Prisoners of War Escaped via Monopoly

One of the most ingenious espionage efforts of World War II involved turning a beloved board game into a sophisticated escape kit. The British intelligence agency MI9 was tasked with aiding downed airmen and other prisoners of war, and they realized that care packages sent by charities were a perfect Trojan horse (Review). Working directly with Waddington's, the British manufacturer of Monopoly, they began producing special editions of the game destined for German POW camps like Colditz Castle. These sets looked identical to the real thing, but were packed with clandestine tools for escape.

The modifications were brilliantly subtle. The game boards themselves were carefully hollowed out to create hidden compartments containing high-denomination German and French currency, miniature compasses, and tiny metal files. Perhaps most clever were the escape maps. Printed on durable, quiet silk that wouldn't rustle like paper or dissolve in water, these maps detailed safe routes out of Germany and were concealed within the game's property cards or even rolled up inside playing pieces like the top hat or car.

To ensure the right prisoners received these kits, MI9 established a network (Review) of fake humanitarian organizations. Allied aircrew were briefed before missions that if they were captured, any packages from these specific charities contained escape aids. A tiny, almost unnoticeable punctuation mark on the game box, such as a period after "Marylebone Station," would secretly indicate which region the hidden map covered. This clever system is credited with helping thousands of Allied personnel make their way back to freedom.