This must have felt like a devastating blow. In 1934, it was the height of the Great Depression. Charles Darrow had lost his job. He had an Idea. He had an idea. Monopoly was the name of his game. The board game appealed to him; he thought it would be his ticket out of depression and financial desperation. Darrow took his board game to Parker Brothers to help him publish and sell it.
They agreed to examine the Darrow board game. The Parker Brothers were unimpressed. George Parker was 16 when he founded the company in 1883. The game publisher has been selling puzzles and games for over 51 years. They had experienced both success and failure during that period. Parker Brothers understood the business of games. What worked, and what did not? They knew what worked and what did not. The representatives of the giant gaming company came up with 59 reasons why they didn’t think Darrow’s game would be a success.
Charles Darrow was not in agreement. Charles Darrow was convinced. Monopoly was published by him and sold through department stores. The board game was printed in 5,000 copies.
Hope was scarce at that hard Christmas in 1934. Even more, money was scarce. Monopoly became a huge hit. All 5,000 board games were sold. Parker Brothers published the board game within a year. By 1936, it was the most popular game in America.
Monopoly has been published in over 89 languages, and over 200 million board games have now been sold. Over 500,000,000 people have played this game. The game has been converted into an electronic version. Monopoly has been the most popular board game for decades.
Monopoly has been a relative newcomer compared with other board games.
The oldest board game is “The Royal Game of Ur” or “The Game of 20 Squares”. The game was found in a tomb that dates back 4,500 years in southern Iraq. The game has been played in the Middle East for over 1,000 years. The rules for the game were found on a cuneiform tablet. Even though the game has been out of favor for a long time, it is still played by avid gamers.
Chess is the oldest game that’s still played today. It was first invented in India in the 6th Century A.D. By 1000; it had spread to the Middle East and Europe. Over the years, the rules have changed, and the board has evolved, but it is the same game played by the Indians in ancient times. The ancient Indians could not have imagined the high-level chess matches or electronic versions we play today.
Checkers is another viral and old board game. It’s also called draughts. As early as 1600 B.C., the Egyptian Pharaohs were playing a form of checkers. The game evolved as well over the years. In the 12th Century, the game had been adapted for the 64-squared chessboard. The capture rules were introduced 400 years later, resulting in today’s game.
It is impossible to know how many copies or players of checkers or chess have ever been sold. The numbers would be staggering if they were made public.
Popular Board Games Have Common Features
Yahtzee is another popular board game. Scrabble follows it. These games are all from the 20th Century and remain hugely popular.
The most popular games have some similarities. The majority of these games require specific play strategies. These games can be challenging, fun, and rewarding when these strategies are used successfully. Players try to capture parts of the board or each other. Chance or luck is another element that’s common to most board games. Luck can be introduced by rolling dice or drawing cards. Chance opens the door to even more play strategies. These games reflect life lessons in some way. These games teach sportsmanship and competition. They also teach the importance of design and never quitting; visit this site https://gamesmithsplaytesting.com/.
Monopoly may have attracted Charles Darrow for this reason. He was convinced that success is achieved by using sound strategies, following your dream, and not giving up. Darrow’s perseverance is something we are grateful for. He didn’t just throw away the Parker Brothers board game in 1934. It had 59 mistakes.
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