The Original Monopoly Board Was A Circle

Filed in things I never knew: early Monopoly boards were circular! Filed in things I should have known: Monopoly street names all hail from Atlantic City.



Anyway, this particular set is notable because of its circular shape and the fact that it was hand made by Charles Darrow, the purported inventor of the modern Monopoly. The board is made from oil cloth and is 33 inches in diameter with a hand coloured playing surface. Despite being shaped in a circle, the game is pretty much the same Monopoly we’ve all played: the colours match up and there’s the same number of properties. This set recently sold for $US145,000 in an auction. [Daily Mail via Neatorama]

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(3 Comments)
  • [–]

    bri_cheese

    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Didn’t all the street names come from London first?… re-writing history…

  • [–]

    nicky

    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 9:59 AM

    all street names ON THE AMERICAN VERSION of monopoly are from atlantic city…

  • [–]

    Des

    Monday, February 28, 2011 at 12:50 PM

    Um, people, the American version was the original – and the original street names are from Atlantic City. The UK version came along later.

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