"Let the children once see clearly the gross injustice of our present land system and when they grow up, if they are allowed to develop naturally, the evil will soon be remedied."

Lizzie applied for a patent for her anti-trust board game in 1903...at a time when less than 1% of applicants were women. She was granted the patent in 1904 and reissued another in 1924. After selling the rights to Parker Bros in 1935, they put out a popularized version of the game that only included one of Lizzie's two sets of rules...the game as played by cut-throat monopolists. Today, Monopoly is one of the world's best loved games.

Elizabeth Magie | Public domain

When economist Ralph Anspach created this board game to teach kids the opposite tactics of the Parker Brothers' classic {that is, how to break up monopolies}, he was immediately sued for trademark infringement. The case ~ which lasted from 1974-1979 ~ brought the hidden origins of Monopoly to light, giving Lizzie a long overdue inventor's credit.

University Games | © all rights reserved