The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hilburn for November 06, 2008

Oh no, and she has a baby thimble, too. She’d better pass go and collect that $200.

But the rent on Baltic is only $60.00 (unfortunately, I don’t have a Monotony set so I can’t check on the house and hotel rates).

Hope the hat and car are doing fine.

She can’t jave been doing too badly… she was staying in a hotel

Runar:

I’m glad you mentioned “MONOPOLY”.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have understood what was so funny.

Thank you.

Monopoly was indeed marketed during the depression. One of the reasons often cited for its immediate popularity was that it created imaginary prosperity for its players. Games also tend to sell well during economic har times because they offer a good investment on entertainment dollars.

It succeeded despite the fact that it violated a number of then-current principles of game design. However, it was actually based on an earlier game, The Landlord’s Game that was created around 1904. Parker Brothers promoted the idea that their version was the original, but the backstory came out in the 1980s, when a court challenge nearly put the game in the public domain because PB was accused of not defending their copyright on the game and its design. The suit got started when PB tried to sue a small company selling a game based on player co-operation titled Anti-Monopoly.

A lot of detail, I know, but I was in the game industry when all this was going on, and it was big news for us. I call it ‘Monotony’ because once it gets down to three or two players, it’s a crashing bore.

See also yesterday’s Bad Reporter (http://www.gocomics.com/badreporter/2008/11/05).

I believe it’s an apartment, not a hotel. The note is signed, ‘Landlord’.

Oh, dear! My brain fog was working overtime! Took reading the first two comments before I realized what it was about!

Runar: You certainly are knowledgeable! I enjoy your comments.

If this building is a hotel, then the rent owed should be $250.

Aw, and she’s got a little thimble to support