Parker Brothers wrote all the rules. Many games were based on important events of the day: "Klondike" was based on the Alaskan gold rush, and "War in Cuba" was based on the impending Spanish–American War. The game industry was growing, and the company was becoming very profitable. In 1906, Parker Brothers published the game "Rook", their most successful card game to this day, and it became the best-selling game in the country. During the Great Depression, a time when many companies went out of business, Parker Brothers released a new board game called "Monopoly". Although the company had originally rejected the game
History of the board game Monopoly were owned, and included "chips" to indicate improvements on properties. Magie again approached Parker Brothers about her game, and George Parker again declined, calling the game "too political". Parker is, however, credited with urging Magie to take out her 1924 patent. After the Thuns learned the game, they began teaching its rules to their fraternity brothers at Williams College around 1926. Daniel W. Layman, in turn, learned the game from the Thun brothers (who later tried to sell copies of the game commercially, but were advised by an attorney that the game could not be patented, as they were not