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It was inspired by the former Prisoner of War camp at Colditz Castle in Germany, active during the Second World War. Titled 'Escape from Colditz', the game was devised by former POW, Major Patrick Reid, MBE, MC, who was one of the few people who managed to escape the camp, and went on to write about his experiences. \n\nPlayers can choose to represent the German guards, or one of five different allied countries (Britain, America, the Netherlands, France or Poland). Prisoners have to try and escape the camp by rolling the dice and collecting 'Escape Equipment'. Guards have to stop the prisoners from escaping. \n\nThe game originally featured a Swastika on the box, although this was changed to an Imperial Eagle at a later date. ","physicalDescription":"The board is made from printed paper and is backed on thick red textured card with a centre-fold for easy storage. When folded the board has a red sticker that reads 'Colditz' followed by a Swastika symbol. When unfolded the board shows the basic plan of Colditz Castle, including the river and grounds. The game is played by moving pieces between printed circles that feature all over the board, going into rooms, and using passageways and paths. Each room on the plan is named, for example, 'Guard House', 'Cells', 'Parcel Office' etc. There are numbers, symbols, and colours printed in some of the playing circles. \n\nThe counters are small and bottle-shaped, with a larger rounded head. There are eight of each colour (blue, green, red, orange, and brown), apart from the black ones, which are 16 in number. \n\nThe two dice are cubes with slighty rounded edges. They are made of red plastic and have moulded indented dots to indicate numbers that have been painted white. \n\nThere are five sets of cards in total - 'Escape Equipment' cards which have an image of a parcel tied up with string, 'Personal Civilian Escape Kit' cards which have an image of a brown suitcase, 'Opportunity' cards which are red with a Swasika on it, 'Security' cards which are also red with a Swastika, and finally, 'Do or Die' cards which are black with white writing. Each card has a different set of instructions or scenarios on the back of them. They are all made from printed card. \n\nThere is a booklet about the history of Colditz, written by P.R. Reid; it has a peach-coloured front in the style of an old handwritten form. The instruction manual is also peach-coloured but has a bright red border on the front cover. There is a dark-coloured information sheet titled 'Appel', and on the other side, 'Legend'; this sheet gives extra information about those particular parts of the game. Finally there is a thin slip of paper with 'Additional Rules'.\n\nThe packaging consists of an outer cardboard box with drawings of men looking up at Colditz Castle; it is blue in colour with red detailing surrounding the title in the top right hand corner. The inner packaging is a yellow cardboard tray which holds a smaller card box with British Red Cross information on it. The yellow inner tray also holds a small white plastic tray that is supposed to hold the playing counters and the dice. \n","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Reid, Patrick MBE MC (Major)","id":"AUTH331071"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x40048"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Palitoy","id":"A1543"},"association":{"text":"manufacturer","id":"x33306"},"note":""},{"name":{"text":"Parker Games","id":"A28813"},"association":{"text":"manufacturer","id":"x33306"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"paper","id":"AAT14109"},{"text":"wood","id":"AAT11914"},{"text":"plastic","id":"AAT14570"}],"techniques":[{"text":"printing","id":"AAT53319"},{"text":"painting (coating)","id":"AAT161986"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Printed card and paper, painted wood, plastic","categories":[{"text":"Games","id":"THES48947"},{"text":"Toys & Games","id":"THES262248"},{"text":"War","id":"THES257202"},{"text":"Children & 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Reid, M.B.E., M.C. author of 'The Colditz Story' and 'The Latter Days at Colditz'. Technical advisor to the BBC TV series.'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Printed on outer box"},{"content":"'Made by Parker Games Division of Palitoy Ltd. Coalville Leicester England / Catalogue No. 31211'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Printed on outer box"},{"content":"'Escape from Colditz / Prisoners in Colditz, having existed for seven months on prison rations, were down to two thirds normal weight by Christmas 1940, when the first Canadian and British Red Cross parcels arrived. These contained tinned meat, cheese, jam, butter, powdered egg and milk, tea or cocoa, chocolate, sugar, and cooking fat. They weighed 10 1/2 lbs. each parcel. Tobacco came separately. Although parcels were paid for mostly by a prisoner's relative, it was 'share and share alike' at Colditz. Contraband or escaping aids were never sent by the Red Cross, which, correctly was strictly forbidden.  / Members of the International Red Cross deserve unlimited gratitude for the help they render to people in distress all over the world, bridging frontiers in war and peace in the cause of man's humanity to man. / This box contains 5 sets of cards for use in the game.'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Printed on inner packaging"}],"objectHistory":"This board game is based on the prisoner-of-war camp at Colditz Castle in Germany during the  Second World War. It was devised by Major PR Reid, who was one of the people to successfully escape from the castle. Produced in England by the Palitoy Company in the mid 1970s it has proved one of the most durable and popular war games.","historicalContext":"It has featured in the Museum of Childhood's War Games exhibition in a section dealing with nostalgia for battles of the past within the From Reality to Fantasy theme. It is used alongside war comics from the 1960s to demonstrate an acceptable way to interact with the subject of war.\n\r\nIt is for two to six players, one of which must always be the Germans (black counters); the others choose to be one of five nationalities (Allies) represented by different coloured playing pieces - British (red counters), American (blue counters), Dutch (orange counters), French (brown counters), and Polish (green counters).\r\n\r\nThe order of movement begins with the player to the German player's left and proceeds clockwise about the table. The Germans always move last in the sequence. Once one round is over, play repeats at the German player's left and continues until the game is over.\r\n\r\nThe playing pieces are moved by the score on the throw of two dice. Doubles allow the player to an additional throw. No player is required to use any or all moves and the movement allowance can be split between two or more of his pieces. They cannot be saved for later turns or transferred to other players.\r\n\r\nIn order to escape, each prisoner must first obtain an \"escape kit\", composed of food, disguise, compass and forged papers by visiting various rooms in the castle or by using 'Opportunity Cards'. Once collected, this kit is not lost or expended.\r\n\r\nOther equipment or materials must also be obtained in order for a player to make a successful escape attempt: wire cutters; lengths of rope; forged passes; and keys. These are gained, like the escape kit, by visiting rooms or using Opportunity Cards. Unlike the escape kit, these cards can be confiscated at certain times by the German player and once used are expended and placed back in the pile.\r\n\r\nOpportunity cards (taken from a shuffled pile) are gained on a roll of 3, 7 or 11 (not counting rerolls due to double throws). These present the player with additional opportunities for escape. Some cards allow 'free' equipment to be gained (without visiting the rooms required). Additional cards allow players to use one of the three tunnels shown on the map, hide escape equipment to avoid confiscation, steal the Staff Car, move to safe hideaways, escape solitary or avoid being shot during an escape attempt. Players may keep their opportunity cards secret or secretly show each other their hands in order to assist each other's escapes.\r\n\r\nOn the German player's turn, a 3, 7, or 11 results in that player taking a 'Security Card' rather than an Opportunity Card. These allow the German player to undertake counter-escape actions, such as 'Shoot to Kill', 'Detect Tunnel', call an 'Appell' (a counting parade forcing all pieces back to starting positions), or perform searches. Once used, Security and Opportunity Cards are discarded.\r\n\r\nPlaying pieces caught while escaping, in possession or equipment or found in unauthorized parts or the castle can be put in solitary (a series of rooms on the board) for a few turns to temporarily reduce the number of pieces available to the player. Pieces shot while attempting to escape are removed permanently.\n\nThe game is given a time limit or a target of escaped prisoners (usually the first to two) with the objective of the player operating the guards being to limit or stop the escape attempts. A final option (used normally as the time limit comes to an end) is to perform a 'Do or Die'. A special card is taken which details how many die rolls are used (from three to seven 2-dice throws). These throws are made and summed (doubles again allow rerolls, no opportunity cards are taken) and if the result is enough to reach an escape target in a single bound (no escape equipment needed), then the escape is successful. If not, the entire team is removed from play.","briefDescription":"Boxed board game, Escape from Colditz, made in England by Palitoy in the 1970s","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Mass produced","id":"THES48863"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[{"text":"Schloss Colditz","id":"THES384974"}],"associatedPlaces":[{"text":"Britain","id":"x32019"},{"text":"America","id":"x29333"},{"text":"Holland","id":"x29020"},{"text":"France","id":"x28849"},{"text":"Poland","id":"x29083"},{"text":"Germany","id":"x28873"}],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[{"text":"Nazi","id":"AUTH329431"},{"text":"British Red Cross","id":"AUTH322099"},{"text":"BBC","id":"C1643"}],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[{"text":"Second World War","id":"V72"}],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"Prisoners of War","id":"AAT259895"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"In the post-war period there was a continued nostalgia for the heroes who defeated Nazism. \r\nStories of bravery were repeated in all forms of popular culture. They formed an acceptable way to interact with the subject of war, away from representation of current conflicts.\r\n\r\nWhile other comics diversified into sci-fi and fantasy, Commando, first published in 1961, focussed all its attention on the Second World War. Its nostalgic style and format remained unchanged for decades.\r\n\r\nFilms and board games were inspired by wartime exploits, such as the escape from the infamous German prisoner of war camp at Colditz castle. These remained popular and in the public’s consciousness for many years.","date":{"text":"2012","earliest":"2012-01-01","latest":"2012-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["B.367:1-2012","B.367:2-2012","B.367:3-2012","B.367:4-2012","B.367:5-2012","B.367:6-2012","B.367:7-2012","B.367:8-2012","B.367:9-2012","B.367:10-2012","B.367:11-2012","B.367:12-2012","B.367:13-2012","B.367:14-2012","B.367:15-2012","B.367:16-2012","B.367:17-2012","B.367:18-2012","B.367:19-2012","B.367:20-2012","B.367:21-2012","B.367:22-2012","B.367:23-2012","B.367TEMP1-2012"],"accessionNumberNum":"367","accessionNumberPrefix":"B","accessionYear":2012,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"Manufacturer's number","id":"THES57537"},"number":"31211"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-03-27","recordCreationDate":"2014-03-27","availableToBook":false}}