How do you get a board game released in 2018 to blow up and become the next Internet sensation? Apparently have a college professor tweet that it is “mean spirited” and sit back and wait. That is exactly what has happened with Monopoly Socialism by Hasbro. Originally released in 2018, this parody of the beloved (and much licensed) board game has become the center of attention after a single tweet on Twitter.
The origins of Monopoly
Monopoly as we know it was introduced around 1935 but its roots are much deeper than that. Derived from a game that was invented in 1903, Monopoly took inspiration from “The Landlord’s Game”. Created by Lizzie Magie, The Landlord’s Game featured many of the tropes that Monopoly would make popular. Parker Bros, publishers of Monopoly and The Landlord’s Game was purchased by Hasbro in 1991.
Basic Monopoly gameplay
The idea of Monopoly, as the name implies, is to control everything. To have a monopoly on certain things or the whole board. How you accomplish this is up to you, and a bit of luck. There are rewards for owning all, a monopoly, the properties in a grouping (rail roads, utilities, color locations, etc). Passing Go gives you a set amount of money to invest or pay off debts to other players or the bank.
The game is won when there is only one player still capable of continuing – not bankrupt or having quit.
Where Monopoly Socialism went awry
The idea of Monopoly Socialism is that it is the exact opposite of the traditional Monopoly game. In Monopoly your goal is self-enrichment, in the socialism version you are supposed to improve the lives of everyone in the game. Now, as usual, there are options for those that wish to partake of the community fund and enrich themselves along the way. This is true for all economic systems – there will always be those that will take and take and give as little as possible back.
Is the media fanning the flames of a non-existent fire?
According to The Daily Wire, “…leftists have not exactly embraced Hasbro’s parody of their beloved economic system.” They continued by quoting Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers University, Nick Kapur, who said the game was “…woefully ill-informed…”
I bought a copy of Hasbro's mean-spirited and woefully ill-informed "MONOPOLY: SOCIALISM" board game so you don't have to - a thread 1/ pic.twitter.com/YhZWDjkAnj
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) August 21, 2019
The Washington Examiner detailed a bit of why Assistant Professor Kapur could have a problem wit Hasbro’s take on socialism. “He’s offended that the tokens are all throwback to the 1950’s…” stated Madeline Fry in her article on August 23rd. Sure, there are no longer “dairy-free coffee shops” around but that is just a matter of economic evolution and marketing at work.
CNN seems to have been more center lane on the situation. Harmeet Kaur states in her article from August 23rd, “Depending on where you are on the political spectrum, the tone of the game is either condescending or tongue-in-cheek.” I must agree with Ms. Kaur as that is a very succinct way of putting it. Me personally, I think it is funny and will, as a reseller, attempt to make a bit of money on this trend.
Not the first time Hasbro has pressed this button
A year or two ago Hasbro released a variation of Monopoly called “Monopoly for Millennials”. Much like Monopoly Socialism, that version was a hot seller for a while and many people made a ton of money off the hype. That version of Monopoly featured tag lines as “forget real estate. You can’t afford it anyway.” Monopoly for Millennials was about as popular with the audience being poked at as Monopoly Socialism apparently is.
Check out what Monopoly Socialism is going for on eBay or Amazon
