History Daily 1282: Winning Monopoly
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Dec 31, 2025 Uncover the origins of the iconic board game, Monopoly, starting from its roots in Lizzie McGee's critique of land inequality. Explore how Charles Darrow seized the concept during the Great Depression and self-published it, leading to its eventual endorsement by Parker Brothers. Delve into the controversy surrounding credit and recognition as McGee’s contributions were initially overlooked. The episode reveals how legal battles in the 1970s helped restore her rightful place in history.
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Darrow's Dinner-Table Discovery
- Charles Darrow first encountered the Landlord's Game at a Philadelphia dinner party and immediately became obsessed with it.
- That single evening set him on a path to copy, modify, and eventually commercialize the game as Monopoly.
The Landlord's Game Was A Political Lesson
- Lizzie Magie created the Landlord's Game in 1903 as a teaching tool for Georgist economics and to critique land-based inequality.
- She designed property buying, rent collection, and penalties like jail to demonstrate how land ownership concentrates wealth.
From Teaching Tool To Mass-Market Game
- Lizzie Magie patented the Landlord's Game in 1903 but distributed only a few copies because she intended it as education, not profit.
- Charles Darrow later removed the game's anti-capitalist framing when he turned it into the mass-market Monopoly.