Author: Kevin Givens

  • Monopoly’s Secret History: From Anti-Landlord Protest to WWII Escape Kit

    1904. That’s the year the game that became Monopoly was patented, 31 years before Parker Brothers sold a single box, and not by the man on the box. More than a decade ago, Book of Odds interviewed Philip Orbanes, the leading historian of the game. Orbanes spent years as Senior Vice President for Research and…

  • Interview: Phil Orbanes, Monopoly Expert

    Phil Orbanesisformer VP of Parker Brothers, Chief Judge for the US and World Monopoly Championships, and author of The Monopoly Companion. When did you first play Monopoly? I was eight. I was born and raised in Cape May County, NJ. My aunts and uncles invited me to play for the first time, and I recognized the…

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