Almost everything I know about finance I learned from playing Monopoly.
And I have played it a lot! I am not sure I could beat Bill Lee, president of the Community Bank, or if I could keep up with Randy Newman over at Alerus Financial. But I used to be able to beat Bobby Forsythe and Junior Stevens
We would gather a bunch of kids together around the dining room table and lay out the Monopoly board. We would deal out $1,500 to each player, pick our movers and start rolling the dice. Bobby always wanted the streets in the red section -- Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky. Brother Walter played a tough game and liked to close everyone out. I learned from him that if you slip some money under the board when you have it, you can pull it out when things get tough. When someone thought their rent charges were bankrupting Walter, he would pull out his hidden money and say, "It's chicken feed to me."
The key to Monopoly is to buy early and often and start building up some property with houses and hotels on them. You need to start earning money before other players get too much property. When it comes to trading, you have to be wary. If a player gets all four railroads they can clip you early and often for $200 rent.
You need to keep building your resources. But you can't overspend and risk being caught short. That's how it is in the real game of life. You have to start accumulating wealth as soon as you can. You have to salt away some money for a rainy day. Sometimes, you need to gamble.
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Monopoly is as good a game today as it was in the 1930s. The game has changed somewhat over the years, but it is basically the same. The grandkids tell me the banker can auction off properties if a player doesn't want them. It didn't used to be that way.
It's a long game ... it can keep you going all afternoon. But there are shorter versions where you deal out the property right away. In some versions, you set an alarm clock and when it rings, the person with the most property and money is the winner.
It seems to me quite fitting the game was born in the height of the Great Depression in 1934. That's when Charles Darrow, who was unemployed, came up with the game. He was selling so many to a Philadelphia department store that he couldn't keep up with the orders. So, Parker Bros. took it over. The rest is history.
Over the years, Monopoly boards have been copied with names of streets in other cities. Personally, I like the original game with the streets of Atlantic City. When someone talks about Boardwalk and Park Place, I know the rents are sky high. I know Ventnor is yellow and Oriental has cheap rates. When someone says, "Do not pass go, do not collect $200," I know things are bad.
I know there are times when you might as well stay in jail if you would just have to pay rent when you get out. I know there are breaks in life. I like the Community Chest card that says, "You have just won second place in a beauty contest. Collect $10." I hate the one that says, "You are assessed for street repairs."
I forget a lot of things, but I have always remembered the rent on Vermont Avenue is $6 and that New York Avenue costs $200. I think you should play the game of life and the game of Monopoly by the rules. I believe the facts of finance learned from a board game during the Great Depression stick with a person.
On its Web site, I learned that more than 200 million games of Monopoly have been sold worldwide. The longest game in history lasted 70 straight days. And the longest game in a bathtub went 99 hours.
In 1935, Monopoly was the best-selling game in America. I was 9 years old. I sat for hours during dust storms and grasshopper invasions buying and selling property. Today in the great game of life, I have a card from the government saying, "You will receive $250 in May as stimulus from the government."
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Reach Hagerty at mhagerty@gfherald.com or by telephone at (701) 772-1055.
