Board Game: Monopoly:

Source:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly
• http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch.php?action=search&objecttype=boardgame&q=monopoly

Secondary Research: Research:

• Published by Parker Brothers a section of Hasbro, Monopoly was redesigned from a game called 'The Landlords Game' first published by political activist Elizabeth Magie. She designed the game to teach people how monopolies bankrupt the many and give extraordinary wealth to the few.
• Since the game was created in 1903, more than one billion people have played it.
• In 1941 the British secret service had a special version manufactured for prisioners of war in Germany, which contained maps, compasses, real money and other useful objects used to escape.

Primary Research: Playing the game:

Although monopoly has a rather long setup time, with the dealing out of money and the obvious fight for the racing car piece, it seems a lot more enjoyable than that of the setup for Scotland Yard. However, once Monopoly begins the game becomes instantly more interesting the race to earn enough money and the luck of landing on good property to buy all and to the intense thrill of the game. This is hightened further by the use of the chance and community chest cards as well as the annoying tax spaces, all this coupled with the competitive nature of the game create an enthralling experience which will encompase a range of ages. However, there is one downside to the game in that it can sometimes remove players early on in the play through just the bad luck of the player.

Results:

When designing our own board game there are many things when can take from Monopoly. I think the main thing with this game is its interactivity, the use of fake money and and the miniature houses and hotel give the game a completly different feel to many other games, and I this would be a good thing to try and include in our game. Also, I really like how many people who play Monopoly adapt the rules making the game much more personal to them in a number of different social circles. This ability to adapt really helps Monopoly be one of the most iconic board games ever and is something we should try and include in our game.

Next Step: Further Research:

After looking at two very iconic games, I want to look back at games from the past to see if many of the concepts I have spoken about so far existed then, I also want to look at games in a more cultural way to see how they have changed over the years, and how the audience has changed.