Collecting the many different versions of the game is almost as popular as playing the game itself. Over the years Parker Brothers have put out many different versions of the game, including the sought-after and collectible 50th anniversary edition in 1984. Some people also collect the various souvenirs and advertising materials produced by Parker Brothers over the years. And of course, there are the many themed editions of the game, including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and numerous college football teams. Some of the most popular editions are the "Simpsons" edition and the Americana edition, using national parks and landmarks. A millennium edition in a tin rather than the usual box was produced in the year 2000. However, the most valuable edition of the game was a game designed in 1988 by Sidney Mobell and exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum. It included a full size gold plated playing board and set with 165 gemstones.
And if you don’t agree with the principles behind the game, you may want to play the “anti-Monopoly” game which was produced in 1974, where the game is somehow played in reverse. Players start out by owning properties and then compete with each other to turn the situation back into a competitive and free enterprise system, where no one person has a monopoly.
A Global Phenomenon
Monopoly today is played in many countries around the world. Most other countries have used streets from their capital city, to replace those from Atlantic City. The street names around the board are often exotic sounding – the equivalent of Boardwalk in Spain is Paseo del Prado; in Egypt it is Shareaa Kasr el Nil. Over recent years, street names have frequently had to be changed to reflect world events; Iran’s board has changed its street names depending on who was in power at the time. Even the familiar tokens are different in other countries: in the Netherlands a windmill, in Singapore an elephant. In the United States, according to surveys, the racing car has always been the most popular playing token.
Monopoly players are a dedicated group, to say the least. Everybody knows a game can last a long time, but the longest continuous game of Monopoly was played over 70 days. Presumably nobody owned one set of each color! The longest game played underwater was 45 days – apparently after a few weeks, the board and the cards become too soggy. And people seem to delight in setting strange endurance records by playing the game in strange places like bathtubs or elevators. There is even a medical term to describe the aching knees you get if you play it for a few hours – “monopoly knees” is a regular complaint among serious players. Of course, you can also play Monopoly online at several different sites - where presumably, games last a long time too.