Monopoly X: How Top-Secret World War II Operations Used the Game

An amazing true story of World War II that reveals how British and American military intelligence successfully smuggled escape aids into German P.O.W. camps hidden inside Monopoly game boards, and also the game’s surprising role in espionage.

Monopoly X is the fascinating true story of what is arguably the most unusual and best-kept secret operation of World War II. The masterminds at England’s top-secret MI-9, and later America’s MIS-X, created a special version of the popular game, hiding tools, maps, and money within game boards—delivered by fictitious charities—to captured Allied servicemen held at gunpoint behind barbed wire in German prison camps. This ingenious and complex plot, dubbed “Monopoly X,” was never discovered by the Nazis and led to many successful Allied breakouts.

The creation and consequences of Monopoly X remained a deep secret through the war and for decades after, until now. For the first time, Phillip E. Orbanes tells the full story of the people behind this clandestine program—how it was devised, implemented, and used to great success. A tale of derring-do as compelling as the World War II classic, The Great Escape, Monopoly X is an amazing war story of Allied intelligence services, resistance forces in Europe, heroes and heroines, a notorious traitor, and the pivotal role a seemingly innocent board game played in secret codes and espionage.

Monopoly X includes a 16-page black-and-white photo insert.

Philip E. Orbanes is an American author, former president of Winning Moves Games, and game historian. Prior to founding Winning Moves Games, he worked as a Senior Vice President for Research and Development at Parker Brothers. He is considered the foremost expert on the history of Monopoly, writing several books about the board game, including Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game—And How it Got that Way. He lives in Massachusetts.