by Shawna Blake

Created on: December 14, 2007   Last Updated: August 19, 2011

Whether it's because you've played it since you were old enough to count, or because it is the most popular game in America, for whatever reason, we love Monopoly! Love to buy those railroads? Or are you a Boardwalk kinda gal? Who wants to be the banker? Monopoly has the most self descriptive name in board game history! It has basically monopolized the board game market! It is addicting, and wholesome, and we all love it!

Here's what you do: Grab your bag of Doritos, and those Dr. Pepper's that are on ice, and sit down at the table, and get ready to battle for that property! Everybody plays this game slightly differently, some give out more than the allotted amount of money at the start of the game. Some folk's pay all of their fee's (get out of jail, taxes, or that da* ten dollars for winning the beauty contest) in the middle of the board, and whomever lands on free parking gets the cash. Do you go around the board one whole time before being allowed to buy any properties?

The object of the game is to make the most money, or to own the most sets of properties and cause your opponents to go bankrupt when they land on the highest rented spaces that you own. Easy, right? Yeah, until you own two red properties and before you corner the market your snotty sister swipes the third one right out from under your nose! Adding to your agitation, you don't have any full sets, but your brother has three, and houses on them all! To top that off, you land on the income tax square, and have to pay up (the only good thing about you having little property value). Don't fret, you are two spaces away from collecting that precious two hundred dollars. So you roll the dice, and you get, of all things, a four. That lands you on Community Chest, yay! What does the card say?! Go to jail. Well, at least you got your two hundred dollars, right?

Since its inception in 1935, this game has sold over two hundred million games worldwide. It is produced in over thirty seven languages (I didn't even realize there were that many languages!). There is even a version of the board in Braille for the visually impaired. It is made by Parker Brothers, was invented by Charles B. Darrow in 1933, and has a variety of different 'theme versions'. The latest is the 'Electronic Banking Edition', but some of the lovers of the classic prefer the original. Cool versions include:

• Spongebob Squarepants

• Disney

• Spiderman

• Pirates of the Caribbean, and of course, the Junior version.

No matter who you are or where you live you have most likely played this game. You even have your favorite token, admit it. You probably have your favorite properties that you 'have' to buy, and these are most likely for sentimental reasons, and not because of the cost. Some people also have to have a certain side of the board in front of them! This game is the most sold game in history. And with good reason. Every household has one, actually, most households have two, because you know we always need more money. Never fear, if that is the case, because now, you can print extra money right from the Monopoly website!

Hopefully, you play this game with family and friends. And hopefully you love to play it (even if you hate to clean up the game when you are tired of playing after an hour and a half and there is no end in sight). The longest game on record? 1,680 hours! That is 70 days! I can't even last more than two hours! Well, even if you don't play it for a month straight, at least you'll have fun. And try not to become 'Jake the jailbird', by getting sent there by Officer Edgar Mallory (the actual character names). If you do land in jail, maybe your family will land there in the just visiting section. Have fun!

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