Here’s the fun trivia fact of the week: During World War II, Allied prisoners of war could play board games, and Monopoly gave them their “Get out of Jail Free” card.
Because of the Geneva Convention, Germany allowed POW to receive letters and care packages from friends and family, some of which included board games. British Intelligence recognized that they could utilize this method in order to free their fellow soldiers and citizens from Nazi control.
At first, British intelligence sent regular Monopoly boards that included secret messages encoded in the cards, of which the prisoners of war would send back in letters, explaining the situation at that camp/prison in order for the government to tailor the boards accordingly. After about three months, most of the cards were sent back and the British government could start employing people to develop these special boards.
Once the specialized Monopoly boards were sent, a special code of a little red dot on the free parking space let them know that this was the version that would allow them access to freedom. Monopoly boards used to be 1/8th of an inch thick, therefore allowing the British government to hide small, important tools for escape; most importantly, a silk map. These silk maps became more useful than paper ones as they were quieter to open, more sturdy, and were more water resistant. The Monopoly boards also housed compartments for knives, cords, and compasses in addition to the silk maps. Important files were disguised as playing pieces. The compartments containing these secret escape tools had to weigh the same amount as the original placebo games sent to these prisoners in order to masque the hidden tools. Sometimes British Intelligence hid real money among the fake money, and, sometimes, token pieces were made of real gold for the same purpose depending on the situation.
These specialized Monopoly boards saved thousands of lives. Unfortunately, none exist as far as historians know because the prisoners were directed to destroy the games after obtaining the escape tools to erase any evidence.
Talk about a literal “Get out of Jail Free” card.