When did Hasbro buy the monopoly board game?

Answer 1

This is an interesting question and has several answers as there's a bit of history as to how "Monopoly" became apart of the Hasbro games portfolio.

The origin of "Monopoly" is a little hazy as both Lizzy Maggie and Charles Darrow lay claim to the idea. Eventually it's Darrow's version of the game that gets snapped up, but initially both inventors had their games rejected by Parker Brothers. Still determined, Darrow started self-producing the game and sold copies through local stores. Astonished at how well the game was selling, Parker Brothers reconsidered their opinion of the game and bought the rights from Darrow. "Monopoly" was first sold under the Parker Brother's name in 1935.

Parker Brothers and Hasbro were competitors in the game market until Hasbro acquired Parker Brothers in 1991. Even after that acquisition, "Monopoly" was still marketed with the Parker Brothers name and logo on the box. In 1999, both the Hasbro and the Parker Brothers logos are on opposite corners of the cover of the "Monopoly" box, although the Hasbro logo is significantly smaller. Even after that time the game was marketed with the slogan, "Property Trading Game from Parker Brothers," but in 2008 they dropped the Parker Brothers name and updated the slogan to: "The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game." Despite the slogan change, the Parker Brothers logo was kept on the box. It wasn't until 2010, with the release of the circular "Monopoly Revolution" game, that the Parker Brother's association is lost. Oddly enough, the edgy and modern game was designed to honor Charles Darrow's early handmade round-board version of "Monopoly" and the 75th anniversary of his patent.