Monopoly is the bestselling boardgame of all time. In this episode you'll learn how Monopoly was invented. Until the truth came out, in the 1970s, we used to believe that a man named Charles Darrow created the game in 1934 in a burst of genius. But some dedicated sleuths discovered the real invention story. It's a fascinating story about the power of collaboration and social networks. You'll hear about the battle against Capitalism, the Supreme Court, Quakers, a political campaign—this story has it all! Monopoly emerged over a 30-year period, with creative contributions by hundreds of people. Each person contributed a small spark of creativity along the way. The story of Monopoly demonstrates the power of collaboration to drive creativity.

(0:00) The Myth

(00:26) Introduction

(00:51) The Success

(1:57) Anti-Monopoly

(4:49) Charles Darrow

(9:01) The Single Tax

(10:23) The Quakers

(13:39) Professors and Fraternities

(15:06) Atlantic City

(18:10) The Supreme Court

(20:02) The Collaborative Web

(23:55) Closer

(24:22) Outro

Copyright (c) 2024 Keith Sawyer

SOURCES:

• Keith Sawyer, Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration
• Ralph Anspach, The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle
• Philip Orbanes, Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game and How It Got that Way
• Mary Pilon, "How a fight over a boardgame monopolized an economist's life." Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2009
• Gavin Edwards, "Overlooked no more: Lizzie Magie, the unknown inventor behind Monopoly." New York Times
• Tim Walsh, Timeless toys: Classic toys and the playmakers who created them

Music by license from Soundstripe (in order of appearance):

• "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ
• "Uptown Lovers" by AFTERNOONZ
• "At The Get Down" by Matt Wigton
• "What's The Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich