History of the board game Monopoly it an end to "steady progress" and an impediment to progress. Several authors who have written about the board game have noted many of the "house rules" that have become common among players, although they do not appear in Parker Brothers' rules sheets. Gyles Brandreth included a section titled "Monopoly Variations," Tim Moore notes several such rules used in his household in his Foreword, Phil Orbanes included his own section of variations, and Maxine Brady noted a few in her preface. Authors Noel Gunther and Richard Hutton published "Beyond Boardwalk and Park Place" in 1986, as a guide, per the
Parker Brothers and "", and more. In early 1983, Parker Brothers spent US$15 million establishing a book publishing branch; their first titles featured the American Greetings franchises, Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake. The branch published twelve titles by February 1984; sales of these books totalled 3.5 million units. Parker Brothers also operated a record label around the same time; one of its releases, based on Coleco's Cabbage Patch Kids and involving Tom and Stephen Chapin titled "Cabbage Patch Dreams", was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 1984. In 1985, General Mills merged the company with their