I remember playing various board games as a kid with my family and friends…games like parcheesi, The Game of Life, and Monopoly. And of all the games we played, it was that last game on my list that I liked the least (although I would be initially enthusiastic about playing it).
Even though I was young (and lacked the technical vocabulary to describe the phenomenon), I would quickly become aware that the game, as it progressed, seemed to cause a change in the behavior of those who were “winning” (as to my behavior: I cannot recall ever winning the game, and I mostly found it boring)…a change that I would later identify as more cut-throat (or ruthless), and, they were less likely to forgo collecting their due rent from those who had little capital. And, of all the games we played, Monopoly seemed to be the one in which people were more likely to “cheat”, if only in small ways.
But as I was no psychologist or sociologist, I just chalked that all up to the nature of the game…but I retained my distaste for Monopoly (and monopolies) to this day.
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