Walk onto the historic Downtown Square in Macomb, Illinois, and you'll find the world's largest Monopoly game board. This interactive installation, Macombopoly, is more than just a novelty; it is a powerful act of historical correction. The official corporate history credits an unemployed man named Charles Darrow with inventing the game, but the truth belongs to Macomb native, Elizabeth J. Magie Phillips (Lizzie Magie). Magie conceived of The Landlord's Game as a radical social critique. Using the streets of her hometown as the original blueprint for a game intended to expose the very land monopolies that would later steal her credit and subvert her message.
🗺️ Macomb: The Uncredited Blueprint for Monopoly
Elizabeth J. Magie Phillips (1866–1948) was born in Macomb, Illinois. Her progressive politics—inherited from her abolitionist father and influenced by the economic theory of Georgism—profoundly shaped her worldview.
While Magie became a recognized feminist and inventor, her most famous creation, The Landlord's Game, began on the Macomb Square. Historical research confirms that the original board layout, patented in 1904, was modelled after the town centre. The game's spaces—including a jail, a poor house, and a public park—all corresponded to their actual locations around the square.
Macomb is not merely Magie's birthplace; it is the uncredited physical blueprint for the board game.
📜 The Landlord's Game: A Stolen Message
Magie designed her game with two rule sets: one to warn players about the dangers of monopoly (the cutthroat version that became famous) and a second, Anti-Monopolist set to demonstrate the benefits of a single-tax system (where rent paid the community).
The tragedy is that the cautionary rules survived, while the solution was lost.
The Corporate Erasure
The game was ultimately stolen when Charles Darrow claimed its invention, and the rights were purchased by Parker Brothers in 1935. To secure their monopoly, the company paid Magie a paltry $500. They then erased her name from history and promoted Darrow as the sole inventor.
🎲 Reclaiming History: The Macombopoly Project
The irony of a game designed to critique monopoly being monopolized has been resolved in Magie's hometown through Macombopoly: The World's Largest Monopoly Game.
This permanent, interactive installation uses the Macomb Downtown Square—the actual original blueprint—as its massive game board.
How to Play Macombopoly
Macombopoly is more than a novelty; it is an augmented reality experience that serves as a self-guided historical tour:
- Download the App: Players start by downloading the free Macombopoly app onto their mobile devices.
- Start at GO: The game begins at the designated "GO" spot on the Macomb Square.
- Roll and Walk: The app allows players to "roll" the dice and directs them to walk along the square's path, treating the city blocks as the game properties.
- Historical Correction: As players land on spaces and the play Macombopoly app integrates historical trivia about Lizzie Magie and Macomb. Teaching the true origins of the game and its radical political message.
- Honouring the Inventor: The installation includes a prominent sculpture of Lizzie Magie on the square, ensuring her credit is permanently embedded in the landscape.
Unveiled on May 9th (Lizzie Magie Day), Macombopoly completes the circle of Magie's original vision. By engaging visitors in a public, interactive history lesson, Macomb is contributing to the worldwide movement to correct the historical record and honour the true, radical inventor of the world's most famous board game.