Monopoly is a board game built around capitalism. So is its origin story. :Planet Money: NPR

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LONDON - JANUARY 25, 2006: Details of a new version of the Monopoly board game are shown at the London Toy Fair on January 25, 2006 in London.

Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

Monopoly is one of the best-selling board games in history. It has become an iconic part of American life: a cheap pastime during the Great Depression; a memory for soldiers during World War II; an export during the United States’ rise to global superpower; and a bestseller during the pandemic.

The game’s staying power may be due in part to the powerful American legend that anyone with a little money can rise from rags to riches. Monopoly: The obsession, fury and scandal behind the world’s most popular board game Dig deeper into the origin story that was once included in every box of the game: A man named Charles Darrow was out of work and came up with the game to pass the time. In 1934, he brought Monopoly to the gaming company Parker Brothers and eventually became a millionaire.

But there is another origin story—a completely different story that promotes a completely different image of capitalism. (And there are two completely different sets of rule) This story shows how a critique of capitalism grew from a seed of an idea in the head of a rebellious young woman to a legendary game that celebrates wealth at any cost.

This episode is co-written with NPR Through LineTo learn the origin story of the game Monopoly, listen to the original series Do Not Pass.

This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee, produced by Natasha Branch, and edited by Jess Jiang.

This episode of Throughline was produced by Rund Abdelfatah, Ramtin Arablouei, Lawrence Wu, Laine Kaplan-Levenson, Julie Caine, Victor Yvellez, Anya Steinberg, Yolanda Sangweni, Casey Miner, Cristina Kim, Devin Katayama and Amiri Tulloch. Kevin Volkl provided fact-checking.

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