Monopoly X: How Top-Secret World War II Operations Used the Game of Monopoly to Help Allied POWs Escape, Conceal Spies, and Send Secret Codes

An amazing true story of World War II that reveals how British and American military intelligence smuggled supplies and escape tools into German P.O.W. camps disguised as Monopoly game sets, enabling imprisoned servicemen to escape.

Monopoly X is the fascinating true story of what is arguably the most unusual and daring 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 an unwitting Red Cross—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 successful Allied breakouts.

The creation and success 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 breadth and depth of 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 ubiquitous board game had in secret codes and espionage.

© 2025 HarperAudio (Audiobook): 9780063425163

Release date

Audiobook: July 15, 2025