Money lessons you can learn
One of the most popular games in history, Monopoly was first published 85 years ago, but still continues to fascinate millions of the people in the entire world.
The board game with its unmistakable logo has its roots at the beginning of the 20th century, in the United States. It was invented as an educational tool by Lizzie Magie, to explain the single tax theory.
More than 30 years later, the game became Monopoly as it is known today, and the design of the game in this format was based on the streets of an actual city – Atlantic City, in New Jersey. Its first publishers were the Parker Brothers, but today it is sold by Hasbro.
The game went to be so popular, that many people developed real life money lessons you can learn from playing Monopoly. Here are some of the most important ones:
- Don’t hold on too much cash. This is important to keep in mind always: You have to invest the money you actually have, not just for the returns, but also to avoid losing value on the cash over the years. It applies also in the game when you start with an amount of money and then keep on growing.
- Start saving. On the other hand, you could also think of savings. How to do that in Monopoly and in real life? Simple: Instead of paying rent to those who own properties, try to own a property. This way, you will be saving money as soon as possible.
- Don’t spend your money as soon as you win it. OK, the first two lessons are valuable, but mind keeping an eye on the financial balance. While investment is good, so is keeping an extra reserve of money for the unexpected dices or cards – both in the game and in real life. One of the last things you want is a debt.
- Put your money in multiple places. Like in Monopoly, you don’t invest in just one property or one color. Instead, you look for diversification, and then collect the rent whenever applicable. Similar in real life, where you don’t put all your eggs in the same basket, ever.
- Everyone who played Monopoly knows the fun and the smarts of having to negotiate. Maybe sometimes it won’t get you the best deal you hoped for, but at least you may then rest assured you tried your best. And the same applies in real life.
- Be calm and disciplined. Monopoly and real life investments and financial decisions are both a game of calm and discipline. You have to stay focused, patient, and play the entire game, as long as it takes. And also, play all your cards until the end.
More than a game for friends
The game is though much more than playing with a bunch of friends on a game night for several hours.
For example, starting with 1973, Monopoly tournaments were organized in big cities all over the world. New York City, Monte Carlo, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Washington, and even Atlantic City in 1985 (the 50th anniversary of the game) were some of the places were world championships took place.
Also, these days, Evolution Gaming managed to create a live online game show based on the world’s most loved board game, called MONOPOLY Live. In 2019, the game was awarded EGR’s Game of the Year. Later, in 2020, it received the Gaming Intelligence’s Game of the Year. The line online game can be played at Unibet Casino. It features a spinning wheel, and also a 3D bonus round.
The game was so popular, that besides gambling games it had video games, spin-offs, and also a television game show. There have been made around 300 versions of the game so far. Monopoly is sold in over 100 countries, in 275 million copies throughout history, and it is translated in almost 50 languages. All of these help us have a better idea of how popular, successful, and loved this game has grown over the decades.
