Freedom: The Underground Railroad

To set up the game, place the starting slave tokens on the light-colored spaces of each plantation. Arrange the eight slave market cards, with the first three face-up and slaves placed on them. Sort the abolitionist cards into three periods (1800-1839, 1840-1859, 1860-1865), integrating opposition cards based on the number of players, then place the first five cards of the 1800-1839 deck on the abolitionist queue. Place the victory condition marker on the white side of the track for a normal difficulty game. Each player receives $8 and a role card, with the lantern token indicating the first player. Position the five slave catcher pawns on their starting cities. Finally, place the support, conductor, and fundraising tokens on their respective spaces on the board according to the setup table in the rulebook.

The objective of Freedom: The Underground Railroad is for players to collectively win by successfully purchasing all available support tokens and liberating a minimum of 10 slaves to Canada. Players must achieve these two victory conditions before the game ends due to too many captured slaves or the exhaustion of abolitionist cards in the third period. The game is cooperative, meaning all players win or lose together, emphasizing teamwork and strategic coordination.

A turn consists of several phases. First, the slave catcher phase involves rolling dice to determine slave catcher movement. A slave catcher only captures slaves on their final destination space, not on spaces they pass through. Captured slaves are immediately placed on the slave market cards, starting from the bottom card. Second, the planning phase allows players to take turns performing actions. Each player, starting with the first player, can perform actions in any order, such as moving slaves using conductor tokens, buying support or fundraising tokens, playing special cards, or passing to gain money. Third, the slave market phase involves placing new slaves from the current slave market card onto available plantation spaces. If no plantation spaces are available (including dark spaces), slaves are placed on the lost slaves track. If this track becomes full, the players lose. Finally, the lantern phase involves discarding abolitionist cards from the queue, checking for victory conditions, and advancing to the next period if the last support token of the current period has been purchased.

Players earn money (dollars) by successfully moving slaves to specific northern cities. The amount earned depends on the arrival city, as indicated on the board. Fundraising tokens also provide income: those from the first two periods grant $1 per slave on a green southern space, while those from the third period grant $1 per slave on a blue northern city (small or large). Conversely, players lose money if slaves are captured by slave catchers, as these slaves are sold on the slave market. Passing a turn also grants money, with the amount varying by period. Managing finances is crucial for purchasing essential support and conductor tokens.

The game ends immediately if players achieve both victory conditions: purchasing all support tokens and liberating at least 10 slaves to Canada. Players lose if the lost slaves track becomes completely filled and an additional slave needs to be placed on it. The game also ends if the abolitionist card deck for the third period is exhausted and no new cards can be drawn to fill the queue. When a period changes, the previous period's abolitionist deck is discarded, but any remaining conductor and fundraising tokens from previous periods remain available for purchase.