The Landlord's Game aka Monopoly

Monopoly is by far my favorite board game. The original Monopoly was actually called The Landlords Game. The Landlord's Game is based on the principles of Georgism. Georgism is quote,

"named after Henry George (1839-1897), is a philosophy and economic ideology that holds that everyone owns what they create, but that everything found in nature, most importantly land, belongs equally to all of humanity. The Georgist philosophy is usually associated with the idea of a single tax on the value of land. Georgists argue that a tax on land value is efficient, fair and equitable, and will accrue sufficient revenue so that other taxes, which are less fair and efficient, can be reduced or eliminated."

The first version of The Landlord's Game circa 1904. - notice, "Go" is know as "Mother Earth" and spaces charge you for "absolute necessities" such as coal, bread, shelter, clothing.

The second version of The Landlord's Game circa 1924 - notice some properties belonging to Chicago.

Magie, the game's developer who loved and supported Georgism, sold the game's concept to The Parker Brothers in 1935 for $500, which is equivalent to $7734.46 via 2009. Although The Landlord's Game originally took inspiration from New York City, the modern editions of Monopoly are classically based on Atlantic City.

The characters in Monopoly are listed:

• Rich Uncle Pennybags aka Milburn Pennybags aka Mr. Monopoly- the main Monopoly character
• Jake the Jailbird - the guy in jail
• Officer Edgar Mallory - the police officer
• Madge Pennybags - Milburn's Wife
• Sandy, Andy, Randy - Mr. Monopoly's niece and nephews.

Milburn Pennybags is also named the 6th richest fictional character according to Forbes magazine. I didn't make this stuff up, guys.

For more info on different editions of Monopoly look HERE.