The Landlords Game

The Landlord’s Game ®

The Monopolists – Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal behind the world’s favotite board game / A book by Mary Pilon 2015

Mary’s Pilon’s book reached the New York Times best seller list. It covers Lizzie Magie’s invention of The Landlord’s Game and how the Parker Brothers obtained the game as monopoly, the false stories they put forth and why, and the decades later law suit against Anti-Monopoly that led to the rediscovery of the true history and a US Supreme Court ruling over the trademark.
yourPlay owner, Thomas Forsyth contributed to this book

Monopolygate / A book by Ralph Anspach 1998

The story of the David vs. Goliath battle between a univesity economics professor and General Mills, the then owner of the game Monopoly. A court case goes to the US Supreme Court in a twelve year journey that uncovers the true history behind the world’s most popular proprietary game. Told with suspense and humor it helps explore the history of a game we are all familiar with but know little about its true origins with a woman inventor more than thirty years prior. The book out of print book is now is available on Kindle.
yourPlay owner, Thomas Forsyth contributed to this book

Monopoly – The world’s most famous game and how it got that way / A book by Phil Orbanse 2006

A former VP at Parker Brothers gives his take on the controversial origins of Monopoly and its ties to earliers games, along with Parker Brothers obsession with a game that would bring them out of the brink of bankruptcy during the depression.
yourPlay owner, Thomas Forsyth contributed to this book

Monopoly Goes Corportate by Mary Pilon –
THE NEW YORK TIMES – The Sunday Review
August 25, 2013

This article published in the New York Times by investigative journalist Mary Pilon discuses Hasbro’s introduction of Monopoly®, ‘The Corporate Version’ and how it finds itself in contrast from the game’s origins with inventor Lizzie Magie Phillips.
yourPlay owner, Thomas Forsyth contributed to this article

Monopoly’s Inventor: The Progressive Who Didn’t Pass ‘Go’
by Mary Pilon – THE NEW YORK TIMES – Business
February 15, 2015

Article discusses some of the origins of monopoly before the Parker Brothers version. It has some insights into the book ‘ The Monopolist’ by Mary Pilon due out the week following this article.
yourPlay owner, Thomas Forsyth contributed to this article

How a Fight Over a Board Game Monopolized an Economist’s Life by Mary Pilon – THE WALL STREET JOURNAL /
Page A1, Oct 20, 2009

This front page article published in the Wall Street Journal by investigative journalist Mary Pilon discuses both the past and present battles of Dr. Ralph Anspach in his decades long battle to not only get the true story of monopoly told, but to market his game “Anti-Monopoly®” against market barriers set up by Goliath competitors. It also began Mary Pilon’s deeper investigation and interest in the history that would lead to the New York Times best seller book, The Monopolists.

Can’t Play by the Rules? It’s Fine by Mr. Monopoly
by Mary Pilon – THE NEW YORK TIMES – Business Day /
March 25, 2014

This article discusses Hasbro opening up the rules to change. Ah, but what about all those rules lost before Parker Brothers acquired the game? But then who wants to dig up the past? Hmmm?

Monopoly Is Theft by Christopher Ketcham
HARPER’S MAGAZINE, THE STREAM – Special Features /
October 19, 2012

Launching Harper’s online magazine ‘The Stream’ in 2012, this seven page article is well titled. Christopher Ketcham spent a great deal of time researching before writing the article. He found like many others delving into the topic that there is so much to discover and discuss and grappled with how to edit it down to the size it is. Overall the article gives a good overview of the game’s sorted history. Chris also includes a readable explanation of the game’s Georgist roots for those of us without a background in, or firm grasp of, economics!

From Berks to Boardwalk by Charles J. Adams III
HISTORICAL REVIEW OF BERKS COUNTY – Volume XLIV, Number 1
Winter, 1978-1979

This article written in the 1970’s in one of the best as it was done with personal interviews with the players in Reading, PA, from the 1920s era of monopoly. There are a number of references sited at the article end which is useful in research.

A letter by Eugene Raiford
January 02, 1964

This letter written by the ‘Colonel’ as he was referred to by those who knew him, was in response to the incorrect history that Charles Darrow invented monopoly. He recounts how the Todd’s had learned monopoly from him and Darrow from the Todds. That Darrow never wrote his own rule set, rather, it was Charles Todd’s wife who had made a set of carbon copy rule sets for both him and Darrow. These carbon copies still exist in two sets – the Darrow round game and his first square set. When the Todd’s copied the Raiford game they made a typo on the spelling of Marven Gardens (combined from MARgate City and VENtor City. The plagiarism of Darrow was such that the misspelling, spelled with an “i” not an “e”, still exists on Parker Brothers version Monopoly® sets to this day.