The Untold Story of Monopoly

A forgotten inventor and the game’s dark psychology

Monopoly is a multi-player real-estate based board game won by buying and developing as much property as possible to maximize rent collection and drive your opponents into bankruptcy. Players are also subject to incidents of chance (both good and bad), but in the end, the game is won by just one person; all others are left insolvent.

Monopoly is popularly associated with the game manufacturer Parker Brothers, but the company did not invent the pastime. In 1935, Parker Brothers negotiated the rights to mass produce the game from unemployed home heater salesman turned inventor Charles Darrow. The deal with Parker Brothers made Darrow a millionaire, which in the Great Depression era was an astounding feat.

Darrow developed simple rules for Monopoly. The game’s objective: force all other players into bankruptcy. Psychologists have noted that the match allows people to subject their player “friends” to small acts of aggression through rent collection, fines, and eventually forced bankruptcy. The game allows a safe venue to be a micro-aggressor, which would be frowned upon if done in real life.

But Parker Brothers soon discovered a problem; Darrow was not the sole inventor of Monopoly. Three decades earlier, in 1904, Elizabeth Magie received a patent for her invention, The Landlord’s Game. Magie was a taxation reformist, espousing the theories of famous economist Henry George. The latter believed in a single tax system where the only thing taxed would be the value of owned land. Magie stated, “It is a practical demonstration of the present system of land-grabbing with all its usual outcomes and consequences.”

Magie’s board game came with two sets of rules, “prosperity” and “monopoly.” In the prosperity rules, the game was based on a social mission: everyone won when the person with the least also won. In the monopoly version, the rules increasingly rewarded the individual that succeeded in eliminating everyone else. Magie’s purpose for The Landlord’s Game was to create a teaching tool that would illustrate the dangers of the prevailing economic system. But when Magie introduced the game to Parker Brothers, the company dismissed it as too complicated.

Darrow had been introduced to The Landlord’s Game at a friend’s house and was fascinated with it. Eventually, the former home heater salesman invented his game version, which borrowed many ideas from Magie’s version. To pre-empt any legal disputes, Parker Brothers bought the rights to The Landlord’s Game from Magie for $500. Parker Brothers also agreed to include both rule sheets in the game box. But eventually, the monopoly rule set proved wildly the most popular.

Although there was some initial press interest in Magie’s story as the inventor, or at least inspiration, for Monopoly, that quickly disappeared. Magie died in 1948 without receiving the proper attribution for her invention. To this day, Hasbro (which bought Parker Brothers in 1991) still credits Darrow as Monopoly’s inventor. The game has sold over 300 million copies to date.

Insight and Application

Elizabeth Magie’s original game, The Landlord’s Game, had a social mission of highlighting the dangers of the prevailing economic system. Her game emphasized cooperation and shared prosperity. But when she introduced the game to Parker Brothers, the company dismissed it as too complicated. Darrow was able to adapt and simplify the game, eventually developing Monopoly. Monopoly achieved widespread popularity by tapping into a basic human desire to win and dominate others. By offering a safe outlet for people to engage in small acts of aggression through rent collection and fines, Monopoly was able to appeal to a broad audience and become a successful product.

This story highlights the need to understand human psychology and to simplify your offering to provide solutions to this core level of wants and desires. Complexity only confuses, and confused minds don’t buy.

Would you do me a favour? Please follow, clap and share the content if you liked it. Thank you!

This is a story in the new book I’m writing, Leadership Parables, which will feature leadership lessons in highly memorable short story form. But I need your help. If you remember an anecdote that influenced the way you think about business and leadership, tell me about it. If your suggestion is selected, you will receive a copy of the book and credit as a contributor. If you would like to know when the book is released, please add your name here. And, if you have an idea to share, please contact me at kurian@strategypeak.com.

Also, check out my first book, The 7 Essential Stories Charismatic Leaders Tell, click here: https://amzn.to/2PSHgmB