Monopoly is the game of buying hotels, landing on Boardwalk, and arguing over the rules. It's hardly the first thing you'd think of as a secret weapon. But during World War II, a few very special Monopoly sets made their way into prisoner of war camps with a hidden purpose. So how did a board game help soldiers plan escapes?
The short answer is that British intelligence hid escape gear inside them. In 1941, MI9, a secret branch of British military intelligence, had John Waddington Ltd., the company that made Monopoly in Britain, produce special editions for Allied prisoners held by the Germans. Tucked inside were maps, compasses, real money, and other tools useful for escaping. Fake charities then sent the games to the camps.
Why Waddingtons?
The choice of manufacturer wasn't random. Waddingtons, based in Leeds, held the British license for Monopoly from Parker Brothers. Just as important, the company could print on silk, and silk was exactly what escape maps needed.
A map printed on paper rustles, tears, and turns to mush when wet. A cloth map could be folded tiny, hidden easily, and survive rain or a river crossing. During the war, the British produced hundreds of thousands of maps on thin cloth and tissue paper so that a serviceman caught behind enemy lines could find his way to safety.
What Was Hidden Inside
The marked Monopoly sets included cloth maps, compasses, a file, and real money, such as French and German currency, sometimes slipped in among the colorful play money. To a camp guard flipping through a box of game pieces, it all looked like harmless fun.
The deliveries came through fake prisoner relief charities set up by British intelligence. Since prisoners routinely received games and comforts from charities, the packages blended right in.
A Gadget Man Behind the Scenes
Much of this clever work came from a team led by Christopher Clayton Hutton, who worked for MI9 from late 1939 until 1943. MI9 was created to design and distribute escape and evasion aids for Allied servicemen. Hutton's team found suitable manufacturers and dreamed up ways to sneak supplies into the camps.
Hutton had a flair for the dramatic. Back in 1913, he had been involved in a stunt with the famous escape artist Harry Houdini. During the war, he often ran into trouble with police and supply officials while hunting for scarce materials like silk and steel wire. After the war, he wrote a book about his experiences, though he faced government opposition and couldn't publish it until 1960.
Board Games Weren't the Only Trick
Monopoly was just one hiding place. Escape maps were also printed on playing cards that could be soaked and peeled apart to reveal the map inside. Tissue-thin maps were wound into twine and rolled into the cores of cotton thread spools in sewing kits. MI9 even approached the record company EMI about hiding maps inside phonograph records, carefully avoiding composers the Nazis had banned so the records wouldn't be confiscated.
Many prisoners' escapes were helped by MI9's silk maps and other gadgets, though nobody knows exactly how many owed their freedom to a game of Monopoly. Still, it's a wonderful thought. The next time someone at family game night pulls a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, you can tell them that, once upon a time, the game really meant it.
