Although Monopoly is frequently thought to have been invented by Clarence Darrow, its origins actually go back to 1904, when Lizie J. Magie patented a game called "The Landlord's Game". This original game was played in various forms over the years and later became known in some circles as "Monopoly." One version of the game with Atlantic City street names was taught to Clarence Darrow, who then took the game to Parker Brothers.
In recent years, the owners of the game have created dozens of version where the names of the properties and other elements of the game are replaced by others with some theme. There are version about [National Park]?s, Star Trek, Disney?, various particular cities (as Las Vegas), states, NASCAR, and many others.
The game is played by 2 or more players who move tokens around the edge of a board, in a circular path. There are 40 squares, composed of 28 properties, 3 "Chance" squares, 3 "Community Chest" squares, a "Luxury Tax" square, an "Income Tax" square, "GO", "Jail", "Free Parking" and "Go to Jail". A player's turn consists of rolling 2 dice, and advancing on the board the corresponding number of squares. If the player lands on an unowned property, he may buy it. If he lands on his own property, he does nothing. If he lands on an unmortgaged property owned by an opponent, he pays the opponent rent, as specified on the property's deed. Players take turns in order (as determined by chance prior to the game). A player is eliminated from the game when he has no more assets (money plus properties plus buildings). Players may purchase either 1 to 4 houses, or 1 hotel for their properties, which raise the rents that must be paid to them when opponents land on the property. Players may also freely make trades amongst themselves, involving cash and / or properties. This is often done to obtain all the properties in a particular color group.
Special squares
Properties