Academy Games | Freedom The Underground Railroad | Board Game | 1-4 Players
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns.- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns.- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Purchase options and add-ons
Brand | Academy Games |
Material | Wood, Cardboard |
Theme | American History |
Genre | Educational |
Minimum Age Recomendation | 180 |
About this item
- A cooperative game which requires players to use teamwork to raise funds, free slaves, and end slavery in the United States.
- Through game play, players learn about the important historical figures, political agendas, and crucial events that unfolded in America between 1800 and 1865.
- Winner - 2014 Cooperative Game of the Year, Winner - 2014 Best Game Theme, Winner - 2014 Most Innovative Game
- Play time is 1-2 hours, 1-4 players, 13+
Additional Details
Buy it with
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
- Academy Games | 1775 Rebellion The American Revolution | Board Game | 2 to 4 Players | 60 to 120 MinutesFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
- Stonemaier Games: Scythe (Base Game) | an Engine-Building, Area Control Strategy Board Game Set in Dieselpunk 1920s Europe | for Adults and Family | 1-5 Players, 115 Minutes, Ages 14+FREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
- Election Night! A Super Fun Way to Learn Essential Math, Geography and Civics While Strategizing Your Way to The White House. Updated Electoral College Game Board for 2024!FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
- Academy Games | 1754 Conquest: The French and Indian War | Board Game | 2-4 PlayersFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31Only 17 left in stock - order soon.
- Academy Games 1812: The Invasion of CanadaFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
- Red Raven Games Sleeping Gods, Strategy Board GameFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 31
Product information
Product Dimensions | 13.5 x 9.75 x 3 inches |
---|---|
Item Weight | 3.74 pounds |
ASIN | B00HCHRGNI |
Item model number | AYG 5401 |
Manufacturer recommended age | 13 - 15 years |
Best Sellers Rank | #325,102 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games) #11,121 in Board Games (Toys & Games) |
Customer Reviews |
4.1 out of 5 stars |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Manufacturer | Academy Games |
Warranty & Support
Feedback
Product Description
Product Description
Freedom - The Underground Railroad is an engaging cooperative game about a pivotal time in American history. Players assume the roles of important historical Abolitionist characters pitted against the slave economy from the early 1800's thru the Civil War. Players succeed together by balancing their actions between raising funds for the Abolitionist cause and helping runaway slaves move from the Southern States to freedom in Canada. But every move risks alerting the slave catchers, who roam the board trying to return the runaway slaves to the plantations. Educational - Players become familiar with the important historical figures, political agendas and crucial events that unfolded in America between 1800 and 1865.
Set Contains:
1x Freedom The Underground Railroad
Important information
Legal Disclaimer
Contains small pieces that may be a choking hazard
Looking for specific info?
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the game fantastic, memorable, and fun. They also appreciate the quality, saying it’s genuinely unique, well designed, and thoughtful. Customers describe the game as a good teaching tool with a noble theme. They mention that the game mechanics are challenging and complex.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the game fantastic, memorable, and compelling. They also say it has good mechanics and a powerful theme. Customers also say the game is well-paced and empathetic.
"...It has a sense of realism that made the game a lot of fun and very compelling. The gameplay is balanced and fun, and quick to pick up...." Read more
"Academy Games makes a lot of great historical games, and this game is no exception, it's heavy on the history and has a pretty noble theme...." Read more
"...Support games that are educational, genuinely unique, and fun." Read more
"...However, this game manages to provide a memorable gaming experience while addressing the subject in a respectful and meaningful way...." Read more
Customers find the quality of the board game to be great. They say it's genuinely unique, has a noble theme, and is well designed. Customers also mention that the game is thoughtful and educational, with high quality components.
"...It has a sense of realism that made the game a lot of fun and very compelling. The gameplay is balanced and fun, and quick to pick up...." Read more
"...and this game is no exception, it's heavy on the history and has a pretty noble theme. The game is well-paced and a good cooperative game...." Read more
"...Support games that are educational, genuinely unique, and fun." Read more
"Love the theme!! Helping the slaves escape to freedom. This is a co-op game where players work together to free as many slaves as possible...." Read more
Customers find the board game very good teaching tool, with a thoughtful and educational approach for introducing children to an extremely difficult concept. They also say the concept is good, and the game is well-executed.
"...The theme of the game is really what makes it so powerful and unique...." Read more
"...Support games that are educational, genuinely unique, and fun." Read more
"...The concept is good - you are one of the 'good guys,' trying to end slavery and help individuals...." Read more
"Very good teaching tool. A very thoughtful and educational approach for introducing children to an extremely difficult concept in US and world..." Read more
Customers find the board game very challenging, with complex game mechanics. They also say the game is a learning experience, with variable difficulty settings.
"...The game has variable difficulty settings, and I would place it at a mid-level weight, better suited to those that have already played other..." Read more
"If you've watched the videos of how to play, you'll see it's complex...." Read more
"...The theme is treated with respect. The game mechanics are challenging, and its not easily won." Read more
"...High quality components, great historical theme and really hard (which is good for this kind of game)" Read more
Reviews with images
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Support games that are educational, genuinely unique, and fun.
That said, the game uses the outdated term "slave," instead of the more humanizing "enslaved person." 'Slaves' are represented by blocks of wood and have no hand in their own escape; they passively wait on the 'plantations' or at the 'slave market' to be rescued. Some of the other negative reviewers have commented on how dehumanizing this well-intentioned game is, how it treats the individuals whose lives were so devastated as objects to be manipulated. I found that to be so true that we couldn't play it for long.
The game left me thinking about the rebellions against slavery that occurred and how horrendously evil this institution was. But the game doesn't include any of that context. I hoped for an educational experience, but closed it up, uncomfortable and seeking something more comprehensive and contextual.
The game has variable difficulty settings, and I would place it at a mid-level weight, better suited to those that have already played other cooperative games (like Pandemic, for example).
Recommended for anyone enjoying fully cooperative games. A jewel in the genre.
We recommend this game.
Top reviews from other countries
The game has several different mechanics, which are all simple and well explained in the rules, and combine together nicely to give rich and entertaining gameplay.
The majority of the game centres around freeing slaves from the plantations in the South and moving them up through the US to freedom in Canada. The game provides you with opponents, the slave catchers who try to prevent you doing this. They can generally be manipulated, and in fact doing so is key to winning the game, but sometimes they move in a way you weren't expecting and that can catch you out quite badly. A slave that you have carefully moved all the way from the bottom of the board up to the border of Canada, can suddenly get captured and end up back in the plantations again. That part of the game gives you a similar feeling to good old snakes and ladders where you nearly get to the end and then have to go right back to the start.
In order to win the game you have to meet three objectives. Freeing slaves and avoiding slave catchers is one and that is what you spend most of your time thinking about, another is avoiding losing too many slaves along the way. The third objective is to abolish the slave trade all together and for that to happen you must raise support for the abolition movement. This requires a large amount of funds and doesn't help you at all with freeing the individual slaves, who are right in front of you. There is excellent tension between these three objectives, which are often in conflict with each other and require difficult decisions to be made by the players (or player - that's another nice aspect to the game, it plays well even with just one player, although you obviously then miss out on the group dynamics).
The game is very well designed overall and gives you a lot of flexibility in the decisions you make. Playing time varies a lot depending on the number of players and how long you like to spend deliberating about what you are going to do. With four players, the possibilities of who will do what are huge. The game has a brilliant feel of organised chaos and often causes you to wish you had played slightly differently a moment earlier. The full consequences of some of the decisions you make are not always obvious!
Although the game takes an hour or two to play, it doesn't drag. In fact you seem to get half way through the allotted 8 turns alarmingly quickly and are then panicking about whether you'll manage to achieve all three of the objectives before the game ends. The rules are reasonably straightforward and very clearly written. Every player has a turn summary and a card with a list of their special abilities (one can be used every turn and a second, for panic situations, can only be used once during the entire game). The only downside I have found to the game is that because there are quite a few individual mechanics, it's easy to get something wrong without realising it. The first couple of times I played the game I got part way through before realising I'd failed to pay enough for something I'd used. However this is part of getting familiar with any game. There are some excellent reviews of the game on you tube. For a better feel of the rules, see the following YouTube videos (go to you tube website and copy and paste the video codes into the you tube search bar):
* this one explains the rules in about 2 minutes at the start Y0jY-HtgO5Q
* this longer video (about 25 mins) goes into more detail and gives a more in depth review: zJoM7K1DkyM
Finally, this game is brilliant! The complexity and challenge levels are absolutely ideal, requiring deep and searching conversations with your partner/s and rewarding in-game mechanics.
Highly recommended for people looking for a more involving boardgame.