Times can get very tense… All around you, greed is taking place… You’re simply trying to pay the mortgage, make the tax payments, and hope to receive enough income from your investments and rental property. Life in America in the 21st century? I’m actually talking about the board game, Monopoly.
With Santa and his bag of toys coming soon, I thought I’d share a relevant story from Susan Waggoner’s book, Under The Tree: The Toys And Treats That Made Christmas Special. One of the many toy stories Susan shares, is the history of the game of Monopoly. During the Depression board games became very popular as a cheap way for family and friends to enjoy an evening’s fun. (I wonder if home-based games will receive a boost in sales during our challenged financial time?)
“Monopoly” was created in 1906 by Elizabeth Maggie, but was called The Landlord’s Game. The game was designed by Maggie to “demonstrate the ills caused by unequal distribution of wealth.” Instead of learning compassion for the poor, however, players reveled in amassing wealth and bankrupting fellow players. Maggie refused to modify the game to match aspect of the game greedy players enjoyed, and her version of the game was never mass manufactured.
Original Landlord Game Board[click for a larger view]
Over the years, local variations of the Landlord’s Game were created, but nothing on a broad scale. The game didn’t become popular until thirty years later, when Charles Darrow created a further variation, eliminating Maggie’s message and renaming it Monopoly. He sold it to Parker Brother’s (which at first rejected it) and it became the most successful board game of the century. (It is now manufactured by Hasbro).
According to the The Kansas City Historical Society, …the changes Darrow made to what is now Monopoly secreted away Maggie’s Georgist message. Although the rules were altered and the spaces were changed, some elements of Maggie’s anti-monopoly message can still be found. The community chest is mostly beneficial, railroads remain a prominent feature, class differences in the properties are still evident, and (most significantly) the game has only two outcomes for its players: poverty or wealth. The Monopoly game also saw some changes through the years. Metal was scarce during World War II. As a result, Monopoly games were made with wooden game pieces instead of metal ones.
One more thing…
I’ve enjoyed sharing marketing thoughts with you over the year. I look forward to more discussion in 2009. I wish you and your family health and happiness in the New Year!
Monopoly © Hasbro, Monopoly board image found on Flicrk (thank you), Landlord Game source: Kansas City Historical Society Website
This is a great post.
We are overhauling our advertising curriculum at Texas Tech, and I have suggested adding the economics class “game theory” for just this reason.
You have done a great job illustrating how personal values quickly give way in times of competition. And advertising and marketing are fundamentally about competition.
I think every high school and every college student should have a required course in personal finance.
If games can help teach it, great. In addition to books on basic money management, saving, investing, etc., perhaps The Millionaire Next Store would teach a thing or two about the benefit of living below your means not above: http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Thomas-Stanley/dp/0671015206/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229759978&sr=8-1
It teaches that to really get ahead you need to live below your means, save money, be frugal. Sure, you spend and enjoy life but you do not throw caution to the wind.
Monopoly does not fit the milieu of the times. We need a game that rewards frugality, saving, planning, and prudence. Yes, if going around in circles “passing go” can be fun, then someone can invent an even more fun game based on these sound principles.
Sure, a consumer purchase could win you some points in this new game but only if you pay cash or pay down your credit card balance every month.
Maybe the game could be called, “The Millionaire Next Store” or something…