Monopoly or Monotomy

Have you ever wondered about the game of Monopoly and how it all began? Given the fact that the board depicts the status symbols of Britain, you would have thought it originated there! The game however, was created in the United States by Elizabeth J. Phillips or aka Lizzie in 1903 and was devised by Lizzie an anti-monopolist to illustrate the single tax theory by Henry George.

Who would have thought that my childhood game came from economic rationalizations and her determination to prove that land should not be concentrated in private monopolies! Maybe ASIC's king pins should play this game more often because single monopolies such as Coles and Woolworths thrive in a our current climate.

The original game was titled "The Landlord's Game" and published in 1906. So, what was happening in the world during this time: In Australia Alfred Deakin was our Priminister, Edward V11 was the British Monarchy, and Theodore Roosevelt was the President of The United States. Our first life saving club was established at Bondi Beach, and the first electric trams started running in Melbourne from St Kilda to Brighton. The top news story of the time was the San Francisco earthquate and the subsequent three day fires where over 500 people lost their lives.

How did the game evolve from "The Landord's Game" to the game we know to day? Well, according to here say, in 1932 a married friend of Lizzie's came to dinner with her husband Charles Darrow, who upon playing the game after dinner asked for the instructions. Well, that was a mistake and definitely one way to break up a friendship! By 1933 the game was called Monopoly and sold by the Parker Brothers. The board game at this stage was based on Atlantic City.

The U.K version as I know and loved from my childhood was created around 1935 after Waddington's the card making Company obtained a license to produce the game outside of America. The standard U.K board by Waddington's became the most favoured board across the Commonwealth. As an interesting side note, Waddingtons was approached by the Bristish Secret Service who asked them to produce a version with escape maps, a compass and real money that was then sent to World War 11 prisoners of war.

Today, the concept behind the Monopoly game has proliferated into many versions. We now have so many editions that it is becoming a hard act to keep track of them all, in fact there are over 300 different versions. There are now capital city Monopoly boards: Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Monopoly versions have also been inspired by the film and TV industry with Back to the Future, Star Trek and Game of Thrones.

How does my childhood game stack up against the other board games in the market? Wired magazine has the game as being very poorly designed. They base this on the tactics behind the game where you basically grind your opponent into the dust and all you achieve is a negative feeling. Boardgame Geeks goes as far as ranking the game in the top 20 worst games ever produced across 10,000 games on their database.

I cannot say I am such a harsh critic. However, I will reflect upon my experiences of the game. All in all it is a game of trading, it's relatively easy to learn, your decision making is determined by the role of the dice, and your luck is also determined by the role of the dice. The game can be extremely long and yes you can be distracted. You may even eye off the bank and think when my brother turns his head, I may just acquire a little more cash! Did I say that! Mmmmm! Well lets just not tell my brother. You may even change the nature of the game by placing the 'fines' money under the free parking square. Like most people you do have fond memories of the game, but in my case that was probably due to me winning most of the time, and the fact that aside from scrabble, it was the only other game in the house. Are there better games out there? Yes, today's strategy games are more complex, intriguing and more exciting!

Nevertheless, most homes have a Monopoly game and it continues to attract an audience. Across the globe, national championships are held, and the winners are applauded. Including Australia's national champion Tony Shaw.

Some interesting facts: The longest game lasted 70 days, the original game came with ten tokens: An iron, purse, lantern, race car, thimble, shoe, top hat, battleship, cannon and a rocking horse, more than one billion people have played Monopoly, the original game sold for only two dollars, and the total amount of money in a classic Monopoly game is $20,580.

Well that me "monopolied" out! I do have a favourite Monopoly game though! It's a variant called 'Over-The-Hill-Opoly. If the game is going to last for 2 - 3 hours your might as well have a laugh at your own expense by landing on such playing squares as: Memory tax, or handing over your cash due to medicare premiums, and lets not forget the great things you are able to buy like dentures, and bifocals.

The Games Squad - Your indoor games specialists!