
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 8, 1995                   TAG: 9502090033
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IT REWARDS LITTLE CUTTHROATS, BUT MONOPOLY ENDURES

PERHAPS IT'S FITTING that this game of rampant capitalism was born during the Great Depression. It's had at least as much success as the U.S. economy.

The board game that encourages youngsters to roll the dice, build hotels, muscle into railroads, buy up utilities and collect fat rents is entering its seventh decade and shows no sign of losing popularity.

Monopoly, which rewards players for sending rivals into bankruptcy, reached a birthday milestone Tuesday, 60 years after Parker Brothers started peddling the game it had bought from an obscure inventor.

To mark the occasion, ``Rich Uncle Pennybags,'' the mustachioed millionaire who adorns Monopoly boxes, rang the opening bell Tuesday at the American Stock Exchange in New York. The stock of Parker Brothers' parent company, Hasbro, is traded on the Amex.

Bob Wann, senior vice president of marketing for Hasbro Games Group, said the game's appeal has endured the economic ups and downs since it was created during the Great Depression.

``The game's conflicts and triumphs, like paying taxes and collecting rent, are the same as they were 60 years ago,'' he said. ``People are still excited by the idea of the game.''

Since Monopoly was introduced in February 1935, more than 160 million copies have been purchased. It's sold in 45 countries and printed in 25 languages, including Icelandic, Arabic, Croatian and Russian.

Wann said it's easy to see why the game crosses language and cultural boundaries. ``When you come to the table, everyone comes equal. Everyone starts with the same amount of money,'' he said.

Monopoly was invented by Charles Darrow in 1933. The first ``board'' was an oilcloth on his kitchen table and the properties were named after streets in Atlantic City, N.J.

After selling the game to friends and relatives, Darrow offered the rights to Parker Brothers, but Parker turned it down based on what it said were 52 design flaws. Darrow kept selling the game himself, and Parker Brothers soon realized it had erred. The company purchased the rights and started producing the game in 1935.

Wann said whatever the ``flaws'' were are unknown now, because the company didn't document them. The company also is not sure how much money it has made off the game, though it acknowledges the profit margin is something Uncle Pennybags would be proud of.

by CNB