Monopoly

I remember when I was a child that at parties at one point someone would bring out the Monopoly. The green board folded in four came out of a square box, the place cards were a candle, a green pear, a flask, a vase with a plant, they were made of wood like houses and hotels: it was The old dear Monopoly the most famous box game in the world. Then we would all sit around the board and spend our hours doing business, buying and selling property, hoping for luck between Probability and Unexpected and above all trying not to end up in prison. In practice, we tried to achieve our financial monopoly.

With Monopoly in 1935, boxed games were born. Monopoly was born in America, the first version was launched by the Parker Brothers publishing house, in November 1935, on the idea of Charles Darrow (a former domestic heater salesman who fell into disgrace after the 29' crisis) who, taking up a similar game already in vogue in the States at the beginning of the 900', created by Elizabeth Magie, created a playable version and gave it certain rules. At the first refusal of Parker Brothers not to finance his game the man was not discouraged and in 1934 he decided to produce it himself. The unexpected sales success decided the big publishing house to retrace its steps and finance the game by launching it in shops under the name of Monopoly. Sold in over 270 million copies worldwide, the Monopoly has been interested over the years by innovations and special editions, including an online version.

The Italian version of the game dates back to 1936 and dreamily suggested the design of a Milan of the time. With Monopoly, the capitalist economic system is represented in a portrait of itself much more similar to that offered by many novels or films. Monopoly has an intrinsic message that is authentically effective, practically suggestive. Monopoly is pedagogical, edifying for some, sinful for others.

To be precise, I have always preferred RisiKo! to Monopoly.