Monopoly board game

Do you have a memory of playing Monopoly with a sibling or neighbors? What is your strategy—do you prefer to save as much money as you can or build houses and hotels? The longest game of Monopoly ever played lasted 70 days! Did you end your play peacefully or stop speaking to one another?

 

Cheryl Scott responded on social media to the 2012 exhibit 100 Toys (& Their Stories) that Define Our Childhood with her own recollection: “Monopoly was one of the first games I learned. I also learned that most families had ‘house rules’ and I think that made the game even more fun. I always had to be the dog! I would throw a huge fit if I couldn’t be the dog. I remember my mother loved to be the iron, and my father liked to be the top hat.”

 

The Monopoly board game by Parker Brothers began production in 1935 during the Great Depression. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and evictions were harsh events that many experienced. Under such conditions, a fantasy world where people could play a real estate magnate or a robber baron became very popular. Over the decades, thousands of versions of the game have been printed in at least 47 languages. But this version, made between 1935 and 1940, shows that the basic American game hasn’t changed much over time.