80 of the world’s greatest MONOPOLY facts!

by Will Marston March 22, 2021

Are you one of the billion people who has played Monopoly? Chances are you have felt the rush of narrowly avoiding a row of houses and hotels by rolling a double six, or the excitement (and smugness) of your sibling landing on your property, or who can forget the fear of Going Directly to Jail! And let’s not forget the temper tantrums – oh boy, many a Christmas day ruined, and boards knocked over in frustration…but that’s all part of the fun, right?!

Monopoly itself has had quite the chequered history with greed playing its part along the way. Check out these fun and interesting facts about the world’s number one board game!

80 of the world’s greatest MONOPOLY facts!

The MONOPOLY brand is the world’s favourite family gaming brand.
The MONOPOLY game is currently published in 47 languages and sold in 114 countries.
More than one billion people have played the MONOPOLY game worldwide.
Charles Darrow first developed the MONOPOLY game in 1933.
Charles Darrow is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The MONOPOLY game is based on Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.A.
The original game was made from materials from Darrow’s own home. A piece of oilcloth covered the board and the cards were handwritten.
The original houses and hotels were made from wooden moulding scraps.
The original MONOPOLY die-cast tokens were inspired by Darrow’s nieces who recommended metal charms from charm bracelets be used.
The original game included 10 metal tokens including iron, purse, lantern, race car, thimble, shoe, top hat, battleship, cannon and a rocking horse.
The MONOPOLY 80th Anniversary Edition game features one iconic token from each of its eight decades including the bathtub, locomotive, money bag, cat, cannon, cavalry, and the MONOPOLY World Championships trophy.
Darrow attempted to sell the MONOPOLY game to Parker Brothers, but was initially rejected for “52 fundamental errors” that included the game’s length, theme and complexity.
Darrow first manufactured and sold the MONOPOLY game in local Philadelphia department stores.
Following the local success of the MONOPOLY game, Parker Brothers reconsidered their initial rejection and negotiated the rights to market the game.
Parkers Brothers in the U.S.A. and Waddington’s in the U.K. began manufacturing and selling the MONOPOLY game in 1935.
The MONOPOLY brand’s official birthday is March 19, 1935 when Parker Brothers acquired the rights for the game from Charles Darrow.
The city of London was the setting of the first licensed MONOPOLY game.
To make the game relevant to British consumers, the names of the properties were changed to well known streets in London. This is a practice that continues today whenever the MONOPOLY game is introduced to a new country.
Within a year of the MONOPOLY game’s release in the U.S., 35,000 copies of the game were being made each week.
The original MONOPOLY game sold for about $2.
The MONOPOLY game is subtitled “The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game.”
The current classic MONOPOLY game includes eight tokens: battleship, top hat, Scottie dog, racecar, thimble, boot, cat, and wheelbarrow.
More than 20 different tokens have made their way into the game, including an elephant, purse, and a bag of money.
There are 40 spaces on the MONOPOLY board and 28 properties (22 coloured streets, four railroads, and two utility spaces).
There are three Chance spaces, three Community Chest spaces, a Luxury Tax space, and an Income Tax space on the classic MONOPOLY board.
There are four corner spaces on a classic MONOPOLY board including GO, Jail/Just Visiting, Free Parking, and Go to Jail.
There are 32 houses and 12 hotels in the classic MONOPOLY game.
The classic MONOPOLY game has 28 Title Deed cards, 16 Chance cards, and 16 Community Chest cards.
Some of the Chance and Community Chest cards have been updated throughout time. The “Grand Opera Opening” card no longer exists.
Of the 16 Community Chest cards in the MONOPOLY game, 10 cards will give players cash.
Of the 16 Chance cards, 10 cards will move you onto another space on the MONOPOLY board.
To keep games shorter, a Speed Die was introduced into the classic MONOPOLY game in 2008.
There are three ways to get out of Jail in the MONOPOLY game: pay $50 on your next turn, use a Get Out of Jail Free card, or roll a double.
If you aren’t in Jail and you roll a double, watch out! You must roll again and rolling a double three times in a row means you Go To Jail.
You cannot build on a Street in the MONOPOLY game if any Street in its colour set is mortgaged.
There are three of each coloured property on a classic MONOPOLY game board, except for the brown and dark blue properties which only have two each.
The three most-landed-on properties in the classic MONOPOLY game are Illinois Avenue, “GO” and B&O Railroad.
Iconic characters in the MONOPOLY game include the tycoon Mr. MONOPOLY, Jake the Jailbird, and Officer Edgar Mallory.
The total amount of money in a classic MONOPOLY game is $20,580.
In the event of a cash shortage while playing the game, the bank never runs out of money. The banker is authorized to act as a temporary ‘mint’ to print more notes.
There have been more than 300 licensed versions of the MONOPOLY game developed themed with topics such as sports teams and movies.
The list of countries that sell the MONOPOLY game include Bolivia, Finland, Egypt, Japan, Panama, and Slovakia.
The MONOPOLY game is sold in over 100,000 retail stores.
The highest rent property on the MONOPOLY game board varies by region. In the U.S., it is named “Boardwalk” after a street in Atlantic City. In Spain, it is named “Paseo del Prado” after a street in Madrid, and in France, “Rue de la Paix” is the name of the most coveted property space.
Games of MONOPOLY have been played in unusual places including on a ceiling, underground, and on a U.S. Nuclear Submarine.
On record, the longest game of MONOPOLY ever played lasted 70 straight days.
Escape maps, compasses and files were inserted into MONOPOLY game boards smuggled into POW camps inside Germany during World War II. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of MONOPOLY money.
In the 1970s, a Braille edition of the MONOPOLY game was created for the visually impaired.
In 1972, the Commissioner of Public Works in Atlantic City, threatened to change the names of the real Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, but public outcry vetoed the bill.
In 1978, the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue offered a chocolate version of the MONOPOLY game priced at $600.
In 1998, celebrated San Francisco jeweller Sidney Mobell created the most expensive MONOPOLY set in the world valued at $2 million.
In 1990, the MONOPOLY JUNIOR game first introduces kids under eight years old to the favourite fast-dealing property trading game.
Tokens from the United States MONOPOLY: HERE & NOW Edition game were flown into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2007.
In 2008, nearly 3,000 MONOPOLY fans around the world united to set the world record for the most people playing the MONOPOLY game at the same time.
In 2008, the classic MONOPOLY edition’s Mediterranean and Baltic Avenue properties changed from purple to brown and the colours of the GO square changed from red to black.
In 2008, after a worldwide vote, Montreal was chosen to represent the most expensive property on the MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition game board.
The MONOPOLY game was introduced as mobile game for the iPhone in 2008.
In 2010, residents of Canada, Turkey, Russia, Korea, Peru and Hong Kong voted to create updated versions of the MONOPOLY game for their area.
In 2011, the MONOPOLY MILLIONAIRE game upped the ante by changing the rules: the winner is now the first player to make a million dollars!
In the 2013 MONOPOLY “Save Your Token” campaign, MONOPOLY fans voted to replace the iron token with a new cat token.
In 2013, the MONOPOLY EMPIRE game introduced top brands in place of real estate and fresh, fast game play allowing fans to play a game in under 30 minutes.
In 2014, MONOPOLY fans globally debated on Facebook which of their favourite “House Rules” Hasbro should add to the classic MONOPOLY game.
The “House Rules” added to the classic MONOPOLY game in 2014 were: Free Parking, Fast Cash, Dash for the Cash, Frozen Assets, See the Sights and Lucky Roller.
In 2014, the MY MONOPOLY game allowed players to personalize their own game at home with their own photos.
The MONOPOLY World Championships has taken place in locations including Tokyo, Monte Carlo, and Toronto.
The first winner of the MONOPOLY World Championships was Lee Bayrd from the United States. The first Championships were held in 1973 in Liberty, New York.
The last time a player from the U.S. won the MONOPOLY World Championships was in 1974.
The 14th MONOPOLY World Championships were held September 7-9, 2015 in Macao, China. The 2015 MONOPOLY World Champion was Nicolò Falcone of Venice, Italy
The MONOPOLY brand has 160 licensees around the world.
The Alex and Ani MONOPOLY Collection of bangles features the most beloved tokens, the house, the car, the Scottie dog, and the cat.
The MONOPOLY at McDonald’s promotion has run more than 20 times in the U.S. and has taken place in more than a dozen countries around the world.
Under The Boardwalk: The MONOPOLY Story, a documentary about the MONOPOLY game, debuted in 2010 and won an Emmy® award.
In the book and movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy joins patients Cheswick, Martini, and Harding in a MONOPOLY game.
The MONOPOLY game has been played by characters in Zombieland and Gossip Girl.
The Official MONOPOLY brand Facebook page has over 10.5 million global Facebook fans.
MONOPOLY Facebook fans hail from over 40 different countries.
At Universal Studios Singapore, 605 fans played the Monopoly game on World Monopoly Day, March 19, 2016 and broke the Guinness World Record for the most people playing a Monopoly game at a single venue!
As of January 2016, Band Director Brian Gallagher and the members of the Ramona High School Dynasty Band, Colour Guard and Booster Club in Riverside CA, are the official holders of the Guinness World Record for the Largest Monopoly Board which was 744.8677748 square meters (8,017.69 square feet).
The previous record was set in September 2015 in Warsaw by Hasbro Poland and measured in at 405.61 square meters (4,365.94 square feet).
And now, Monopoly even has its own Official Shop, right here, selling Monopoly themed personalised gifts, mugs, clothing, art and even furniture!