Board Games

WARREN COUNTY, OH --Roll the dice. Move the tokens forward. See the outcome. Compete to the finish line, or see who accumulates the most wealth. Back in the days before computers and video games, the best way for a parent to entertain their kids inside on a rainy day was to bring out a board game.

In the 50’s and 60’s my parents bought three board games that I can remember playing. They were Chutes and Ladders, Clue, and my favorite one, Monopoly.

Chutes and Ladders was a game that taught us kids that life is not always a bed of roses. Just when you are rising to the top (ladders) and near the finish line, a roll of the dice will land you back at the bottom (chutes). There was a winner and a loser, but it was all in fun. What a great life lesson for a ten year old. 

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Clue was a detective game murder mystery where you tried to figure out “Who dunnit”, where they did it, and what instrument they did it with. You know, Colonel Mustard, with a rope, in the Conservatory?

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I had a childhood crush on Miss Scarlett. That is, until she whacked a guy with a candlestick in the ballroom (how could she do it? I always thought it was Mrs. Peacock). That board game spawned many TV murder mysteries both yesterday and today.

My all time favorite board game as a kid was Monopoly. Unlike video games of today that teach kids how to annihilate countries or super human creatures, Monopoly taught us kids capitalism and how to accumulate wealth. However, the origin of the Monopoly game was quite the opposite.

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The board game Monopoly originated from an earlier game called “The Landlord’s Game”, created by Elizabeth Magie in 1904. The game promoted the dangers of land monopolies. It also promoted an economic system based on a single tax on land values. All other taxes would be abolished, thus equalizing wealth distribution. Quite anti-capitalism, pro socialism, to say the least.

Over the years, many versions of the board game appeared, the most successful being one of Charles Darrow who in 1935 changed the name to Monopoly and premise to promote Capitalism, He sold it at a Philadelphia Department Store, and its success caught the attention of the Parker Brothers Game Company.

Parker Brothers bought the game from Darrow in the Spring of 1935, making him a Millionaire. The brothers then bought the patent for The Landlord Game from Elizabeth Magie for $500, promising to promote her board game at the same time they were selling the Monopoly version. The Landlord Game flopped, the Monopoly Game took off and the rest is history.

Through the years, there have been many changes to the game Monopoly. Sure, the board has basically remained the same. Streets like Boardwalk, Park Place, Reading Railroad, Water Works, and Community Chest are still there as your silver token travels around the four corners of the game board. However, the new owner Hasbro (since 1991) has tried to modernize the game to reflect new values and ideas.

For example, the tokens have changed. The old time tokens like the thimble, the wheel barrel and the boot have been replaced by the T-Rex, penguin and the rubber ducky. Then, by popular demand, the thimble was reinstated, and the battleship was retired (being a former Navy guy, that really hacked me off).

Gone are the Community Chest cards like “receive for services $25” and “you have won 2nd place in a beauty contest, collect $10”. New cards reflect community service activities like volunteer clean up after a storm, donating to an animal shelter, or participating in a school bake sale.

There are a few Community Chest cards that I would recommend to Hasbro to reflect modern day America. One would be “Move in with your parents on Illinois Avenue, collect extra $1,000 a month”.

The other would be “proceed to State College on Vermont Avenue, receive a college loan of $50,000 at 3% interest over lifetime, party like it’s 1999 for four years, and wait for the government to pay off your debt.”

Old or new, Monopoly is still the gold standard of board games today. However, somewhere in this country is another entrepreneur like Elizabeth Magie waiting in the wings to develop his or her NEW board game.

One important lesson that the game Monopoly has taught us is there is no monopoly on Monopoly. With a tweak or two on the board, a new concept, a good patent attorney, and a good business sense (do not sell away your patent like Elizabeth Magie did), you too could be the next Charles Darrow and make millions. Capitalism at its finest.

Or, you could waste your time in front of a video game blowing up armies or monsters and see where that takes you. Probably to a tenement house on Baltic Avenue, not a penthouse on Park Place. Your choice.

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