Darrow Monopoly Game for Sale

Many Monopoly collectors, after reading The Playmakers, longed for the rare “black box” edition of the game that appears in the book. This is the last edition of the game produced by Charles Darrow before he licensed the game to Parker Brothers in 1935. Darrow’s name and address appears on the rules as shown above. Another neat fact is that the border line on the property cards matches the color of the property. In later editions this bordering line is black.

The bad news is that my version of the game is not for sale. I take it on TV shows to show the beginnings of the biggest-selling commercial game in history (and of course to promote how cool the book is — I’m no fool). The good news is that I found one for you for sale on eBay. Be ready to sell Boardwalk to be able to afford it though. At this writing it is up to $1,025.

UPDATE: The bidding closed at $3,550, but the reserve was not met. Stay tuned to see if it gets relisted.

UPDATE 2: Here it is again.

The Original Talkin' Teddy Bear is Back

Cabbage Patch Kids, Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are all currently on toy store shelves. Can parachute pants and mullets be far behind? Now add Teddy Ruxpin to the list of ’80s comeback kids. Here’s a recent article on the hit toy that Worlds of Wonder originally released in 1985.

"...a tip of the hat..."

Kirkus Discoveries just posted their entire review of The Playmakers on the Kirkus Reviews website. I was not aware that it was a “starred” review until I found this posting. “A star is assigned to books of unusual merit, determined by the editors of Kirkus Reviews.” It’s all good.

WSJ Looks at Entrepreneurs

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a great series of articles in The Journal Report section entitled You Have a Great Idea. NOW WHAT? The section includes practical advice on research, hiring staff, picking domain names, patents, etc. The Playmakers is referenced in the section called “The Last Laugh,” which touches on the wonders of Monopoly, Rubik’s Cube and that doll for boys that everyone predicted would never work back in the gender-typed 1960s. Indeed, Hasbro laughed all the way to the bank with GI Joe.

The Ultimate Action Figure

Little girls fell in love with the Easy-Bake Oven when Kenner brought it out in 1967, in part because they could pretend to be Mom. In 1983, we didn’t buy Cabbage Patch Kids, we adopted them, as if signing some certificate could give us the official title of “Mother.” No, unless they come up with an action figure that can help us to experience the sacrifices made, the diapers changed, the meals cooked, the lunchboxes packed, the trips driven, the tears shed, the bathrooms cleaned, the work days missed, the beds made, the hands wrung, the prayers prayed, and the countless other selfless acts… kids will not know what it’s like… until they have kids of their own.

Happy Mother’s Day