Monopoly is one of the oldest board games that is still played continuously by everyone.
The game traces its roots back to World War II. According to Business Insider, the British secret service reportedly used Monopoly boxes to smuggle escape supplies to POWs in Germany. The boxes contained metal files and real money. They also used silk escape maps because they made less noise than paper.
The game's location was based on the locations of places in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Some of it may not be there anymore, but the game captured everyone's interest and has been sold in 114 countries.
Although the game is based on real-life places in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Monopoly is truly an international phenomenon.
Since its release to the public in 1935, there is no denying the popularity of the board game Monopoly. More than 250 million copies of the Monopoly board game have been purchased. With that, let us uncover the facts about the game that are very rarely known by the general public.
Facts About Monopoly
A Woman Originally Created the Game
Monopoly was not created by Charles Darrow. It is widely known that Darrow was the one who created the game since he was the one who pitched the idea of the game to the Parker Brothers.
According to MonopolyLand, the one who created the board game is a woman named Elizabeth Magie, which she originally called "Landlord's Game."
Even though she self-circulated the game for a while, it never fully caught on until Darrow claimed it and pitched his own version to Parker Brothers.
Magie lives in the United States and created the game in 1903 as a method to criticize the monopolists of the day.
J.P. Morgan
At the time that the character of Mr. Monopoly was first formed, he did not have a name. However, his appearance was based on that of J.P. Morgan.
It has been speculated that J.P. Morgan served as the inspiration for the Monopoly Man. At the time, he was the most powerful man in the country, and he was instrumental in the establishment of the United States Steel Corporation.
It wasn't until the 1940s that he was given the appellation "Rich Uncle Pennybags," and it wasn't until much later that Hasbro gave him the formal title of Mr. Monopoly.
Longest Game
The record for the longest game ever played stood at a whopping 70 consecutive days. It takes a long time to play Monopoly, especially when using the official rules or common house rules.
These include sending any taxes that are paid to Free Parking, where they can be won back, or not auctioning properties that are landed on but not bought during the game.
The longest game ever played lasted more than two months, or a total of 1,680 hours. In 2008, a group of people from all over the world got together in an effort to set a new record for the most people playing the game at the same time. The event took place in 22 places, with 500 people participating in London alone.
47 Languages
The traditional board game has exploded in popularity all around the world. The popularity of Monopoly is not confined to simply regions in North America and Europe.
According to Good Housekeeping, it is a game that is played all over the world and, as of the most recent count, has been printed in 47 different languages.
Parker Brothers Ignored The Game
The first time that Charles Darrow tried to market the game, it was turned down by Parker Brothers because it contained 52 significant faults. Some of these errors were the game's length and intricacy. However, things changed in 1935, and since then, the board game has graced numerous players with some fun and entertainment through the game.
