Monopoly versus the Third Reich

[Chuckanut]

This has nothing to do with retirement but I figure many of us had family members who fought in WW2 and might be interested in a different story about the war.

Inside Monopoly's secret war against the Third Reich • Articles • Board Game • Eurogamer.net

Quote:

Skilled technicians at Waddingtons would have cut precise openings for the tools in the cardboard liner of the game boards, while foreign currency money pads would have been assembled with a few Monopoly bills on top for disguise. Orbanes also says that one of six possible area maps would have been added to each game, and printing marks - a seemingly errant period after a specific location on the board itself that would pass as a production gaff - would have disclosed the kind of map that was inside. A period placed after Mayfair would signal a map of Scandinavia and upper Germany, say, while one after Free Parking referred to Northern France.

[REWahoo]

For a second there I thought this was going to be another thread about "net neutrality"...

[Lsbcal]

Interesting article, thanks!

[braumeister]

Great story.
There were a number of companies doing similar things at the time. I'm familiar with the US Playing Card company's Bicycle brand of cards.

Quote:

During World War II, the company secretly worked with the U. S. government in fabricating special decks to send as gifts for American prisoners of war in German camps. When these cards were moistened, they peeled apart to reveal sections of a map indicating precise escape routes.

About Bicycle - The History of Bicycle® Playing Cards