Monopoly was a very popular game in the 1930s and 40s, but it was not the only popular game of the time period. Ann Neville, a Greenbelt resident during the period recalls playing Cribbage and Parcheesi. Her family stored the Parcheesi box in the bookcase, but the Parcheesi board, itself, was kept next to her grandpa's chair. A Monopoly box is relatively the same size as a Parcheesi box and it is therefore possible that it could have been kept in a bookcase as well. The game itself, though, was much different than Parcheesi. Parcheesi originated in India "a millenium or two ago" while Monopoly emerged in America in the 1900s.(Jackson 108) Parcheesi is a simple move and attack game, while Monopoly is a complex game involving the buying, selling, and trading of real estate. Another popular game of the 1930s with complex rules was Mah jong.(Wai Ling) Mrs. Markfield, a resident of early Greenbelt, "would get together on a regular basis with her friends and her sister to play Mah jong"(Wai Ling). She usually played with the same group of friends, though, because the rules were so complicated to learn and one "needed to learn all of the rules of the game before he or she was able to play"(Wai Ling). What Parcheesi, Monopoly, and Mah jong all have in common is that they have all withstood the test of time and are all still popular entertainment today.


Mah jong

An amazing comparison can be found when comparing Monopoly in the 1930s to Monopoly today. The boxes, boards, and playing pieces have changed slightly, but the most striking difference is the homemade rules that have been created over the years. For instance, the homemade Free Parking rule involving "the tucking away of money paid for fines and taxes in Free Parking, to be picked up by whoever lands in the space"(Costello 63). The Free Parking space was meant to be a place of rest and this homemade rule only prolongs the game. Another created rule is the practice of granting immunity. "Immunity is the time-honored ploy wherein player A and player B make a deal in which, along with whatever cash and property changes hands, player A also gets a free ride on player B's properties"(Costello 64). According to Costello, this practice is "counter to the spirit as well as the letter of the rules"(Costello 63).