What is Monopoly?

Monopoly is a classic board game created by Elizabeth Magie in the early 20th century. A modified version by Charles Darrow was published by Parker Brothers in 1935. In Italy, it was published, starting in 1936, under the name Monòpoli by Editrice Giochi. In the summer of 2009, the Italian distribution became the property of Hasbro, which introduced the original name. The game takes its name from the economic concept of monopoly, or the dominance of a market by a single seller. Licensed in over one hundred countries and translated into over thirty-seven languages, according to a Hasbro report, Monopoly has been played by approximately 750 million people since its first edition. In 1999, the Guinness Book of World Records reiterated Hasbro's previous statistic, which estimated that Monopoly had been played by 500 million people. Although not explicitly stated, it should be noted that the figures refer to the record for the largest number of people playing a copyrighted board game, thus excluding traditional games such as chess, checkers, and others.