Rich Uncle Pennybags Would Be Proud : Leisure: Monopoly passes ‘Go’ and collects 60 years of success in the board game business.

The board game that encourages youngsters to roll the dice, build hotels, muscle into the railroads, buy up utilities and collect fat rents is entering its seventh decade and shows no sign of losing popularity.

Monopoly, which rewards players for sending rivals into bankruptcy, reached a birthday milestone Tuesday, 60 years after Parker Bros. first started peddling the game it purchased from an obscure inventor.

To mark the occasion, “Rich Uncle Pennybags,” the mustachioed millionaire who adorns Monopoly boxes, rang the opening bell at the American Stock Exchange in New York on Tuesday. The stock of Parker Bros.’ parent company, Hasbro, is traded on the Amex.

Bob Wann, senior vice president of marketing for Hasbro Games Group, said the appeal of Monopoly has endured the economic ups and downs since the game was concocted during the depths of the Great Depression.

“The game’s conflicts and triumphs, like paying taxes and collecting rent, are the same as they were 60 years ago,” he said. “People are still excited by the idea of the game.”

Since Monopoly was introduced in February, 1935, more than 160 million copies have been purchased. It is sold in 45 countries and printed in 25 languages, including Icelandic, Arabic, Croatian and Russian.

Wann said it’s easy to see why the game crosses language and cultural boundaries.

“When you come to the table, everyone comes equal. Everyone starts with the same amount of money,” he said.

Monopoly calls for up to eight players to use dice to move game pieces--which include a horse, dog, lantern, iron and wheelbarrow--clockwise around a square board. There are properties, railroads and utilities that may be purchased when landed upon. Players may build hotels and houses on their properties and charge rent to players who land on them. Players start with $1,500 each and collect $200 each time they complete one trip around the board.

Monopoly was invented by Charles Darrow in 1933. The first “board” was a piece of oilcloth on his kitchen table and comprised properties named after streets in Atlantic City, N.J.

Darrow began by selling the game to friends and relatives, but he soon concluded the game had broader appeal. He offered to sell the rights to Parker Bros., but the company rejected the offer based on what it said were 52 design flaws. Darrow continued to sell the game himself, and Parker Bros. soon realized it had erred. The company purchased the rights in 1935.

Wann said whatever the “flaws” were is unknown now because the company didn’t document them. Nor can the company provide the purchase price for the rights, and it is not sure how much money it has made off the game, though it acknowledges that the profit margin is something Uncle Pennybags would be proud of.

Monopoly games sold in other countries are altered to appeal to those citizens, Wann said.

For instance, Boardwalk becomes Mayfair in England, Rue de la Paix in France and Schlossalee in Germany. Currencies also vary from country to country.

Still, the universal appeal of Monopoly has survived language translation, Wann said.

“Everyone has a certain amount of competitive drive,” he said. “And there isn’t a parent around who doesn’t like zapping their kids for rent when they can.”