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More Than a Game


The Monopoly Man has been a symbol of business and wealth since invented by Charles B. Darrow in 1935. With his top hat, old white mustache, and round body, the Monopoly Man parallel’s the stereotype of what a wealthy individual resembled during the early 1900s. He is often seen in a car, which was a tool for the rich when the game was first invented. Monopoly has served as more the board game that has been the eponymy of fun passed down from generations to generations. It teaches players certain elements of the business world and possible ways one can get wealthy or lose money.
As the best selling board game in the world, Monopoly is sold in 103 countries and produced in 37 languages, according to Hasbro.com. Additionally, an estimated 500 million people have played Monopoly.
Though Charles Darrow is often accredited with the invention of Monopoly, there have been many debates on who should really be given credit to this genius board game. “…its(Monopoly’s) origins actually go back to when Lizzie Magie, patented 748,626 (US) issued January 5, 1904, a game called ‘The Landlord's Game’ with the object of demonstrating how rents enrich property owners and impoverish tenants” (Ideafinder.com). Though Magie’s game was patented and later published by the Economic Game Company of New York, many board games that resembled Magie’s were later produced, including Darrow’s Monopoly. Hence, the inventor for the Monopoly remains a debate.
Today, Monopoly is the most influential board game in world as well as famous. There are many different versions of the game based on Movie’s (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Cartoons (Family Guy). Recently a new version of the game was created in order to fit the modern decade. Although the classic pieces, the car, cowboy, iron shoe, wheelbarrow, top hat, thimble, cannon, battleship, will remain present, the new pieces will consist of popular products of the present.

Monopoly’s education on finance
~Monopoly was created around the time of the Great Depression. Hence, the game depicts the Dos and Don’ts of financing.
• In the latter stages of Monopoly, you lose money when it's your turn. You make money when it's the other player's turn.
o You invest in a property and a few hotels. It's your opponent's turn. They land on your property and suddenly owe you money. That's the way you have to make it work in the real world…capital work for you (Monopoly man.com).
 A lot of patience is required
• Build a portfolio of cheaper properties, which will give a better return on your investment (Monopoly-man.com).
o Early in the game of Monopoly, you don't have an abundance of money. So you have to be smart about your investments. The best strategy is to buy up as many cheap investments as possible. This allows you to diversify (Monopoly-man.com).

New Editions of Monopoly.
~Hasbro and Parker Brothers release new and modern editions of Monopoly to heighten the games fun factor, make the pieces more appealing to the popular culture, and advertise the products.
• “The branded tokens are part of a reinvention of Monopoly that Hasbro executives hope will offer consumers modernized references more relevant to them than the elements of the game that date to the Great Depression” (Price).
• “Five of the eight tokens in the new Monopoly Here and Now edition will be branded, offering game players the chance to be represented by miniature versions of a Toyota Prius hybrid car, an order of McDonald’s French fries, a New Balance running shoe, a cup of Starbucks coffee or a Motorola Razr cell phone” (Elliot).
o “The new tokens are indicative of a marketing trend known as branded entertainment, in which products are woven into the contents of popular culture including the plots of movies, television shows and novels; song lyrics; and video games” (Elliot).
 Rather than using materials popular gadgets and electronics, the tokens should consist of tools that are in relation to the economy
• Chart/Graph, Laptop, money, or logos of the most prestige corporations in the economy

Monopoly allows its players to enjoy themselves while educating them on certain elements of financing and real estate, thus, making it the most popular and successful board game in the world. With the success that Monopoly has had, major corporations such as McDonalds and Motorola have decided to advertise their products through the board game. Nonetheless, the Monopoly is a monopoly within itself. It is a huge money making opportunity. Thus, there are debates on who can claim the rights for the games invention and what corporations are able to advertise through the game. Overall, it is imperative to keep the fun factor in Monopoly as a game rather than exploiting the game as a means for major corporations' to gain profit.