Library of Things offers wide variety of board games to library patrons

Ready to pass GO or buy a railroad or be a shoe? If you haven’t figured out, we are talking about Monopoly, the well-known board game now sold by Hasbro and formerly sold by Parker Brothers. And guess what — National “Play Monopoly Day” is one of those fun and unique holidays and it is celebrated on Nov. 19.

And the Cheboygan Area Public Library has a Monopoly game in the Library of Things collection that can be checked out and played at home with family and friends.

Did you know, though the invention of Monopoly is usually attributed to Charles Darrow who sold it to Parker Brothers in 1935, a Quaker woman Lizzie Magie first patented her edition of what she called “The Landlord’s Game” in 1904? Magie’s game was played on a square board with nine rectangular spaces on each side and corners labeled “Go to Jail” and “Public Park.” Players made their way around the board, buying railroads and paying rent.

A historical account by author Maxine Brady in her book titled “The Monopoly Book: Strategy and Tactics of the World’s Most Popular Game,” reveals there were some other similar games that preceded Darrow’s Monopoly game and likely inspired his version, including Magie’s “The Landlord Game” (1904), Dan Layman’s “Finance” (1920s), Louis Thun’s “Monopoly” (1931), and Rudy Copeland’s “Inflation” (1936).

Want to learn more about the history of Monopoly? Check out “The Monopolist: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game,” a book by Mary Pilon which also digs into the real (and very interesting) history behind the board game.

Maybe Monopoly isn’t for you or your game players are too young. That’s OK because there are lots of other board, card, and dice games available in the Library of Things collection that can be checked out. And these games are for a range of ages and interests. There is Bananagrams, Sequence, Sixteen Samurai, Clue, Scrabble Junior, Apples to Apples Junior, Farkle, Cross Over, Disney Scene It?, Skip-Bo Dice, Catan, Rummikub, Cobra Paw, Dungeons and Dragons, Dominoes, Othello, and many more.

Did you know that there are lots of other fun things in the Library of Things Collection that can be borrowed? You could try out some baking recipes with the bread machine or cake pop maker or the cookie cutters. Maybe you want something artsy to do. You could try out some art stamps from the extensive stamp selection. Now would be a great time to get a start on making holiday cards for your family and friends. Or maybe you have a sewing project that requires the use of a serger machine — yes, there is one of those too. And so much more. Be sure to stop by the library and peruse the Library of Things collection.

Library of Things items are checked out on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be put on hold. The checkout time is three weeks with no renewals. Other items in the collection include fishing poles with tackle, ukuleles, Explore Cheboygan backpacks, wireless hot-spots, STEAM-related games/activities, a C-PEN reader pen (which scans and reads text aloud), a Verilux HappyLight therapy lamp, and more.

To explore the online catalog for what is in the Library of Things collection, simply use “3-D Objects” as the keyword when searching. Make sure to use the filters to select “Cheboygan Area Public Library” under the Available option to see items that are from Cheboygan library’s collection.

Another opportunity at the Cheboygan Area Public Library is a blood drive. From 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16, the library is hosting a blood drive on the lower level with Versiti Blood Centers of Michigan. If you are interested in donating, give us a call to make an appointment or stop in the day-of as a walk-in. The library’s number is (231) 627-2381 or Versiti can be reached at (866) 642-5663. You can go online to sign up as well. The web address is donate.michigan.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/143595. There are also opportunities for double-red donations. Thank you in advance, your blood donation means so much.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Library of Things offers wide variety of board games to library patrons