Nearly any comment about Monopoly in a Board Game Geek forum thread will eventually lead to three predictable replies. First, somebody will badmouth Monopoly as a crappy game that nobody should play. Next, another poster will reply how it’s not such an awful game if played by the official rules; all the house rules make the game intolerable. Finally, somebody will comment that Monopoly is actually a derivative of The Landlord’s Game designed by Lizzie Magie, and the game was originally intended to criticize income inequality in the late 1890s and early 1900s. I learned about The Landlord’s Game through BGG. Now anybody who does not enjoy spending hours on forums dedicated to board games can learn more thanks to NPR.
Throughline did the original reporting and story while Planet Money played an abridged version. I listened to the Planet Money version simply because I subscribe to that feed. It is a story of poverty, progressive politics, and Parker Brothers that should be known by any fan of board games.
The Keasy Depot 