“The player can always say to himself, ‘I’m going to get the better of the other guy.’ People also can play Monopoly without it being the end of the world. It appeals to the competitive nature of people,” he said.
The game not only provided cheap entertainment, it also offered a psychological elixir, as Parker said, it gave people “a feeling of wealth.” “But what kept it going is the chance for individual gain. So they stayed home and played Monopoly.” Edward Parker, the grandnephew of the founder, George Parker, recalled years later, “During the Depression, people did not have enough money to go out to the shows. One Monopoly board can keep a family occupied for many evenings, a plus considering the budget-stretching demands of the moment.Īnother theory: people stayed in.
Board games are relatively cheap, reusable and can entertain a wide age range. Then, and now, there are many reasons why board games remain a bright spot in economic downturns, typically bleak spots for retailers. With most American household budgets buckling, it felt only logical to game industry executives that retail, particularly for diversionary products, would plunge along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average. No one felt more surprised by the board game boom at the time than Parker Brothers executives. Board games offered budget-friendly entertainment. Nor was Monopoly’s success isolated it echoed a broader trend of board games flourishing during the Great Depression. Why, in a time of great financial despair, would families and friends want to gather around and swap cash and real estate? It’s a rendition of that game which was sold to Parker Brothers during the Depression and became a commercial success, saving the company from the brink of bankruptcy. Her game spread throughout left-wing political circles for decades, until a version of it made its way into the hands of the Quakers in Atlantic City in the early 1930s. Magie, the game’s originator, first received her patent in 1904 for the Landlord’s Game, which she designed to teach the world about the evils of capitalism. But the downturn proved to be an unlikely golden age for the real estate board game-and one riddled with irony.Įlizabeth J. When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, people played Monopoly for at least three decades.
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