Charles Brace Darrow, official inventor of Monopoly, died in 1967.

On 31 December, 1935, patent No. 2,026,082 was issued for the game of Monopoly. The patent was assigned to Parker Brothers, Inc., by Charles Darrow of Pennsylvania, although there is some evidence that Darrow may have copied the game from existing real estate games. Darrow had approached Parker Brothers the year before with his idea for a game based on buying, selling and trading, but his idea was rejected. Convinced the game would be a success, Darrow had 5,000 boards made and sold them to a department store. The game was a huge hit, becoming the best-selling game in America in its first year. Unable to keep up with the demand, Darrow again approached Parker Brothers and this time made a deal. Today, Monopoly is the best-selling board game in the world. Over 200 million games have been sold in 80 countries. Monopoly is now produced in more than 25 languages and numerous versions, such as a Disney edition, a Star Trek Edition and various editions for specific cities and states. Parker Brothers manufactures a hundred million Monopoly houses and prints about 50 billion dollars' worth of Monopoly money each year. Despite the economic focus of the game, Monopoly has not kept up with inflation over the years; the values on the Monopoly board are the same today as they were when the game was patented in 1935.

ReadWriteThink
Technical Reading and Writing Using Board Games (3–5) uses the high-interest board game to challenge students both to read and recall information from novels and to become effective communicators of technical information. Students work in small groups over a period of one to two days to create board games that review elements from class-read or independently-read novels. The game must also include questions about the novel and detailed instructions on how to play. After creating the games, students spend a day playing and evaluating one another’s games.

EconEdLink
Players in Monopoly buy and sell real estate with play money. The Economics of Homebuying (9–12) can help students understand what it takes to buy a home in real life. Students research different programs for first-time home buyers and learn some of the basics of mortgage costs.

Buying vs. Renting (9–12) also helps students begin to learn about home buying as they research different housing options and the associated costs. Students use their economic decision-making skills to determine the best choice available to them.

In Designing a Willy Wonka Board Game (K–2), students design their own board game based on Roald Dahl's popular character.