-
What's Different?
MONOPOLY®: America's World War II: We're All In This Together Edition has the same rules as the MONOPOLY® you know and love, but the scenery has changed. Here are some of the historic highlights of this edition.
- Six Collectible tokens were designed with the World War II enthusiast in mind. Which will you be? Boot, American Helmet, Sherman Tank, B-17 Bomber, LCVP "Higgins Boat" or Cathedral Radio?
- Houses and Hotels are renamed Camps and Headquarters.
- Railroads are replaced by Supply Routes, including Atlantic Convoys, Alcan Highway, Flying the "Hump" and Red Ball Express.
- Title Deed cards feature World War II Events instead of properties, though all values remain the same.
- Chance and Community Chest Cards are replaced with Allies and Home Front cards featuring facts and information from the era.
- Income Tax and War Bonds are collected.
- Utilities are replaced by Defense Plants, including the Shipyard and Airplane Factory.
- Each cash denomination in the bank represents the branches of service in the war, based on numbers of troops serving in World War II.
Take a sneak peek at select game components and learn more about their historical significance by hovering over each one.
Gameboard
-
B-17 Flying Fortress
The B-17 was the US Army Air Forces' heavy bomber at the outbreak of World War II, and served in every theater of the war. The aging B-17 was upgraded throughout the war and proved itself the workhorse of the 8th Air Force in Europe.
Factoid: The B-17 delivered 40% of all bombs dropped on Germany.
-
Boots
World War II saw the introduction of the first "combat boot" as part of a troop's issued uniform. Service shoes were modified with a leather high-top cuff and a one-piece sole and heel made from synthetic or recycled rubber. Boots provided ankle support, foot protection, and a good grip for hazardous environments.
Factoid: Foot care, including good shoes, was very important to every infantry soldier in World War II.
-
American Helmet
The M-1 helmet was designed in 1941 to offer greater protection to the back and lower parts of the head. Although slight modifications would occur through the war, this "pot" style helmet was standard issue for most American troops.
Factoid:Helmets were used for many purposes in World War II, including cooking.
-
Cathedral Radio
Although television debuted at the 1939 World Fair, it was not widely available until after World War II. During the war, most Americans received news, entertainment, and information from the radio.
Factoid: On December 7, 1941, radios across the country interrupted regular programming to announce the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
-
LCVP (LANDING CRAFT, VEHICLE, PERSONNEL)
The LCVP, commonly referred to as the "Higgins Boat," was the most famous landing craft designed and produced by Higgins Industries of New Orleans. These flat-bottomed boats included a wide ramp to quickly land soldiers, jeeps, and artillery on a beach.
Factoid: During the war over 12,000 LCVPs were produced for use in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific.
-
Sherman Tank
During World War II, the American-built Sherman tank served around the globe in the US and several Allied armed forces. Although its weapons and armor were inferior to several German tanks, the Sherman was extremely reliable.
FACTOID: American industry produced 52,000 Sherman tanks during World War II, more than the total number of tanks of all models produced by Nazi Germany.
-
Camps
Nearly every American soldier, sailor, marine, and airman began their World War II service in a military camp. They received their basic training in camps all across the country. Camps on the East and West Coasts were often the last bit of America most service members saw before shipping overseas.
-
Headquarters
A headquarters is a location, be it a building, bunker, house, or even a foxhole, from which a commander issues orders to his subordinate units or personnel. The headquarters is also responsible for the unit's administration and training.
Tokens
Camps & Headquarters
-
Airplane Factory
Airplane factories in the United States produced some 300,000 aircraft of all types during World War II. Before the war, most factory work was done by men. As men left factories to serve in the war women took their places. "Rosie the Riveter" was born on the aircraft assembly line, as wives, mothers, and sisters started new jobs.
Factoid: A quarter of a million rivets were required to build just one bomber during World War II.
-
Shipyard
From 1940 to 1945, the Emergency Shipbuilding Program fabricated nearly 6,000 vessels at 30 major shipyards and nearly 100 smaller yards across the United States. Increased opportunities for work in defense plants, including shipyards, caused large numbers of Americans to migrate from rural to urban areas.
Factoid: Henry J. Kaiser was dubbed "Sir Launchalot" because of his shipyard's ability to produce a massive Liberty ship in less than two weeks.
Defense Plants
-
War Bonds
A war bond was both an investment in one's country and an investment in one's financial future. Americans could purchase a war bond for $18.75. The government would take that money and immediately pay for tanks, planes, ships, uniforms, weapons, medicine, food, and everything else the military needed to fight World War II. After ten years the purchaser could cash it in for $25. Americans purchased about $185 billion worth of bonds during the war.
-
Income Tax
To help pay for the war, the federal government increased corporate and personal income taxes. When income taxes were introduced, only the wealthiest Americans were taxed. With the war, tax rates were increased and the wage level at which people started to pay was lowered. This, and the increase in employment in war industries, caused many more people to have to file. In 1939 fewer than 8 million people filed individual income tax returns. In 1945 nearly 50 million filed.
Factoid: Propaganda films starring popular cartoon characters such as Donald Duck emphasized the need to pay taxes.
Taxes
-
Atlantic Convoys
In response to the great need for materials to win the war, America retooled its industrial base to produce vast amounts of supplies for transport to England and other Allied nations. To protect transport ships from German U-Boats and surface fleets, a convoy system assigned warships and aircraft to shepherd the transports across the Atlantic Ocean.
-
Alcan Highway
A supply route running through the harsh terrain of Alaska and British Columbia, the "Alaska-Canadian" (or ALCAN) Highway was constructed following the attacks on Pearl Harbor to protect and link Alaska to the Lower 48 States. Its primary purpose was to allow the transport of supplies needed in the fight against Japan.
-
Flying the "Hump"
Flying the "Hump" refers to the dangerous aerial route used by Allied pilots to ferry supplies over the Himalayan mountain range between India and China. Despite difficult flight conditions and enemy attacks a small number of flight crews delivered over 650,000 tons of supplies to China.
Factoid: During the three years of "Hump" airlifts, China received over 80 percent of its war materials this way, aiding Chinese defenders fighting the Japanese.
-
Red Ball Express
The Red Ball Express was a convoy system of trucks that delivered over 500,000 tons of supplies to the American armies in France in 1944. So important was the mission of the Red Ball Express that General Eisenhower called it "the lifeline between combat and supply."
Factoid: More than 75% of Red Ball Express drivers were African American.
Supply Routes
-
US Coast Guard
The Coast Guard had many responsibilities, including submarine hunting and the dangerous task of putting troops ashore in landing craft. These responsibilities were shared by US Navy.
-
Merchant Marines
Ships of the Merchant Marine were sailed by civilian volunteers, who suffered the highest casualty rate of any branch of the war while transporting vital supplies to troops in need.
-
US Marines
Marines saw action in all theaters, but are best known for their hard-fought invasions of islands throughout the Pacific Theater. They were at the forefront of many of the most hard-fought battles against the Japanese.
-
Army Air Forces
The Army Air Forces supported ground and naval operations in every theater, while its strategic bombing targeted the enemy's troops, industrial sites, and transportation networks.
-
US Navy
The Navy played an essential role keeping vital sea-lanes open to Allied shipping while preventing enemy shipments of war materials. It also patrolled the seas that served as a buffer from enemy attacks.
-
US Army
When World War II began, the Army was made up of only 150,000 men. By the time the war ended, over eight million had served in 91 separate divisions on nearly every continent.
-
The "Home Front"
Men, women, and children on the Home Front supported the military by reducing their use of rationed goods, collecting scraps and waste to be recycled into war materials, and working in factories that produced weapons, ammunition, ships, planes, and many other items.