You’ve probably heard the story. A guy named Charles Darrow, desperate and broke during the Great Depression, doodles a game on a piece of oilcloth in his kitchen. He sells it to Parker Brothers, becomes a millionaire, and saves his family from ruin. It’s a beautiful, classic American Dream story. It's also mostly a lie. When you ask when was monopoly created, the answer depends entirely on whether you’re talking about the patent, the printing press, or the stolen idea that started it all decades earlier.
The year most people cite is 1935. That’s the year Parker Brothers bought the rights from Darrow and began mass-marketing the game we recognize today. But the game’s DNA—the board layout, the properties, the "Go to Jail" space—existed long before Darrow ever picked up a pencil.
The Anti-Capitalist Origins of 1903
To understand the real timeline, we have to look at Elizabeth Magie. She was a rebel. Magie was a stenographer, a writer, and a Georgist—a follower of the economist Henry George. George believed that while people should own the value they create, the land itself should belong to everyone. Magie wanted to prove that point. She didn't want to make a fun game; she wanted to make an educational tool that showed how land monopolies ruin economies.
In 1903, she filed a patent for "The Landlord’s Game."
It looked eerily familiar. It featured a continuous path of streets for sale, a jail, and a public park. Here’s the kicker: she actually designed two sets of rules. One was "Monopolist," where the goal was to crush everyone else. The other was "Prosperity," where everyone got richer when land was improved. She hoped children would play both and realize that the Monopolist version was unfair and destructive.
Ironically, the world chose the "destructive" version.
How the Game Spread Through Intellectual Theft
For the next thirty years, The Landlord’s Game became a sort of open-source phenomenon. It wasn't "created" in a vacuum; it evolved. People played it in college dorms, at Quaker meetings, and in small communities. They called it "The Auction Game" or simply "Monopoly."
It spread like a virus.
People started customizing it. In Indianapolis, they added local street names. In Atlantic City, a group of friends—including Ruth Hoskins—played a version that featured the iconic Boardwalk and Park Place. This is a crucial distinction. When you wonder when was monopoly created, you have to acknowledge that the Atlantic City version, which defined the modern aesthetic, was being played by 1930, five years before the "official" release.
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Charles Darrow didn't invent the game. He was taught how to play it by his friend Charles Todd. Todd had learned it from the Atlantic City group. Darrow essentially took the rules and the board layout, polished the graphics, and claimed it as his own invention. He even kept the spelling error from the version he was taught: "Marvin Gardens" was misspelled as "Marven Gardens" on his board. It’s still misspelled on many boards today.
The 1935 Breakthrough and the Parker Brothers Lie
Parker Brothers initially rejected Darrow’s game. They famously cited "52 fundamental errors," including the length of the game and the complexity of the rules. But Darrow didn't quit. He produced 5,000 sets himself and sold them through Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.
They sold out instantly.
Parker Brothers realized they had made a mistake. In 1935, they bought the rights from Darrow and began a massive marketing campaign. They needed a hero story. They needed a narrative that fit the era’s mood. So, they marketed Darrow as the lone genius inventor. They conveniently ignored Elizabeth Magie.
Magie was eventually paid $500 for her patent. She was told it would help promote her Georgist theories. Instead, Parker Brothers bought her out just to clear the legal path for Darrow’s version. She died in 1948, largely forgotten by the public, while Monopoly became a global juggernaut.
The Ralph Anspach Lawsuit That Changed History
The truth stayed buried for decades. It wasn't until the 1970s that the real story of when was monopoly created came to light. Ralph Anspach, an economics professor, created a game called "Anti-Monopoly." Parker Brothers sued him for trademark infringement.
Anspach fought back. Hard.
He spent ten years researching the game's history to prove that the term "Monopoly" was in public use long before Darrow "invented" it. He tracked down the old players from the 1910s and 20s. He found Elizabeth Magie’s patents. He proved in court that the game was a folk game that had been stolen and rebranded. He won the case in 1983, and because of his tenacity, the historical record was finally corrected.
Why the Timeline Still Confuses People
Today, you'll see different dates depending on who you ask.
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- 1903: The first patent by Elizabeth Magie.
- 1924: Magie's second, more refined patent.
- 1930: The year the Atlantic City version was solidified.
- 1935: The official Parker Brothers commercial release.
Honestly, the "creation" of Monopoly wasn't an event. It was a process. It was a social experiment that got co-opted by the very system it was designed to criticize. There is a deep irony in the fact that a game meant to protest monopolies became one of the most successful commercial monopolies in history.
The game has changed a lot since 1935. We have "Speed Die" versions, credit card versions, and themed sets for every movie franchise imaginable. But the core mechanic—the one Magie designed to make people angry at landlords—remains exactly the same.
Actionable Steps for Game History Enthusiasts
If you're fascinated by the origins of the things we play, don't just take the box lid's word for it.
Research the "Folklife" of Games. Many classics like Chess, Backgammon, and even modern hits like Catan have precursors that reveal more about culture than the official corporate histories do.
Find an "Anti-Monopoly" Set. Ralph Anspach’s game is still available. Playing it gives you a sense of the legal and intellectual battle that saved the history of the game.
Visit the Sources. If you find yourself in Atlantic City, walk the real streets. Seeing the physical locations that were hand-picked by a group of friends in 1930 makes the history feel much more tangible than a piece of cardboard ever could.
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Read 'The Monopolists'. Mary Pilon wrote a definitive book on this subject. It’s a deep, investigative look into the lives of Magie and Darrow that puts most corporate histories to shame.
The real answer to when was monopoly created is that it was born in 1903 as a protest, reborn in 1935 as a product, and finally understood in 1983 as a stolen piece of folk history. Understanding that timeline doesn't just change how you look at the board; it changes how you look at the "official" history of almost everything you buy.