Who Invented Monopoly?

Charles Darrow is credited with inventing Monopoly in 1935, but the full story is more nuanced.

Darrow based his version on The Landlord's Game, created by Elizabeth Magie in 1903. Magie's game was a teaching tool to illustrate the dangers of monopolies and land ownership. Darrow simplified the rules, redesigned the board, and shifted the theme to wealth accumulation and property trading.

While Darrow commercialized the game we know today, Magie's original design laid the foundation.