I'm really glad they mentioned this. Monopoly is a bad game by design that makes a statement about what happens to a society when everyone tries to be a landlord. Everyone should read Henry George!
The line between celebration and condescension, I am remembering, is a thin one. Today’s Monopoly is a version of The Landlord’s Game, created by Lizzie Magie in the early 1900s—a time when American culture was treating board games not just as tools of diversion, but also as methods of communication. Her game, Magie wrote, was intended as an argument against Gilded Age inequality—“a practical demonstration of the present system of land-grabbing with all its usual outcomes and consequences.” Until recently, though, Monopoly’s mythology insisted on a different origin story: that it had been created by a man named Charles Darrow. (Darrow had merely learned of the game from a friend—and then sold it to Parker Brothers in the 1930s, ultimately making millions.) The woman invented; the man got the credit. The original game argued against inequality; the game that caught on made entertainment out of exploitation itself.
I'm really glad they mentioned this. Monopoly is a bad game by design that makes a statement about what happens to a society when everyone tries to be a landlord.
I've been aware of the landlord's game for several years now but never actually read the rules. It's pretty interesting. If I'm understanding it correctly, the players are instructed to commence...
I've been aware of the landlord's game for several years now but never actually read the rules. It's pretty interesting. If I'm understanding it correctly, the players are instructed to commence play with a ruleset that largely resembles what became Monopoly. The instructions then say "notice the inevitable trend, wouldn't it be interesting to apply the following modifications to the rules" and then it lists those which would emulate the spirit of Henry George's single tax.
I disagree with the article's ending up on the side of thinking that this is actually a celebration or atonement for the historical treatment of women. Even the author realizes that "The line...
I disagree with the article's ending up on the side of thinking that this is actually a celebration or atonement for the historical treatment of women. Even the author realizes that "The line between celebration and condescension, I am remembering, is a thin one." But we can look outside this one game to Hasbro's other Monopoly offerings for evidence of an agenda.
I strongly suspect there is some influential person working at Hasbro with reactionary ideas, or who wants to exploit the culture wars to make a profit. Consider these other offerings from Hasbro, which even more clearly were attempting to ridicule their subjects:
Millennial Monopoly: It's about what you would expect a Boomer, fed on a steady diet of Fox News ragebait, designing a game about millennials would be...
Reminds me of when someone created an "Anti-Monopoly" game because he thought regular Monopoly was pro-monopoly. Then he got sued for trademark infringement, and after he won, Monopoly was in the...
Ironic because the original version of Monopoly was created by a left-wing Georgist in order to demonstrate the problems with land ownership under capitalism.
Reminds me of when someone created an "Anti-Monopoly" game because he thought regular Monopoly was pro-monopoly. Then he got sued for trademark infringement, and after he won, Monopoly was in the public domain for a few years. And then the owners of Monopoly lobbied to change trademark laws.
Coincidentally, I think I still have a copy of Anti-Monopoly II hanging around. It's a pretty fun game; if you are a monopolist and the dice crash into your buildings, you can charge the player...
Coincidentally, I think I still have a copy of Anti-Monopoly II hanging around. It's a pretty fun game; if you are a monopolist and the dice crash into your buildings, you can charge the player for the damage.
I'm really glad they mentioned this. Monopoly is a bad game by design that makes a statement about what happens to a society when everyone tries to be a landlord.
Everyone should read Henry George!
I've been aware of the landlord's game for several years now but never actually read the rules. It's pretty interesting. If I'm understanding it correctly, the players are instructed to commence play with a ruleset that largely resembles what became Monopoly. The instructions then say "notice the inevitable trend, wouldn't it be interesting to apply the following modifications to the rules" and then it lists those which would emulate the spirit of Henry George's single tax.
http://landlordsgame.info/games/lg-1906/lg-1906_egc-rules.html
edit: I had copy-pasted the final ruleset but it was a formatting nightmare - removed it.
I disagree with the article's ending up on the side of thinking that this is actually a celebration or atonement for the historical treatment of women. Even the author realizes that "The line between celebration and condescension, I am remembering, is a thin one." But we can look outside this one game to Hasbro's other Monopoly offerings for evidence of an agenda.
I strongly suspect there is some influential person working at Hasbro with reactionary ideas, or who wants to exploit the culture wars to make a profit. Consider these other offerings from Hasbro, which even more clearly were attempting to ridicule their subjects:
Socialist Monopoly: ironically this version of Monopoly attempts to show "Cooperation isn't always what it's cracked up to be." Ironic because the original version of Monopoly was created by a left-wing Georgist in order to demonstrate the problems with land ownership under capitalism.
Millennial Monopoly: It's about what you would expect a Boomer, fed on a steady diet of Fox News ragebait, designing a game about millennials would be...
Reminds me of when someone created an "Anti-Monopoly" game because he thought regular Monopoly was pro-monopoly. Then he got sued for trademark infringement, and after he won, Monopoly was in the public domain for a few years. And then the owners of Monopoly lobbied to change trademark laws.
Coincidentally, I think I still have a copy of Anti-Monopoly II hanging around. It's a pretty fun game; if you are a monopolist and the dice crash into your buildings, you can charge the player for the damage.