What patent number did Charles Darrow receive for the Monopoly board game in 1935?

Charles Darrow received U.S. Patent 2,026,082 for the Monopoly board game in 1935.

The patent was issued during the period when Parker Brothers was commercializing Monopoly. Darrow had developed and promoted a version of the real-estate trading game, and Parker Brothers acquired the rights and published it nationally.

The patent history is more complicated than the popular story that Darrow invented every element alone. Earlier games and ideas, especially Elizabeth Magie’s The Landlord’s Game and versions circulated among players, influenced the development of Monopoly. Magie held an earlier patent for The Landlord’s Game, while Darrow’s 1935 patent concerned the commercial Monopoly design.

For that reason, the patent number identifies Darrow’s patented version, not necessarily the first appearance of every game idea later associated with Monopoly.