Monopoly Spin Off Books... Continuation

A couple of years ago, I started compiling pictures about Monopoly collectable memorabilia.... The project came to a halt when my computer crashed, and I lost the contact details of all the people who gave me permission to include their pictures in my book to be.... May be I'll pick up where I stopped - eventually - and get their permissions again... one day.


Anyway, in the process of gathering materials, I asked Professor Knechell if I could have a copy of his book entitled at a special priceThe Monopoly Game Practice Set: Accounting for Monopoly Game Transactions. He was very kind, and sent me a free copy of his book, which is the copy you can see here:





I am not an accountant, but I enjoyed reading the book simply because it used the Monopoly boardgame as a teaching aid to teach his students about accounting. Again, this is not a book for an avid Monopoly player, but for a Monopoly collector.


Posted by Jeff

Monopoly Spin Off Books

The books that I've discussed so far are books that either tell you how to win the game with good strategies, or tell you about the origins of the game.


There are, however, 2 other types of Monopoly books: Those that claim that the principles of the game have had some sort of influence in the Author's business skills, and those that use the Monopoly concept to build upon property trading skills.


Last year, Alex Axelrod wrote a book entitled "Everything I learn about business, I learned from Monopoly":





Curiously, this book is not listed yet in Amazon


I bought this book from one of my local bookstores. The titled compelled me to buy it because Phil Orbanes had given me a copy of an autographed copy of an articled he published in the Harvard Business Journal, and it had the same title.


Alan Alexrod's book is more of a "self help" book focused on winning business philosophy. "Inspirational" may be the word one could use to describe it, but not necessarely a book that an avid Monopoly player may want to read (unless, of course, it is bought as a collectors' item).


Posted by Jeff

Books About Monopoly: Part Two: Beyond Boarwalk and Parkplace

Beyond Boardwalk and Parkplace is one of my favourite books on the subject of Monopoly playing. This is because it seeks to depart from the normal official rules to make the game more interesting.


It contains rules that make sense. For instance, under the proposed rules in this book, one cannot trade or get any benefits whilst in Jail. You cannot buy properties from the word "go" (pardon the pun!), but have to wait till you go around the board once. There are also additional cards that the book includes, making your monopoly playing a very different and more dynamic (and fair) game to play


The book is not easy to find. It's a hard to get one, as it is out of print. Prices may vary from $5.00 USD (on a good day), to $100+ (when the supply of used books is limited).

I have played with these rules, and it is a totally different experience altogether. I encourage you to get the book (if you can), and test the rules. You'll love them!



Posted by Jeff

Books About Monopoly: Part Two... Continuation

Another jewel in my collection of Monopoly books is 1000 Ways to Win Monopoly Games. This is a very expensive out of print book, nowadays costing up to $115 USD if you are lucky to get a copy!


The strategies outlined in this book are somehow unorthodox, but effective if you are up to fun-by-always-winning-no-matter-what. But, having read the official rules of the game, as clarified by Phil Orbanes ("the" authority on this subject), I am not convinced that all of their suggested path to victory are actually "legal" from an official point of view. In fact, I would question whether one can use many of its strategies in an official tournament.


Yet, it makes good bed time reading... if you are interested in defeating your opponents in a Monopoly playing session!



Posted by Jeff

Books About Monopoly Part Two

I thought that the history of Monopoly would have been thoroughly covered in the Game Makers book and the Billion Dollars Monopoly Swindle. But it seems that there is more to tell about Monopoly's story. There is yet another book that I have to get. It has not arrived to Australia yet, but it's available in the USA. It is called Monopoly: The Story Behind the World's Best-Selling Game, and it was written in 2004 by Rod Kennedy.


Not having read the book itself, I had to rely on the reviews found in Amazon. Basically, this book is a bit more than just a compilation of the history already disclosed by the previously discussed books.

Perhaps it is a third approach? A mid way sort of thing? I would really like to know.

I mean, Marvin Kaye disclosed back in the 1970s that the origins of Monopoly dated back beyond the years when Charles Darrow claimed to have come up with the idea for this game.


Kaye's book is called Story of Monopoly, Silly Putty, Bingo Twister, Frisbee, Scrabble, Etcetera, and it is a very instructive book that tells the story not only of Monopoly, but also of other very well known games as well. One of the most amazing stories I read in that book was how the creator of Lionel Trains was also the inventor of what later on became known as the Eveready Flashlight. Well, he invented a prototype for a light that would illuminate flower pots (!?), and whilst the invention was selling, a friend of his saw another use for it, bought the rights for the gadget, and promoted it as a torch!).