

Her second meeting with Parker Brothers showed an improved, more detailed version.

As a matter of fact, she is rarely mentioned as having any involvement in the world's most popular board game.īefore Darrow approached Parker Brothers with the idea, Magie approached them on two separate occasions, 19. Notice the properties on the board game involved Atlantic City names?Īlthough Darrow is credited with Monopoly's creation, Elizabeth Magie, the original inventor who came before Darrow, never received credit. Darrow was the first millionaire game designer in history, even though Chuck Todd showed Darrow the game in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the 1930s, Darrow, a heater salesman who lost his job during the stock market crash of 1929, devised a very similar game, under the name Monopoly, which he sold for millions to Parker Brothers while also reaping the rewards of royalties. Her game was actually devised to show the poor effects of having wealth concentrated on a few people by establishing monopolies in business industries, like oil and real estate.
#Business monopoly history free#
Magie felt that monopolies prevented free market economies and thus, prohibited wealth creation. Magie, a progressive woman for her time, opposed prominent monopolists like John D. There are even spin offs of the game manufactured covering any topic you can imagine.ĭid you know that Lizzie Magie, a game designer, abolitionist, and anti-monopolist designed the Monopoly game in the early 1900s but with a different name, The Landlord's Game? Magie invented the game about 30 years before Charles Darrow came up with the idea, which he named Monopoly.

It is one game that, even in this digital age, is still enjoyed by millions of people throughout the world. Monopoly is perhaps the most popular, discussed and recognizable game ever created.
