Easy Money (board game)
Encyclopedia
Easy Money was a board game
introduced by Milton Bradley Company
in 1935, and bears similarity to Parker Brothers
' game Monopoly
.
's expired 1904 patent for The Landlord's Game
. Despite this, Parker Brothers still sued Milton Bradley for patent infringement
, and the latter was forced to license the former's patents to continue production of the game.
The square board had 22 "streets" each representing an undeveloped subdivision, (originally in alphabetical order, through "V
".) A player landing on that street had the option to buy if he or she had money (or could raise the money by mortgaging another property); if the player chose not to buy, or could not, the property was put up for auction. Public utilities
(transit company, phone company
, etc.) were auctioned as soon as a player landed on it. Public properties (hospital) were not for sale. Once a player owned at least one residence on each side of the board, that player could then purchase any residential property around the board (if landing on a "vacant" street) or build up their existing properties by adding up to four additional houses.
Play was determined by rolling a pair of dice. If a double (e.g. 5 and 5) was thrown, the player took a red "give-or-take" card, and either paid or received money according to the instructions on the card. Three cards told the player to "advance" to the Black Kat Night Club
on the third side of the game board, again requiring the payment of a fee to whoever owned the club, if already owned. After use, the give-or-take card was replaced as a discard for later re-use. One card was a "special exemption" card retained by the player but which could be auctioned at any time; the holder of the card was exempt from taxes and traffic fines, including the red traffic signal
, a double space, on the fourth side of the board. The spots marked "Car Crash" and "Plane Crash" required payment of fees to the hospital, with the player landing on the hospital space collecting the accumulated money.
Players landing on property owned by another player had to pay the specified fee; in the case of a residential property, it would be the "rent" underneath the house. Additional houses added to the property were placed on successively higher rent values. The first property after "Start" had a rent of just $80 with no houses, but the property immediately before Start had a rent beginning at $290, and could rise to $2,700, potentially breaking an opponent landing there.
Players completing a circuit of the board by stopping on, or passing, the Start box, would collect $250. A player could miss out on timely collection of this money by having to retreat to the Black Kat Night Club.
and determined the winner.
Games could run for several hours.
However, this version was produced with only 4 individual player's pieces ("pawns").
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
introduced by Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
in 1935, and bears similarity to Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
' game Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
.
History
After the success of Monopoly, Milton Bradley discovered similar games that had been on the market, but which had been bought out by Parker Brothers. The earliest versions of Easy Money were based on Elizabeth MagieElizabeth Magie
Elizabeth "Lizzie" J. Phillips née Magie was an American game designer. She invented The Landlord's Game, the precursor to Monopoly.-Early life:...
's expired 1904 patent for The Landlord's Game
The Landlord's Game
The Landlord's Game is a board game patented in 1904 by Elizabeth Magie as . It is a realty and taxation game, which is considered to be a direct inspiration for the board game Monopoly...
. Despite this, Parker Brothers still sued Milton Bradley for patent infringement
Patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...
, and the latter was forced to license the former's patents to continue production of the game.
Rules
Easy Money could be played by 2 to 6 players, each given $2,000 to start with by one player acting as the banker. Each player took a coloured pawn and would have access to a small supply of "houses" of the same colour, but, the houses were retained by another player acting as "agent" until needed.The square board had 22 "streets" each representing an undeveloped subdivision, (originally in alphabetical order, through "V
V
V is the twenty-second letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-Letter:The letter V comes from the Semitic letter Waw, as do the modern letters F, U, W, and Y. See F for details....
".) A player landing on that street had the option to buy if he or she had money (or could raise the money by mortgaging another property); if the player chose not to buy, or could not, the property was put up for auction. Public utilities
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
(transit company, phone company
Telephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
, etc.) were auctioned as soon as a player landed on it. Public properties (hospital) were not for sale. Once a player owned at least one residence on each side of the board, that player could then purchase any residential property around the board (if landing on a "vacant" street) or build up their existing properties by adding up to four additional houses.
Play was determined by rolling a pair of dice. If a double (e.g. 5 and 5) was thrown, the player took a red "give-or-take" card, and either paid or received money according to the instructions on the card. Three cards told the player to "advance" to the Black Kat Night Club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
on the third side of the game board, again requiring the payment of a fee to whoever owned the club, if already owned. After use, the give-or-take card was replaced as a discard for later re-use. One card was a "special exemption" card retained by the player but which could be auctioned at any time; the holder of the card was exempt from taxes and traffic fines, including the red traffic signal
Traffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
, a double space, on the fourth side of the board. The spots marked "Car Crash" and "Plane Crash" required payment of fees to the hospital, with the player landing on the hospital space collecting the accumulated money.
Players landing on property owned by another player had to pay the specified fee; in the case of a residential property, it would be the "rent" underneath the house. Additional houses added to the property were placed on successively higher rent values. The first property after "Start" had a rent of just $80 with no houses, but the property immediately before Start had a rent beginning at $290, and could rise to $2,700, potentially breaking an opponent landing there.
Players completing a circuit of the board by stopping on, or passing, the Start box, would collect $250. A player could miss out on timely collection of this money by having to retreat to the Black Kat Night Club.
Give-Or-Take Cards
Easy Money has 24 Give-Or-Take Cards, which are similar in nature to Monopoly's Chance and Community Chest Cards. The original cards had no illustrations on them, just text; however, by 1936 illustrations were added. These cards are as follows:- Golf Club Dues Pay $50
- Dividends on your foreign bonds are now payable. Take $50
- Bank Account Overdrawn. Pay $25
- Commission on sale of building lot. Take $20
- Payment from Uncle's trust fund is due today. Take $20
- The bank credits your account with interest to date. Take $20
- You are fined for speeding. Pay $10
- You win a Football bet. Take $25
- Auto Installment is due today. Pay $50
- The man your car hit will settle out of court. Pay $100
- Your Fire Insurance is due. Pay $50
- SPECIAL EXEMPTION The holder of this card is exempt from traffic fines or paying taxes. Card may be sold to the highest bidder.
- Your Community Chest contribution falls due. Pay $50
- New sidewalk assessment. Pay $40
- You win second prize in an Amateur Singing Contest. Take $20
- Advance to the Black Kat Night Club
- Rebate on Real Estate Tax. Take $40
- Special Cash Demand Pay $50
- Advance to the Black Kat Night Club
- Your Oil Stock is sold at a profit. Take $100
- Garage rent due. Pay $10
- Reward for restoring lost wallet to owner. Take $10
- Advance to the Black Kat Night Club
- Your slogan, "For a sure holdup, use Snappie Garters," wins a prize in our Radio contest. Take $25
Board
Winning
The game ended when any player was no longer able to pay rents or other charges, and had sold or mortgaged all of their properties. The cash on hand of each player, plus the value of each property owned and not mortgaged, constituted the player's net worthNet worth
In business, net worth is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company. For a company, this is called shareholders' preference and may be referred to as book value. Net worth is stated as at a particular year in time...
and determined the winner.
Games could run for several hours.
Reissue
The game was reissued in a "70th anniversary edition" in 2006 by Winning Moves Games.However, this version was produced with only 4 individual player's pieces ("pawns").