

Players went around the board buying up properties and railroads that each had a sale and rental value. In the corners were squares labeled ‘Go to Jail’ and ‘Public Park’. The Landlord’s Game consisted of a square game board that had 9 rectangular spaces on each side. In 1903, Elizabeth Magie first came up with the idea of The Landlord’s Game. Read on for a complete timeline of key events in the history of the game of Monopoly… The History of Monopoly 1900s – The Landlord’s Game This game was bought by Parker Brothers in 1935 and the rest is history. He took a copy of the rules and the game board and soon began making his own version, which he called Monopoly. These evolved over time as a thriving scene grew up around homemade and personalized versions of her invention – The Landlord’s Game.Įventually, a version of The Landlord’s Game that was based upon the streets of Atlantic City was seen by Charles Darrow. Lizzie Magie came up with many of the rules and concepts behind the game of Monopoly. The story behind how Monopoly was invented is a little complex, but very interesting… The role of Lizzie Magie in creating Monopoly was almost unknown for many years as Charles Darrow was given all of the credit for inventing the game. However, Monopoly was really invented in 1903 by Lizzie Magie, she named it ‘The Landlord’s Game’. The company bought the rights to the game from Charles Darrow who had begun making Monopoly sets in 1934. Monopoly was first patented and sold by Parker Brothers in 1935. His research reveals the role of Lizzie Magie in the game’s creation.ġ991: The Parker Brothers company and the rights to Monopoly are bought by Hasbro. It also buys the rights to The Landlord’s Game for $500 to avoid legal issues.ġ973: The first Monopoly World Championship is held in New York.ġ974: A legal dispute begins between Parker Brothers and Ralph Anspach over his Anti-Monopoly game.

1903: Lizzie Magie invents The Landlord’s Game.ġ906: The Landlord’s Game is first manufactured.ġ909: Parker Brothers decide not to publish The Landlord’s Game.ġ914: A version of The Landlord’s Game is released in the UK.ġ924: Lizzie Magie patents a new version of her game with street names.ġ932: Charles Darrow plays an Atlantic City version of The Landlord’s Game at a friend’s house.ġ934: Charles Darrow starts making and selling a similar game, calling it Monopoly.ġ935: Parker Brothers buys the rights to Monopoly and sells 278,000 copies in the first year.
