--- title: Monopoly at 80: See How the Game Board Evolved Since 1935 description: The popular board game was first marketed by Parker Bros. on Nov. 5, 1935—and a lot has changed since then canonical: https://time.com/4093015/monopoly-boards-gallery/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-05T15:00:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:51.163Z article:section: History og:title: Monopoly at 80: See How the Game Board Evolved Since 1935 og:description: The popular board game was first marketed by Parker Bros. on Nov. 5, 1935 og:url: https://time.com/4093015/monopoly-boards-gallery/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6a6c0029e28603c/69886ec42dce018dd89e63e7/151029-monopoly-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Monopoly Game (1935) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Monopoly at 80: See How the Game Board Evolved Since 1935 twitter:description: The popular board game was first marketed by Parker Bros. on Nov. 5, 1935 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6a6c0029e28603c/69886ec42dce018dd89e63e7/151029-monopoly-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See 80 Years of Monopoly Games  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 5, 2015 3:00 PM UTC  Monopoly Game (1935) Monopoly Game (1935)Hasbro  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 5, 2015 3:00 PM UTC It was Nov. 5, 1935, when Parker Bros. began selling a game developed by Philadelphia’s Charles Darrow. Now, 80 years later, more than a billion people have played Monopoly, according to its manufacturers. The game’s appearance has evolved over the years. The tokens, originally inspired by Darrow’s nieces charm bracelets, have been updated, and regions other than Atlantic City have developed their own licensed versions. But the game’s point remains exactly as Darrow first imagined it. “Idea is to force the other players into bankruptcy,” TIME [explained](http://time.com/vault/issue/1936-02-03/page/78/) in 1936, after the game had dominated the 1935 Christmas season, “leaving the winner with all the assets and no customers.” It was, TIME noted, “a parlor pastime generally calculated to appeal to the baldest acquisitive instincts.” **_Read more about the game’s early days, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Monopoly & Politics](http://time.com/vault/issue/1936-02-03/page/78/)  Monopoly Game (1935) Hasbro  Monopoly Popular Edition Game (1936) Hasbro  World War II Waddington's Monopoly Game Phil Orbanes  Monopoly Game (1957) Hasbro  Monopoly Game (1962) Hasbro  Monopoly Game (1976) Hasbro  Monopoly 80th Anniversary Edition Hasbro  Charles Darrow, inventor of the Monopoly board game. 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