MONOPOLIZING THE FACTS: A BRIEF HISTORY

Monopoly dates back to 1933 when Charles B. Darrow of Germantown, Pa., created the game to amuse himself while he was unemployed.

Darrow pitched the game to Parker Brothers, which initially rejected it.

Parker Brothers said the general public would have trouble grasping the real estate concept. The company also was concerned it could take too long to play the game.

Darrow then produced Monopoly game sets with the help of a printer. He sold 5,000 of the board games to Wanamaker Department Stores and demand grew.

In 1935, Parker Brothers bought the game from Darrow and agreed to pay royalties on all of the Monopoly games sold.

At the age of 46, Darrow became a millionaire.

Monopoly is the world's most popular proprietary board game and the best-selling copyrighted game in history.

An estimated 250 million players have passed "Go" since the game was invented.

It is licensed in more than 80 countries and printed in over 23 languages.

A 1930s edition included metal money and large tokens with a gold finish.

The most expensive set produced was one with solid gold playing pieces valued at $25,000.

A special set was developed for underwater Monopoly game marathons at a cost of $1,300. It disintegrated after the last record-breaking attempt, a 1,080-hour marathon sponsored by the Buffalo, N.Y., Dive Club.

In 1978, Neiman Marcus offered an all-chocolate Monopoly game set for $600.

The character in jail in the board game is Jake the Jailbird.

The Monopoly character in the top hat is Rich Uncle Pennybags.

One property is actually misspelled on the board. Marvin gardens should be spelled Marven Gardens. It is the only property not named after a street, but rather an elite community a few miles from Atlantic City.

The Russian government initially banned the Monopoly game for being too capitalistic.

During World War II, escape maps, compasses and files were inserted into Monopoly game boards and smuggled into POW camps in Germany.

In Cheddington, England, in 1967, train hijackers finished off a $2 million heist by playing Monopoly with the stolen cash.