I was reading a book on game history and found a fact about Monopoly that floored me

I picked up 'The Monopolists' from the library and learned the game's roots are in a 1903 anti-landlord game called 'The Landlord's Game'. It was meant to show how rents make people poor, which is the total opposite of how we play now. Does this change how anyone else sees the classic game in their collection?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucaslee18d ago

Actually read that book too. The 1903 game was more like a teaching tool about rent, but Monopoly as we know it came from people playing their own versions in the 1930s. Parker Brothers bought the rights from a guy who learned one of those homemade versions. So the anti landlord idea got lost way before it hit store shelves. It's a weird twist for a game about bankrupting your friends.

the_paul14d ago

So the game about crushing landlords got turned into a game about BEING the landlord? That's the most capitalist plot twist ever. They took a lesson on why rent is bad and turned it into a dream where owning Boardwalk is the only goal. It's like if someone made a game about the dangers of smoking where you win by buying the biggest cigarette factory.

andrewr6518d ago

Always thought it was just some old board game nobody questioned. @lucaslee that context totally flips it for me. The original point getting stripped out makes the whole thing feel kinda hollow now. Wild how a game about crushing your friends started as a lesson against being a landlord.