WWII’s Version Of Monopoly Helped Allied POWs Escape-Here’s How

WWII’s Version Of Monopoly Helped Allied POWs Escape-Here’s How | World War Wings Videos

German Federal Archive / Public Domain

Quite A Historical Game.

Monopoly. We’ve all played it at some point in our lives. We all probably quickly figured out who in our family or group of friends we hate the most. That game will do that to ya.

What most people don’t know, however, is that the game was used to help Allied POWs escape from their captors during World War II. The idea was simple yet nifty and the boards were stuffed with essentials like maps, compasses, and files. Everything you’d need to make a breakaway.

It took 45 years for that secret to become public.

We’ll let the video do most of the talking though. It’s short but very informative and the narrator will tell you how the boardgames got into those camps in the first place.

As a side note, we did some digging and found out that the earliest version of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903. It was conceived by Elizabeth J. Phillips, a game designer. Back then the game was called The Landlord’s Game. 

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