I wanted to update people because online gaming and the economic disaster of NFTs as a kind of digital game are becoming dominant. The point of Monopoly is that it has a anti-capitalist context for its creation and ironically because of its popularity made its trademark owner act like a monopolist. What if we played the board game with actual money. Would it confound the “veil of money” as a “veil of ignorance”. The problem remains in the continually flexing rules of capitalism renewing and recuperation itself using the legal structure and the political system.
The Anti-Monopoly Party was a short-lived American political party. The party nominated Benjamin F. Butler for President of the United States in 1884, as did the Greenback Party, which ultimately supplanted the organization.
The first organized Anti-Monopoly Party was founded in Minnesota in 1874 by former congressman Ignatius L. Donnelly.[1]
The Anti-Monopoly Party was founded as a national political party in 1884 at its convention in Chicago, which took place on May 14, 1884. Prior to this convention, however, there were Anti-Monopoly Parties operating at the state level, notably in California and New York. The party's platform was similar to those of other parties identified as progressive. The party advocated such measures as direct election of senators, a graduated income tax, industrial arbitration and the establishment of labor bureaus to enhance the legal rights of organized labor, and antitrust legislation, among other matters. The party also opposed the use of the tariff and the granting of public land to railroads and other corporations.[1]
One Anti-Monopoly party member was elected to the United States House of Representatives and one member to the U.S. Senate:
In 1974, Parker Brothers sued Ralph Anspach over the use of the "Monopoly" name, claiming trademark infringement. While preparing his legal defense, Anspach became aware of Monopoly's history prior to Charles Darrow's sale of the game to Parker in 1935, and how it had evolved from Elizabeth Magie's original Landlord's Game into the version Darrow appropriated.
Anspach based his defense on the grounds that the game itself existed in effectively the public domain before Parker purchased it, and therefore Parker's trademark claim on it should be nullified.
The case dragged on for ten years,[1] with numerous appeals and overturned judicial verdicts, until Anspach and Parker ultimately reached a settlement, permitting him to continue using the name Anti-Monopoly and distributing the game.[2]
For a time during the dispute, the game was marketed as simply "Anti."
Related games
- Syndrome, a similar game in that it inverts the objective of Monopoly but with the aim of giving away money and property, was described by science fiction author Philip K. Dick in his short story "War Game".[3] Selchow and Righter published the game as Go for Broke in 1965.
- Class Struggle, a board game based on Marxism, created by Bertell Ollman[4]
- In Germany, where the original game was and still is very popular, two more versions of Anti-Monopoly were created and popular in the late 1970s and 1980s: Provopoli - Wem gehört die Stadt ("To whom the city belongs"), where squatters take over parts of the town, and Ökopoli ("Ecopoly") where the objective is to take over the town from polluters.
This game may look familiar, but don't be fooled – it's a real estate trading game with an exciting twist! Players choose free enterprise or monopoly, then play under different rules. Competitors charge fair market value while monopolists take over whole neighborhoods and jack up rents.
In real life, monopolists have an unfair advantage. But in Anti-Monopoly, competitors have a fair shot at coming out on top!
Includes game board, play money, dice, 3 blue monopolist pawns, 3 green competitor pawns, 25 monopolist cards, 25 competitor cards, 28 title/mortgage notes, 35 houses, 15 apartments, instructions. For 2 to 6 players, ages 8 and up.
Published by University Games
Anti-Monopoly is a trademark owned by Hasbro, Inc., and is used pursuant to a license.
To order: www.areyougame.com
WHAT THE GAME IS ABOUT: COMPETITORS VERSUS MONOPOLISTS
Players are either competitors or monopolists. Competitors can build up to five houses as soon as they buy a property, but they can charge only a fair market rent. Monopolists cannot build until they monopolize a color grouping, and even then they can build no more than four houses on a property. Restricting supply is how monopolists raise prices and rake in monopoly profits!
The title cards in Anti-Monopoly display two columns of rents. The competitive rents are those that were used in the historic Monopoly game played in Atlantic City. The monopoly rents are sky-high and will lighten the coffers of any player who falls into the clutches of a monopoly landlord.
As they circle the board, competitors may stumble into a PRICE WAR. That can't happen to monopolists, but–as in real life–they do run the risk of landing in JAIL. Anti-Monopoly also features COMPETITOR and MONOPOLIST cartoon cards that enliven the game while illustrating economic principles.
Anti-Monopoly is a unique board game in that the two sets of players don't play by the same rules. That makes it more like the real-world economy. In real life, though, monopolists have an unfair advantage. But in the Anti-Monopoly game, the odds of winning have been balanced. As long as competitors follow the right strategy, they have a fair shot at beating the monopolists.
The original Anti-Monopoly game begins with the board in a monopolised state, effectively the result of a completed Monopoly game. Instead of real estate and public utilities, properties in Anti-Monopoly are individual businesses that have been brought under single ownership. Players take the role of federal case workers bringing indictments against each monopolised business in an attempt to return the state of the board to a free market system.
In Anti-Monopoly II individual players choose to play either by monopolist or competitor rules at the beginning of the game. This version plays more like the actual Monopoly game in that it is based on the buying and selling of real estate. Among other differences, competitors charge lower rents and can improve any property they own at any time, while monopolists must own at least two properties in a group before building houses on them and charge much higher rents.
en.wikipedia.org/...
Anti-Monopoly® Instructions
Note: All dollar amounts in game represent values in thousands.
Ready to play? Remember, all elements in this game have been mathematically constructed to make a fair game between competitors and monopolists. If either competitors or monopolists have the best of it in the first few games you play, it’s because luck is on their side – or because they are playing better.
1. Object of Game
Players have a choice of two ways of playing and winning the game:
Game A. To win by bankrupting all other players.
Game B. To be the richest competitor after all monopolists have been bankrupted or to be the richest monopolist after all competitors have been eliminated (see Rule 25 for determining who is richest).
2. Treasurer
Select one player as Treasurer to manage and distribute the money, title cards, houses and apartments. The Treasurer must keep his/her own money strictly separate from the Treasury money.
3. Competitor and Monopolist Cards
The Treasurer shuffles the Monopolist and Competitor cards and places them face down on the appropriate spaces on the board.
4. Role Division
a. The players are divided evenly to be either competitors or monopolists.
b. Even division means that there are the same number of competitors and monopolists or, if there is an uneven number of players, the difference between competitors and monopolists cannot be more than one. (For example, a division of 2 competitors and 3 monopolists is legitimate but division of 2 competitors and 4 monopolists is against the rules.)
c. Role division is done by rolling the dice and letting the player with the highest dice score choose between being either a monopolist or competitor and then letting the others make their choices by clockwise rotation. Players may trade off roles before the start of the game if they wish.
d. The initial role assignment cannot be changed during the game.
5. Starting Budget
The Treasurer gives each player $1,500; two $500, three $100, two $50, seven $10, five $5 and five $1. (Caution: The money is just right to keep the game balanced. It is less that you may remember from other games – so watch your money!)
6. Order of Play and Choice of Playing Token
The same dice outcome used from Role Division is also used to determine the rotation of players and to choose the color of playing tokens. Competitors must choose a green pawn; monopolist must choose a blue pawn.
7. Doubles Give One Extra Turn
Players throwing doubles move their token as usual – but must then take one extra turn. On this extra turn, doubles are treated as an ordinary throw and do not bring about yet another turn.
8. Movement of Players Around the Board
All players place their tokens on Start. Players then move their tokens around the board by rolling the dice and moving them clockwise around the board according to the number of spaces indicated by the dice outcome. Players also move their tokens according to other directions in the game.
9. Property Purchases and Payments
Players who land on a street, transportation company or utility not owned by anyone my buy this property at the price marked on the board or title card. If a player declines to buy the property, it stays in the Treasury as un-owned property.
The Treasurer gives the purchaser the appropriate title card.
A player landing on a street, transportation company or utility owned by someone else must pay the owner the amount listed on the respective title card.
10. Monopolizing a City
When monopolists own any two streets in a city, they have monopolized the city. Then they can charge double rent on the streets owned. When the city has three streets, monopolists can charge double on that street also when acquired. Monopolists may build only in cities they have monopolized.
11. Building House and Apartments
· Competitors can build up to four houses on each street they own. Instead of building a fifth house, competitors return the four houses to the Treasury and purchase an apartment. Prices for the improvements are listed on the title cards. Competitors place their houses on the space on which the city name is printed.
· Monopolists can build up to three houses on each city street they have monopolized. Instead of the fourth house, monopolists return the houses to the Treasury and purchase an apartment. Prices fro the improvements are listed on the title cards. Monopolists place their houses on the space marked with an M.
· Houses and apartments may be purchased only on the player’s turn.
· There are no restrictions on how players may distribute their houses on the properties on which they may build. For example, they may put one house on one property in a city and an apartment on another property in the same city. However, once built, a house may not be shifted around on properties.
12. Mortgages
· Mortgage values are one-half of the purchase price listed on each title card. Players cannot collect rent on any mortgaged property and they cannot have houses on mortgaged property. Monopolists cannot have houses in a city if any one of the two properties needed for monopolization of a city are mortgaged. Monopolists can collect a single rent on any unmortgaged property in such a city but not double rent.
· When players mortgage a property, they turn over to the Treasurer the appropriate title deed. The Treasurer keeps the mortgaged properties apart from unsold property title cards.
· Houses must be returned to the Treasurer for the usual return price (see Rule 13) before the property on which they are located can be mortgaged.
· Mortgaged streets, transportation companies and utilities may be sold to other players as mortgaged properties at any agreed price.
· If the players want to get their mortgaged property back into play, they may pay to the Treasurer the amount listed on the mortgage note (shown on the back of the title card). The Treasurer then returns the appropriate title card to the player.
13. Returning Houses to the Treasurer
The compensation is one-half the purchase price. Houses may be sold by players only to the Treasurer.
LANDING ON OTHER SPACES
14. Start Space
Players collect $100 when landing on or passing START.
15. Price, Price War or Sight-Seeing Space
Players can end up on this space in two different ways:
1. They land there during a regular move. Then they are just sightseeing. They move on when their next turn comes and they pay no penalties to leave.
2. They are sent there by landing on the GO TO PRISON or GO TO PRICE WAR space or by following directions on the Competitor or Monopolist cards. In this case, they have to move their token to either the PRISON or PRICE WAR triangle without collecting anything from the START space. They may have to pay a penalty to move on.
Competitors are sent to PRICE WAR. While on PRICE WAR, competitors continue to collect rents or other charges due them.
Monopolists are sent to PRISON. While in PRISON, monopolists do not collect rents or other charges normally due them.
Players leave PRISON or PRICE WAR in one of two ways:
1. They throw doubles on any one of their first two regular turns after landing there. If no doubles are thrown on these two turns, they must pay $50 before their third turn. On their third turn they move forward as usual.
2. They pay $50 before the first or second turn and then move forward as usual.
Doubles thrown while on the PRISON or PRICE WAR space is treated exactly like any other doubles (see Rule 7).
16. Competitor or Monopolists Spaces
Competitors pick the top card of the Competitor deck and follow directions. Monopolists pick the top card of the Monopolists deck and follow directions. The card is then returned to the bottom of the deck in both cases.
17. Income Tax Space
Pay $200 or a percentage of your assets (assets are money, houses and apartments, and unmortgaged properties).
Monopolists pay $200 or 20 percent of their cash plus 10 percent of the listed purchase price of their unmortgaged streets, transportation companies or utilities and 10 percent of the original cost of their houses and apartments.
Competitors pay $200 or 10 percent of their cash plus 10 percent of the listed purchase price of their unmortgaged streets, transportation companies or utilities and 10 percent of original cost of their houses and apartments.
18. Property Tax
Everybody pays $75
19. Transportation Companies
Transportation companies owned by competitors earn the usual 10 percent return no matter how many are owned. This is because they are subject to utility regulations.
The fares of transportation companies owned by monopolists double with each additional company acquired by a monopolist. (Caution: A monopolists who owns all four transport companies will be hard to beat in this game. In the real world, can you imagine what would happen if a monopolists controlled all transport – without utility regulation?)
20. Utilities
When a player lands on a utility owned by someone else, he/she throws the dice and pays as follows:
Competitors collect 4X the amount of the dice throw no matter how many utilities are owned.
Monopolists collect 4X the amount of the dice throw if one utility is owned; 10X if both are owned.
21. Anti-Monopoly Foundation
Competitors roll one die. If 1, collect $25, if 2, collect $50. Otherwise, no grant, no collection.
Monopolists pay $10 into the Foundation. Payment is made to the Treasurer.
22. Insufficient Houses
If the Treasurer runs out of houses or apartments, players must make up extra ones out of cardboard or paper as needed.
23. Trading
Trading between players is allowed except for houses and apartments. These must be returned to the Treasurer (Rule 13) before properties are traded.
24. Bankruptcy
Bankrupted players must first resell their houses and apartments back to the Treasurer at half price. Then, the bankrupt players’ remaining money and property (with mortgages still in effect) are turned over to the player who caused bankruptcy, and the bankrupted player leaves the game.
If players are bankrupted by the Treasurer, all their cash and property is turned over to the Treasurer. The property becomes unsold, unmortgaged property to be resold as usual to the remaining players (see Rule 9).
25. Who is the Richest Player
The richest player and winner of Games B (see Rule 1) is determined by adding up the players’ cash plus income that can be earned on unmortgaged properties when one player lands on them. For income on utilities, each utility owner throws the dice as under Rule 20.
26. Borrowing From Other Players
Players may not borrow from other players.
TWO HOUR GAME
(This game is also recommended for tournaments)
The winner and richest player is chosen by the following procedure:
a. Players can adjust their holdings as they think best by buying or selling houses or mortgaging or paying off mortgages on their holdings. The player may only deal with the Treasurer and they may not trade or sell property or pay money amongst themselves.
b. Competitors are allowed to keep 10% of their remaining cash while monopolists are allowed to keep 20% of their remaining cash. The remainder is turned over to the Treasurer.
c. The Treasurer travels around the board once, stopping on each piece of owned property once. He or she then pays from the bank to the owner of each property the rent or payment due according to the usual rules.
d. The winner is the player with the most cash.
©1977, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005 by Ralph Anspach. Anti-Monopoly is a trademark owned by Hasbro, Inc., and is used pursuant to a license.
www.antimonopoly.com/…
- Anti-Monopoly official website
- ^ Pilon, Mary (October 20, 2009). "How a Fight Over a Board Game Monopolised an Economist's Life". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- ^ "War Game". Galaxy. December 1959. p. 100.
- ^ Plocek, Keith. "The Story of Class Struggle, America's Most Popular Marxist Board Game," Mental Floss (Aug. 12, 2014).
en.wikipedia.org/…
Born in Illinois in 1866, Lizzie Magie moved to the Washington, DC area in the 1880s as a single woman and worked as a stenographer and typist at the Dead Letter Office. Her first patent was for a “type writing machine” in 1893 that essentially helped paper move through typewriter rollers more easily. Magie became interested in the anti-monopolist theories of Henry George, a politician and economist who believed that a single “land value tax” would shift the tax burden to wealthy landlords. This inspired her to design a board game to teach his economic theories to friends and colleagues.
invention.si.edu/...
The game was created by Elizabeth Magie. Originally it was called the "Landlords Game", and had two modes of play, an Anti-Monopoly game, and a Pro-Monopoly game. One of these would die out quickly, whilst the other would define it forever.
To understand the Anti-Monopoly game, it helps understanding who Magie was. She was a Georgist, using the game to promote the ideas of Henry George. Georgism is a form of right wing libertarianism that believes the sole form of taxation that should exist are taxes on land.
The idea is this form of practicing capitalism will prevent the rise of monopolies due to land being more expensive. If it would work or not, economists have various ideas, and some reject Georgism for other reasons. I'm not here to argue for or against it. This is descriptive.
So how did the anti Monopoly version play out? Well, it would involve a tax on the amount of properties you own, i.e. the amount of land you own. This mode is more an educational piece on the ideas of Georgism, and didn't survive long. Most people played the Monopoly version.
And people enjoyed that. It was fun to get big and then crush everyone into dust, and sure, in a game, where it isn't real, and there's no real life consequences, that the capitalist economy makes for a fun game. Competition is fun, well, fun when it doesn't decide who eats.
In the end, the capitalist myth is that we're all temporarily embarrassed millionaires, that if we keep going at the grind, we'll eventually make it. Monopoly is escapism, for the winners, who get the sensations that they are rich and powerful, like the ideal position in society.
That's how it used to be at least. Back then it was special, but now it's a relic of a simpler time for board games. It tends to be more hated than liked today by most people, and the reason behind that could be growing wealth inequality in the Western world.
For many struggling to make it paycheck to paycheck, it feels like an insult. They don't start with the money to buy a property like that, so the entire concept becomes antagonistic to their reality. A bygone era promoting a more and more unattainable American Dream.
As well as this, Monopoly has been milked to death with literally hundreds of spinoffs. You name it, they've made it. These things are a virus, spreading unchecked by man. Marvel Monopoly, Dragon Ball Z Monopoly, Super Mario Monopoly, Fortnite Monopoly, Girl boss Monopoly.
It goes on and on. Every franchise known to man got butchered on a Monopoly board. There are literally thousands of Monopoly versions. I repeat, code red, not an exaggeration.
I want to Roblox myself...
... Oh fuck. They took that too...
This is urgent.
The situation is getting dire.
It's too late. I resign myself to defeat. Nothing is pure anymore. Everything will merge into a singularity. The Earth is being turned into Monopoly boards. Humanity will be harvested for their atoms to make Monopoly boards.
And from there Monopoly will take over the solar system, consuming all the planets, the Sun, then the galaxy, and finally, the entire universe It's all Monopoly. We have lost.
We haven't learnt anything from the paperclips. That's how the last universe ended.
• • •
The world of capitalism always tries to finagle the game.