Editing Monopoly (game) (section)

===Early history===
[[File:BoardGamePatentMagie.png|thumb|left|170px|Lizzie Magie's 1904 board design, ''[[The Landlord's Game]]'', was a predecessor of ''Monopoly'']]
The history of ''Monopoly'' can be traced back to 1903,<ref name="NYT-20150213" /><ref>Sawyer, Keith. [https://sawyerpodcast.com/monopoly-invention-through-collaboration "Monopoly: Invention Through Collaboration."] ''[[The Science of Creativity (podcast)|The Science of Creativity]]'' (April 15, 2024)</ref> when American anti-monopolist [[Lizzie Magie]] created a game called ''[[The Landlord's Game]]'' that she hoped would explain the [[Georgism|single-tax]] theory of [[Henry George]] as laid out in his book ''[[Progress and Poverty]]''.  It was intended as an educational tool to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private [[monopoly|monopolies]]. She took out a patent in 1904. Her game was self-published beginning in 1906.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Orbanes |first=Philip E. |url=https://archive.org/details/monopoly00phil/page/22 |title=Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game & How it Got that Way |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-306-81489-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/monopoly00phil/page/22 22] |author-link=Philip Orbanes}}</ref><ref name="atlas obscura">[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/column-secrets-of-monopoly The Hidden Worlds of Monopoly From Atlantic City to high fashion to Karl Marx, the most recognizable board game has had serious cultural impact.] by Adrienne Raphel January 5, 2024, Atlas Obscura website.</ref>

Magie created two sets of rules: an anti-monopolist set in which all were rewarded when wealth was created, and a monopolist set in which the goal was to create monopolies and crush opponents.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 11, 2015 |title=The secret history of Monopoly: the capitalist board game's leftwing origins |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/apr/11/secret-history-monopoly-capitalist-game-leftwing-origins}}</ref><ref name="atlas obscura"/>

Several variant board games, based on her concept, were developed from 1906 through the 1930s; they involved both the process of buying land for its development, and the sale of any undeveloped property. Cardboard houses were added, and rents increased as they were added to a property. Magie patented the game again in 1923.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pilon |first=Mary |title=The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |isbn=978-1-60819-963-1 |location=New York, London |pages=30–41, 67–79, 84–89}}</ref>

According to an advertisement placed in ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'', Charles Todd of [[Philadelphia]] recalled the day in 1932 when his childhood friend Esther Jones and her husband, [[Charles Darrow]], came to his house for dinner. After the meal, the Todds introduced Darrow to ''The Landlord's Game'', which they then played several times. The game was entirely new to Darrow, and he asked the Todds for a written set of the rules. After that night, Darrow went on to utilize it to distribute the game himself as ''Monopoly''.{{sfn|Pilon|2015|pp=90–92, 132–133}} Darrow used [[oil cloth]] to create a game board which is now in the collection of [[The Strong National Museum of Play]] after a $146,500 bid at [[Sotheby's]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mrt.com/entertainment/article/a-look-behind-the-scenes-at-the-national-toy-hall-19856190.php|title=They made 36 million Corn Poppers. Here's how they pick the right ones for the Toy Hall of Fame|last=Thompson|first=Carolyn|work=[[Midland Reporter-Telegram]]|via=[[Associated Press]]|date=October 23, 2024|access-date=October 28, 2024}}</ref>

The [[Parker Brothers]] bought the game's [[copyright]]s from Darrow.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brady |first=Maxine |title=The Monopoly Book |date=1974 |publisher=David McKay Co |isbn=0-679-20292-7 |location=New York |page=18}}</ref> When the company learned Darrow was not the sole inventor of the game, it bought the rights to Magie's patent for $500.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chokshi |first=Niraj |date=September 12, 2019 |title=A New Monopoly Game Celebrates Women, but What About the One Behind the Original? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/us/ms-monopoly-lizzie-magie.html |access-date=July 27, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Parker Brothers began marketing the game on November 5, 1935.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=The Most Popular Game in History Almost Didn't Pass 'Go' |url=https://time.com/3546303/monopoly-1935/ |access-date=June 20, 2020 |magazine=Time}}</ref> Cartoonist [[F. O. Alexander]] contributed the design.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pilon |first=Mary |date=January 2015a |title=Monopoly Was Designed to Teach the 99% About Income Inequality |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/monopoly-was-designed-teach-99-about-income-inequality-180953630/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref> U.S. patent number ''US 2026082 A'' was issued to Charles Darrow on December 31, 1935, for the game board design and was assigned to Parker Brothers Inc.<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=2026082 |status=patent |title=Board Game Apparatus |gdate=1935-12-31 |pridate= |inventor=[[Charles Darrow]] |assign1=[[Parker Bros.|Parker Brothers Inc.]]}}</ref> The original version of the game in this format was based on the streets of [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]].