Monopoly Revealed : The Remarkable Story of How a Game in the Public Domain Became Monopolized

1. Monopoly Revealed: The Remarkable Story of How a Game in the Public Domain Became Monopolized A presentation by Edward J. Dodson, M.L.A.

2. Based on the book The Monopolists, by Mary Pilon (published by Bloomsbury, 2015)

11. “The early seeds of what would later evolve into one of the most popular modern board games of all time had been planted.”

13. “But she wasn’t reaching enough people. She needed a new medium – something more interactive and creative.”

14. “It is a practical demonstration of the present system of land-grabbing with all its usual outcomes and consequences. …It might well have been called the ‘Game of Life’, as it contains all the elements of success and failure in the real world, and the object is the same as the human race in general seem[s] to have, i.e., the accumulation of wealth.”

15. “Lizzie’s game featured play money and deeds and properties that could be bought and sold. Players borrowed money, either from the bank or from each other, and they had to pay taxes.”

28. “Layman chose to name his game Finance largely because some attorney friends advised him against using the word ‘monopoly’. That name was already in informal use for a game being played in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, they said, and therefore could not be patented or marketed.”

41. “Do you idiots know how to play this game, or are you trying to disrupt homes and destroy families with your damn rules?”

45. “Much to Lizzie Magie’s dismay, the other two games that she invented for Parker Brothers … received little publicity and faded into board game obscurity. Her newer, Parker Brothers version of Landlord’s Game appeared to have, as well. And so did Lizzie Magie.”

47. “What is the value of our philosophy if we do not do our utmost to apply it? To simply know a thing is not enough. To merely speak or write of it occasionally among ourselves is not enough. We must do something about it on a large scale if we are to make headway. …”

48. “These are critical times, and drastic action is needed. To make any worthwhile impression on the multitude we must go in droves into the sacred precincts of the men we are after. We must not only tell them, but show them just how and why and where our claims can be proven in some actual situation.”