The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom

Organization:

Muzzy Lane Software, National Geographic Education

Dev Category:

Business

Release Year:

2014

The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom is a “choose your own journey” style game that incorporates 3-D experiences as students make a series of choices that affect their journey. Played from a first-person perspective, the game immerses students in the action as they play the role of a slave escaping from a southern plantation and heading north toward freedom. Along the route, students make key decisions that will lead them to one of several possible outcomes. Along their journey, students will encounter challenges and meet key historical figures who provide help and inspiration.

Game Overview

Students will:

Identify key challenges of the journey on the Underground Railroad, including physical and political geography
Explore historic events from multiple perspectives
Examine the choices an escaping slave may have had to make, from a historical perspective
Understand historic events surrounding slavery and the Underground Railroad from multiple perspectives
Recognize the contributions of key historic figures, including Harriet Tubman, Thomas Garrett, William Still, and Frederick Douglass
Discover primary and secondary source artifacts
Identify factors in historical context that affected people’s decision-making

You are a slave. You belong to a farmer who owns a tobacco plantation on the eastern shore of Maryland. Six long days a week you tend his field. But not for much longer . . . What will you do? Make your choices well as you embark on your journey to freedom.

Students in Grades 6-10, in a variety of settings both in and out of the classroom.

The the outcome of the player’s journey will depend on the choices they make, with multiple outcomes possible.

Game Specs

Game Engine

Operating System

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Game Video

Play the video below to learn more about The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom