Lizzie Magie

Lizzie Magie was an American game designer and writer who created The Landlord’s Game to demonstrate economic ideas associated with Henry George. Her game later became a precursor to Monopoly.

The Landlord’s Game: A board game designed by Lizzie Magie to illustrate competing systems of land ownership and taxation. Magie created this game to make her economic argument playable.
Land value tax: A tax on the unimproved value of land, excluding buildings and other improvements. This tax underpinned the game’s cooperative alternative to private rent-seeking.
Charles Darrow: An American salesman who popularized a commercial version of Monopoly during the 1930s. Darrow’s role in Monopoly’s commercialization obscured the game’s earlier history.
Elizabeth J. Magie Phillips: The full name of Lizzie Magie, an American game designer, writer, and inventor. Her patent records and published writing document her public identity and work.
Georgism: A political-economic philosophy that favors taxing land value while reducing taxes on labor and production. Magie used game rules to contrast Georgist land taxation with private monopoly.
Monopoly (game): A commercial board game in which players buy property, collect rent, and seek to bankrupt opponents. Monopoly developed from a version of Magie’s game that emphasized competitive accumulation.
Parker Brothers: An American board-game publisher that acquired and marketed Monopoly in the 1930s. The company purchased Magie’s patent while bringing Monopoly to a mass market.
Ralph Anspach: An American economics professor who created Anti-Monopoly and researched Monopoly’s history. His legal dispute prompted research that brought Magie’s authorship back into view.
The Single Tax: A proposal to replace other taxes with a tax on the unimproved value of land. The game’s alternative rules modeled the tax reform associated with George.
Economic rent: Income received from control of a scarce asset beyond the minimum needed to keep it in its current use. Rent collection made the consequences of land ownership visible during play.

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