Escape from Colditz is a board game produced by Gibsons Games of London in 1973 that simulates attempted escapes by Allied prisoners-of-war (POWs) from Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz Castle) during World War II. Designed in part by Pat Reid, a former POW who escaped from Colditz, the game was released during the first run of the popular television series Colditz, and the game likewise proved popular. Licensed editions were published by Parker Brothers and a number of other companies. The game proved especially popular in Spain, and resulted in a Spanish-language sequel.

thumb|right|Gibsons Games 2nd edition. The swastika has been replaced by an eagle

Description

Escape from Colditz is a board game for 2–6 players in which one player takes on the role of the German security officer at Colditz, and the other players represent the various nationalities of POWs being held there who are trying to find the means to escape.

Colditz Escape!, an open source game engine recreation of the 1990 Amiga game, was created by Aperture Software in 2009. The engine is available for Microsoft Windows, Linux, MacOS and PlayStation Portable.

Reception

In Issue 29 of Games & Puzzles, John Humphries thought the board was "well designed". He noted that "as the game progresses and escape plans near fruition, it can become quite tense for the players concerned, hoping that they will not be caught at the last minute." However, Humphries found that "the rules are atrociously compiled, full of errors, omissions and anomalies." Despite this, he gave the game a rating of 4 out of 6, saying, "Escape from Colditz should provide many hours of enjoyment for most members of the family."

In the book Achtung Schweinhund!: A Boy's Own Story of Imaginary Combat, journalist Harry Pearson noted the one problem he had with the game: "Escape from Colditz was hugely popular, but it had one major defect — someone had to be the Germans. While the Allied players got to run around the castle hoping to nick the stall car, collecting skeleton keys and wire cutters and hoarding Red Cross cigarettes with which to bribe the guards, the German player just marched around with his dogs hoping to fall into a tunnel."

In The Games & Puzzles Book of Modern Board Games, John Humphries said the game "should be played for fun and in fact can be very amusing as well as frustrating and tense at times. Tension can certainly be created when an escape attempt is 'on', and hunter and hunted are both in full cry." He concluded, "The game does not and could not recreate the sense of hopelessness and deprivation experienced by most prisoners of war, but in fairness does not claim to be a true simulation of the actual period, emphasising rather the spirit of co-operation between prisoners."

Other reviews and commentary

  • The Gamer #2 (September-October 1981)
  • Games & Puzzles #50

References

  • The 'Escape From Colditz' Webshrine
  • Colditz Escape! on GitHub
  • RetroActive Review of Escape From Colditz