigation was what helped bring the game's history before Charles Darrow into the spotlight.^[15]

Hasbro ownership[edit]

In 1991, Hasbro acquired Parker Bros. and thus Monopoly.^[19] Before the Hasbro acquisition, Parker Bros. acted as a publisher only issuing two versions at a time, a regular and deluxe. Hasbro moved to create and license other versions and involve the public in varying the game.^[20] A new wave of licensed products began in 1994, when Hasbro granted a license to USAopoly to begin publishing a San Diego Edition of Monopoly,^[19]^[21] which has since been followed by over a hundred more licensees including Winning Moves G

Instructions For Monopoly Game