The History of the Game Monopoly

Lizzie McGee invented the landlord's game, which was the very first version of Monopoly, in 1904. The game was similar to what we know as Monopoly today, with railroads, properties, and the objective of obtaining as much wealth as possible. The major difference was that Lizzie created two rule sets: an anti-monopolist version that rewarded every player when wealth was created, and a monopolist version that rewarded individual players who created monopolies to crush opponents. The monopolist version gained popularity among progressives and was played by notable figures. The game started to change depending on where it was played, with localized boards featuring landmarks from different cities. Lizzie encouraged players to make the game their own by using tokens and personalizing the boards. Despite not making money from the patent, the game became widespread and was played and reinterpreted everywhere.