Charles Darrow - Monopoly

CHARLES DARROW 

 

Charles Brace Darrow (August 10, 1889–August 29, 1967) is best known as the purported inventor of the Monopoly board game.

The board game Monopoly(TM) was itself the winner in a field of real estate games. The first, called "The Landlord's Game," was invented by Lizzie Magie of Virginia (patented 1904). In it, players rented properties, paid utilities and avoided "Jail" as they moved through the board. The game was intended to teach the iniquities of current realty and tax systems. But despite Magie's intentions, people enjoyed its fierce financial competition, and they began creating versions customized to reflect their own neighborhoods.

In the early 1930s, Charles Darrow of Germantown, Pennsylvania played such a game at a friend's house. Unemployed amidst the Great Depression, he understood the dream of financial success. He set about creating his own version, modeled on his favorite resort, Atlantic City. Darrow made numerous innovations for his game, which had a circular, cloth board. He color-coded the properties and deeds for them, allowing them to be bought, not just rented. He modeled the playing pieces on items from around his house. Darrow's "Monopoly" (1933) was a perfect combination of the cutthroat and the cute. 

Soon not only friends but stores in nearby Philadelphia were clamoring for copies of Darrow's game, which he had begun to make at home and sell for $4 each. By 1934, Darrow could no longer handle the demand himself. He wrote to Parker Brothers to ask if they would like to handle Monopoly(TM). They rejected it, citing fifty-two fundamental flaws. However, after hearing about the massive Monopoly(TM) orders for the 1934 Christmas season, Parker Brothers changed their mind. They bought the rights in return for royalties. Charles Darrow retired a millionaire a year later.

Enter Charles B. Darrow and Parker Brothers Inc.

Charles Darrow was introduced to Monopoly by Charles Todd, a local hotel manager. Darrow was then unemployed and with his wife and son began making sets of the game to his own design. Todd had been shown the game by friends of Ruth Hoskins and an incorrect spelling of one of the Atlantic City properties – Marvin Gardens instead of the correct Marven Gardens – was somehow passed from the Hoskins game to the one designed by Darrow.
To make his game different from the folk versions Darrow's first design for the Monopoly board was circular, but in other respects the classic visual signature was already there – the dividing lines, the coloured bars identifying the various properties, and the now familiar icons for "Free parking", the stations, "Electric Company", "Water Works", and "GO". He soon replaced the inefficient circular design with a square one and began selling handmade sets to friends for a few dollars. By 1934, to speed up production Darrow was helped by Lytton Patterson, a friend and also the owner of Patterson and White Printing in Philadelphia.
When a Philadelphia department store placed orders for thousands of Monopoly sets Darrow approached Parker Brothers, a well-established games company, to ask if they were interested in producing and marketing the game nationally. Parker Brothers were in the doldrums of the Great Depression and looking out for new products, but Darrow's game had too many 'design errors' to comply with the company's selection criteria for family games, so they rejected it. In short, they found Monopoly pointless, too long, and too complex. But they changed their minds when they could see the obvious success of Darrow's product in prestigious city shops.
At first, Charles Darrow presented Monopoly to Parker Brothers as entirely his own invention and for which he owned the patent. The company soon discovered the truth, but the game was proving such an instant commercial success that they opted to promote it as Darrow's creation, whilst at the same time taking steps to protect the product by buying out Lizzie Magie's 1904 patent. She accepted $500 in return for an assurance that Parker Brothers would market her Landlord's Game and Henry George's single tax theories could be "spread to the people of the country" (of course they did no such thing).
Monopoly as manufactured by Parker Brothers was soon the pastime rage of America, and international licensing rights were given to John Waddington Ltd in the United Kingdom. A London version of the game, with London place names, was launched in 1936. "The Angel Islington" shot to stardom in Britain and throughout the Commonwealth.

The Game Monopoly

The design of the classic Monopoly set has hardly changed since it was conceived by Charles B. Darrow in 1933 and developed a little by Parker Brothers Inc. in 1935. Its longevity is unusual for a commercial product. The layout and look of the board, and the green and red houses and hotels, are more or less exactly as they were in 1933. The currency and property cards are virtually unchanged since Darrow's originals were revised in 1935.
As its popularity has grown, thousands of localised versions and special editions of Monopoly have been produced, but they are all based on the unmistakable style of the classic set, which despite its age does not seem to date. So-called 'vintage' sets of Monopoly are available in abundance on Ebay and some 'Special Editions' promoted by Parker Brothers (and more recently, Hambro) claim to replicate the 1935 design, but apart from the houses and hotels now being in plastic instead of wood, all the designs are fundamentally the same.
Charles Darrow designed Monopoly rather than invented it. His interpretation of an earlier game into a layout and design that no-one has since been able to improve was his master-stroke. The Monopoly board is beautifully elegant in its stylised, functional simplicity. The cartoon-like illustrations for "Free Parking", "Go to Jail", "Electric Company", and "Water Works" are as fresh and expressive today as when they were first drawn.
Monopoly is not a particularly good game. The throw of the dice plays a large part in the outcome, and a game eventually grinds to a halt after enough players have dropped out to make it pointless to continue. The commercial success of Monopoly must therefore be largely due to its marketing and presentation, a significant part of which is undoubtedly the visual appeal and functionality of the playing apparel created by Darrow and Parker Brothers in 1933-35.

 MONOPOLY RULES

OBJECT...The object of the game is to become the wealthiest player through buying, renting and selling property.

EQUIPMENT...The equipment consists of a board, 2 dice, tokens 32 houses and 12 hotels. There are Chance and Community Chest cards, a Title Deed card for each property and play money.

PREPARATION...Place the board on a table and put the Chance and Community Chest cards face-down on their allotted spaces on the board. Each player chooses one token to represent him on his travels around the board.

Each player is given $1500 divided as follows: 2 each of $500's, $100's and $50's; 6-$20's; 5 each of $10's, $5's and $1's.

All remaining money and other equipment go to the Bank.

BANKER...Select as Banker a player who will also make a good Auctioneer. If the Banker plays in the game, he must keep his personal funds separate from those of the Bank. When more than five persons play, the Banker may elect to act only as Banker and Auctioneer.

THE BANK...Besides the Bank's money, the Bank holds the Title Deed cards and houses and hotels prior to purchase and use by the players. The Bank pays salaries and bonuses. It sells and auctions properties and hands out their proper Title Deed cards; it sells houses and hotels to the players and loans money when required on mortgages.

The Bank collects all taxes, fines, loans and interest, and the price of all properties which it sells and auctions.

The Bank never "goes broke". If the Bank runs out of money it may issue as much more as may be needed by merely writing on any ordinary paper.

THE PLAY... Starting with the Banker, each player in turn throws the dice. The player with the highest total starts the play. He places his token on the corner marked "GO", throws the 2 dice and moves his token in the direction of the arrow the number of spaces indicated by the dice. After he has completed his play, the turn to play passes to the left. The tokens remain on the spaces occupied and proceed from that point on the player's next turn. Two or more tokens may rest on the same space at the same time.

According to the space which his token reaches, a player may be entitled to buy real estate or other properties, -or be obliged to pay rent, pay taxes, draw a Chance or Community Chest card, "Go to Jail", etc.

If a player throws doubles he moves his token as usual the sum of the two dice and is subject to any privileges or penalties pertaining to the space on which he lands. Retaining the dice, he throws again and moves his token as before. If a player throws doubles three times in succession, he moves his token immediately to the space marked "In Jail" (see JAIL).

"GO"...Each time a player's token lands on or passes over "GO", whether by throw of the dice or by drawing a card, the Banker pays him $200 salary.



However, $200 is paid only once each time around the board. If a player, passing "GO" on the throw of the dice, lands 2 spaces beyond it on "Community Chest", or 7 spaces beyond it on "Chance", and draws the card "Advance to GO", he collects $200 for passing "GO" the first time and another $200 for reaching it the second time by instructions on the card.

BUYING PROPERTY...Whenever a player lands on an unowned property he may buy that property from the Bank at its printed price. He receives the Title Deed card showing ownership and places it face-up in front of him.

If he does not wish to buy the property it is sold at auction by the Banker to the highest bidder. The buyer pays to the Bank the amount of the bid in cash and receives the Title Deed card for that property. Any player, including the one who declined the option of buying it at the printed price, may bid. Bidding may start at any price.

PAYING RENT...When a player lands on property owned by another player the owner collects rent from him in accordance with the list printed on the Title Deed card applying to it.

If the property is mortgaged, no rent can be collected. When a property is mortgaged its Title Deed card is placed face-down in front of the owner.
It is an advantage to hold all the Title Deeds in a color-group (i.e.: Boardwalk and Park Place, - or Connecticut, Vermont and Oriental Avenues) because the owner may then charge double rent for unimproved properties in that color-group. This rule applies to unmortgaged properties even if another property in that color-group is mortgaged.

It is even more of an advantage to have houses or hotels on properties because rents are much higher than for unimproved properties.

The owner may not collect his rent if he fails to ask for it before the second player following throws the dice.

"CHANCE" and "COMMUNITY CHEST"...When a player lands on either of these spaces he takes the top card from the deck indicated, follows the instructions and returns the card face-down to the bottom of the deck.

The "Get Out of Jail Free" card is held until used and then returned to the bottom of the deck. If the player who draws it does not wish to use it he may sell it, at any time, to another player at a price agreeable to both.

"INCOME TAX"...When a player lands on "Income Tax" he has two options: he may estimate his tax at $200 and pay the Bank, or he may pay 10% of his total worth to the Bank. His total worth is all his cash on hand, printed prices of mortgaged and unmortgaged properties and cost price of all buildings he owns.

The player must decide which option he will take before he adds up his total worth.

JAIL...A player lands in Jail when. . . (1.) his token lands on the space marked "Go to Jail"; (2.) he draws a card marked "Go to Jail"; (3.) he throws doubles three times in succession.

When a player is sent to Jail he cannot collect $200 salary in that move since, regardless of where his token is on the board, he must move it directly into Jail. A player's turn ends when he is sent to Jail.

If a player is not "sent to Jail" but in the ordinary course of play lands on that space, he is "Just Visiting", incurs no penalty, and moves ahead in the usual manner on his next turn.

A player gets out of Jail by... (1.) throwing doubles on any of his next three turns. If he succeeds in doing this he immediately moves forward the number of spaces shown by his doubles throw. Even though he has thrown doubles he does not take another turn; (2.) using the "Get Out of Jail Free" card if he has it; (3.) purchasing the "Get Out of Jail Free" card from another player and playing it; (4.) paying a fine of $50 before he rolls the dice on either of his next two turns
If the player does not throw doubles by his third turn he must pay the $50 fine. He then gets out of Jail and immediately moves forward the number of spaces shown by his throw.

Even though he is in Jail, a player may buy or sell property, buy or sell houses and hotels and collect rents.

FREE PARKING...A player landing on this space does not receive any money, property or reward of any kind. This is just a "free" resting place.

This is for informational purposes for those who have lost their instructions or who would be interested in knowing how to play before purchasing the game. The average price in the U.S. is $15.00. I did not write them, I only did the HTML.
HOUSES...When a player owns all the properties in a color­group he may buy houses from the Bank and erect them on those properties.

If he buys one house, he may put it on any one of those properties. The next house he buys must be erected on one of the unimproved properties of this or any other complete color-group he may own.

The price he must pay the Bank for each house is shown on his Title Deed card for the property on which he erects the house.

The owner can still collect double rent from an opponent who lands on the unimproved properties of his complete color-group.

Following the above rules, a player may buy and erect at any time as many houses as his judgment and financial standing will allow. But he must build evenly (i.e.: he cannot erect more than one house on any one property of any color-group until he has built one house on every property of that group. He may then begin on the second row of houses, and so on, up to a limit of four houses to a property. For example, he cannot build three houses on one property if he has only one house on another property of that group.).

As a player builds evenly, he must also break down evenly if he sells houses back to the Bank (SEE SELLING PROPERTY).

HOTELS...When a player has four houses on each property of a complete color-group, he may buy a hotel from the Bank and erect it on any property of that color-group. He returns the four houses from that property to the Bank and pays the price for the hotel as shown on the Title Deed card. Only one hotel may be erected on any one property.

BUILDING SHORTAGE...When the Bank has no houses to sell, players wishing to build must wait for some player to turn back or to sell his houses to the Bank before building. If there are a limited number of houses and hotels available, and two or more players wish to buy more than the Bank has, the houses or hotels must be sold at auction to the highest bidder.
SELLING PROPERTY... Unimproved properties, railroads and utilities (but not buildings) may be sold to any player as a private transaction for any amount that the owner can get. However, no property can be sold to another player if buildings are standing on any properties of that color-group. Any buildings so located must be sold back to the Bank before the owner can sell any property of that color-group.

Houses and hotels may be sold back to the Bank at any time for one-half the price paid for them.

All houses on one color-group must be sold one by one, evenly, in reverse of the manner in which they were erected.

All hotels on one color-group may be sold at once. Or they may be sold one house at a time (one hotel equals five houses), evenly, in reverse of the manner in which they were erected.

MORTGAGES...Unimproved properties can be mortgaged through the Bank at any time. Before an improved property can be mortgaged all the buildings on all the properties of its color-group must be sold back to the Bank at half price. The mortgage value is printed on each Title Deed card.

No rent can be collected on mortgaged properties or utilities, but rent can be collected on unmortgaged properties in the same group.

In order to lift the mortgage, the owner must pay the Bank the amount of the mortgage plus 10% interest. When all the properties of a color-group are no longer mortgaged the owner may begin to buy back houses at full price.

The player who mortgages property retains possession of it and no other player may secure it by lifting the mortgage from the Bank. However, the owner may sell this mortgaged property to another player at any agreed price. The new owner may lift the mortgage at once, if he wishes, by paying off the mortgage plus 10% interest to the Bank. If he does not lift the mortgage at once he must pay the Bank 10% interest when he buys the property and if he lifts the mortgage later he must pay an additional 10% interest as well as the amount of the mortgage to the Bank.

BANKRUPTCY...A player is bankrupt when he owes more than he can pay either to another player or to the Bank. If his debt is to another player, he must turn over to that player all that he has of value and retire from the game. In making this settlement, if he owns houses or hotels, he must return these to the Bank in exchange for money to the extent of one-half the amount paid for them and this cash is given to the creditor. If he has mortgaged property he also turns this property over to his creditor but the new owner must at once pay the Bank the amount of interest on the loan, which is 10% of the value of the property. After the new owner does this, he may, at his option, pay the principal or hold the property until some later turn at which time he may lift the mortgage. If he holds property in this way until a later turn, he must pay the interest again when he lifts the mortgage.
Should a player owe the Bank, instead of another player, more than he can pay (because of taxes or penalties) even by selling his buildings and mortgaging property, he must turn over all his assets to the Bank. In this case, the Bank immediately sells by auction all property so taken, except buildings. A bankrupt player must immediately retire from the game. The last player left in the game wins.

MISCELLANEOUS...Money can only be loaned to a player by the Bank and then only by mortgaging property. No player may borrow from or lend money to another player.


RULES for a SHORT GAME (60 to 90 minutes of fun) There are three differences in rules for this "Short Game".
1. During PREPARATION for play the Banker shuffles the pack of Title Deed cards. The pack is then cut by the player at his left and the Banker deals, one at a time, two Title Deed cards to each player; including himself if he both plays and acts as Banker. Players receiving Title Deed cards must immediately pay the Bank the printed price of each of the two properties thus acquired. The play then commences as in the regular game.

2. In this short game it is only necessary to have three houses (instead of four) on each lot of a complete color-group before the player may buy a hotel.

Rent received for a hotel remains the same as in the regular game.

The turn-in value of a hotel is still one-half the purchase price, which in this game is one house less than in the regular game.

3. END OF GAME. The first player to go bankrupt retires from the game as in the regular game. However, when the second bankruptcy occurs the game ends. Play immediately ceases with the bankrupt player turning over to his creditor all that he has of value, including buildings and any other properties-whether the creditor happens to be a rival player or the Bank.

Each remaining player then values his property and cash on hand (2.) lots, utilities and railroads owned by him at the price printed on the board; (3.) any mortgaged property owned by him at one-half price printed on the board; (4.) houses, valued at purchase price; (5.) hotels, valued at the purchase price including the value of the three houses turned in.
RICHEST PLAYER WINS!


ANOTHER GOOD SHORT GAME

TIME LIMIT GAME... Before starting, agree upon a definite hour of termination richest player then winning. Before starting the game, Title Deed cards are shuffled and cut, and Banker deals two Title Deeds to each player. Players immediately pay the Bank the price of property dealt to them.