# Freedom: The Underground Railroad

Freedom: The Underground Railroad is a board game for 1–4 players. It plays in 60–120 minutes and is meant for ages 13 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 3. It is rated 6.3 out of 10 by 12 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $98.52 (United States).

- **Players:** 1–4 (best with 3)
- **Playing time:** 60–120 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 13+
- **Complexity:** 2.9 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2013
- **Categories:** Political, American Civil War, Economic, Educational
- **Mechanics:** Solo / Solitaire Game, Cooperative Game, Pick-up and Deliver, Point to Point Movement, Variable Player Powers, Push Your Luck
- **Ludoya rating:** 6.3 out of 10, from 12 reviews
- **Owned by:** 20 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 51
- **Unique players:** 46

**Designers:** Brian Mayer

**Artists:** Jarek Nocoń, Steve Paschal

**Publishers:** (Web published), (Self-Published), Academy Games, Inc.

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ludifolie | 53.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/2184-freedom-le-chemin-de-fer-clandestin.html |
| Alphaspel | 899 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/100066-freedom-the-underground-railroad-2018-reprint |

## Expansions

- [Freedom: The Underground Railroad – Promo Cards](https://www.ludoya.com/games/freedom-the-underground-railroad-promo-cards)
- [Freedom: Chronicles of Bravery](https://www.ludoya.com/games/freedom-chronicles-of-bravery)

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## Rules questions

### When do slave catchers move, and do they capture slaves they pass over?

During the Slave Catcher Phase the lead player rolls the two dice to see which catcher (if any) moves and how far; if the walking-slave symbol is rolled, none move. A slave catcher only captures slaves on the final space it ends on—slaves on spaces it passed over are not captured (pages 5–6).

### Can I move a slave into a space that already has a slave, and how many slaves can a city hold?

Most small cities and spaces can hold only a single slave and a slave cannot finish its movement on a space that already contains a slave, while the large square cities (Chicago, Boston, New York) can hold up to 4 slaves; Canada has numbered spaces for tracking freed slaves (page 7).

### If I buy an Abolitionist Card that gives money, can I use that money to pay for the same card?

No — you must have enough money available before the purchase; money gained from resolving the card cannot be used to pay for that card, and players may not give or lend money to each other unless a card specifically allows it (page 8).

### What happens in the Slave Market Phase and how do we lose from slaves being sold?

During the Slave Market Phase the slaves on the bottom Slave Market Card are placed into any open plantation spaces; if there are no open plantation spaces for incoming slaves they are placed on the Slaves Lost Track, and if you must add a slave after the last Slaves Lost space is filled the players immediately lose the game (page 10).

### When does the next Period column become active and what changes when the last Support Token in a Period is taken?

When the last Support Token in the currently active Period Column is taken the game is paused and the current Period's Abolitionist Deck is removed from the game, then the next Period Column immediately activates and its tokens and cards become available to all players (page 6).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/freedom-the-underground-railroad)
- [Freedom: The Underground Railroad in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/freedom-the-underground-railroad)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/119506)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._