January 21, 2013 History and Evolution in Games
Reading Christopher Ketcham’s (come on, if he was named Ash he would’ve been the coolest person ever) article “Monopoly is Theft” was really interesting. I never knew the history behind the game, nor have I actually played the ‘real’ version. My parents bought Ottawa On Board 
when we moved here in order to learn about the area and some of its history. This is really what Monopoly and games in general are for, especially simulation games. They teach you things that have already happened and what other people have learned. They do this by getting you involved in a safe, controlled version of what life might bring.
It’s apparent just how much games reflect on the culture and the times in which they were made and played in. The lessons that a game tries to get across show what was important at the time of conception. Monopoly or The Landlord’s Game evolved much in the same way the American economic system evolved. It went from cooperation and the strife of trying to get by to greed and capitalism. Similarly English Turf Mazes, talked about in the Russell’s “English Turf Mazes, Troy, and the Labyrinth”, 
are a build up of other games and cultural aspects of British culture. The Mazes came from ancient Crete’s Labyrinth and the storyteller Virgil, who wrote the epic poem the Aeneid. The Romans then eventually took their culture to England. Of course it’s not exact, some parts fibbed and exaggerated on but, you can tell there’s a lot of history and culture involved.
One of my professors, Dr. Jesse Stewart, actually summed it up quite nicely, “Nothing comes from nowhere.” He was talking about music but it easily applies to games as well, they come from, and evolve in, our cultural, political and societal backgrounds.
Melissa
Ketcha, Christopher, “Monopoly Is Theft” Harper’s Magazine. October 19, 2012. http://harpers.org/blog/2012/10/monopoly-is-theft/
Russell, Claire and W. M. S., “English Turf Mazes, Troy, and the Labyrinth”Folklore , Vol. 102, No. 1 (1991), pp. 77-88.
- Comments off
- Posted under Week Three - Deep History of Games & Simulaton
Permalink #
Doug
said
Love the reference to Pokemon – Another fantastic example of how (like has been mentioned in past lectures) media, particularly games, can permeate the barriers of cultural, societal and political backgrounds. Its intriguing how you speak about Monopoly (primarily) and how that reflects culture at the time, and explain the origins of the game – and how it has ultimately evolved from a generic ancient-game to something we, as North Americans can appreciate playing without even thinking twice about.
Permalink #
shawn
said
How is a maze like the Monopoly board? If you looked at the board from that perspective, what might you see?
Permalink #
Carmen Martin
said
Well any board game for that matter can be thought of as a maze. The monopoly board represents a movement in a constrained space that is artificial. As the game progresses with the building of houses and hotels movement becomes more difficult and the game is won when a player monopolize the space. In both mazes and monopoly the objective is to avoid dead ends. In monopoly the dead end is bankruptcy whilst in a maze the end is much more literal.