Each player chooses a token (a playing piece), such as a thimble, a rocking horse, a boot, a dog, etc. The Chance and Community Chest cards are shuffled and placed face down on the board. To prepare for the game, the board is put in position. In the British original version, they are named after streets in London.

In the original version, the properties and railroad stations were named after the streets in Atlantic City in New Jersey in the United States. There are also spaces called Income Tax, Luxury Tax, Community Chest and Chance. The properties are: 22 streets (each marked with one of eight colors), 4 railroad stations, the Electric Company and the Water Works. Along the sides of the board are properties (streets and businesses) for sale. In the four corners of the board are GO, Free Parking, JAIL, and Go to Jail. He published his own version of the game where making money was the focus of the game, and called it 'Monopoly.' Later on, he sold his game to Parker Brothers, who falsely credited Charles Darrow as the creator of the game. In 1934, Charles Darrow in Philadelphia found The Landlord's Game and thought that the game was more exciting when players didn't share their land rents. The original rules included several ways to play the game, including one where players could agree to share the land rents and everyone would win. Her game, which she called 'The Landlord's Game', was self-published, beginning in 1906. She wanted her game to be an educational tool to highlight the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies. Magie created the game in 1903, to explain the single tax theory of Henry George.

Monopoly was created by Elizabeth Magie as a teaching tool based on the economic concept of land monopoly. Lehman (who later became President of Cornell University) and Jay S. An early book, 1000 Ways to Win Monopoly Games was written by Jeffrey S. Many books give advice on how to win the game. When all the other players run out of money, you win the game. In the game, players move around the spaces of the board, buying and selling land and buildings to try to become the richest player. Monopoly is a board game played by two to eight players.

Monopoly board original spaces