the.com/monopoly
the only game designed to teach why landlords are villains, then made you the landlord
means A monopoly is when a single company or person has total control over a market or commodity, with no competitors to keep them honest.
from From Greek 'monos' (single, alone) plus 'polein' (to sell) — literally 'selling alone.' It came into English in the 16th century by way of Latin 'monopolium,' first used to describe royal grants giving one merchant exclusive rights to sell something. The famous board game borrowed the word much later; it began as 'The Landlord's Game,' designed to demonstrate the evils of land-grabbing — an irony baked right into the box.
- origin
- Invented to expose evils of property monopolists
- longest game
- Documented session lasted over 70 straight days
- prison rule
- The board has more rules about jail than mercy
- jail money
- Free parking jackpot is a beloved fake rule
- war effort
- Smuggled escape maps to WWII prisoners inside boards
standard oil — john d. rockefeller controlled 90% of oil refining in the us by 1880
microsoft windows — held 95% market share of personal computer operating systems in 2000