2. Beginning
Right now, it’s 1862. The Civil War is being
fought. The Union is fighting to free slaves
and truly make America the land of the free,
while the Confederate are trying hard to
keep slavery in their lives.
You are just one of the 4 million slaves put to
work in this world. You work at a North
Carolina cotton plantation.
Continue
3. Beginning
Your life is can be summed up with one word;
difficult. You aren’t fed that well, you work
all day, and you aren’t treated like a human
being.
You are just a regular slave. Sometimes you
work in the fields, but mostly you help with
odd jobs. Sewing and cooking and anything
else that your master could think of, you will
do.
Continue
4. Beginning
The only thing that keeps you in line is not the
punishment, but the fear for your little
sister. She works in the main house with the
mistress and her children. She could easily
be punished for any crime you commit, and
you don’t want her to be hurt.
Continue
5. Your Choice
Tonight, someone comes in the dead of night,
knocking quietly on your slave cabin door. One
of the others opens it. You hear a harsh
whisper come from outside.
“If you want to become free men and women in
the Union, you must come with me!”
This is all they say before turning quickly,
heading for the next cabin. You must make a
decision quickly. They will leave soon.
What will you do?
Run Stay
6. You decided to stay at the plantation, and the next
morning, your slave driver comes to wake you up.
They notice quickly that some of the slaves are
missing. The driver turns to you, an angry look on
his face.
“What happened last night? Where are your friends?”
You don’t want to be punished but at the same time,
some of the slaves who escaped were your close
friends. You don’t want to bring them back to this
place.
What do you do?
Stay
Tell him what happened Tell him nothing
7. Tell him nothing
You keep your mouth shut and shake your head,
refusing to tell him anything. He quickly flares
up and takes you outside. It doesn’t take much
before you are covered in fresh wounds from
the whip in his hands.
After a half of a day of this, he asks you once
again if you will tell him where they went. If
you don’t, you will have to work in the fields for
12 hours a day the next two weeks with no
food.
What do you do?
Still say nothing Tell on your friends
8. Tell him what happened
Your friends spirits have not been broken as
not a full week later they are making plans
to run again. They decide to trust you with
their plans to run and ask you to join them.
They warn you that they aren’t going to tell
you the full story until you actually escape
with them.
What do you do?
Join them Stay
9. Stay
You decide against running with your friends.
You don’t want to be caught and punished
anymore. Your friends become very angry at
you. But they can’t afford to waste any time,
so they leave quietly and quickly, not saying
another word to you.
The next morning, you catch word from some
others that a slave auction is coming up.
Continue
10. Auction
Your master sends out the slave driver to
collect all the slaves to be sold. You are one
of them.
After being jostled like cargo with a bunch of
other people, you arrive. You are forced to
stand completely still and silent as potential
new masters look over you like a new horse.
Continue
11. Auction
Among the potential new masters is a cruel
looking man with a twisted smile. He looks
over in your direction and comes over to the
person in charge, telling them to let him
through, as he wants to look over you. You
realize that he could buy you, and that chills
you. You could try to act sickly and ill to turn
him away, or you could hold your head high.
What do you do?
Act sickly Act strong
12. Act Sickly
As the man comes over to you, you decide to
act as sick as you can. It’s not hard for you to
pretend to be sick, as the smell of the place
was enough to make you throw up.
He yells at you to stand straight, and you
struggle to comply with him. He looks at you
with distaste at your disposure and turns on
his heel, leaving you in the dust.
Continue
13. Act Sickly
You breath out a small sigh of relief as he
leaves. Before you know it, another young
man is standing in front of you, checking
you over. His eyes are kind as he catches the
sight of your wounds on your hands and
arms. He smiles a small, gentle smile, and
buys you, just like that. You are quickly
prepared for your new master.
Continue To New Home
14. Continue to New Home
Once your master is all packed and ready, you
leave for his home, and soon to be yours.
As it comes into view, you can’t help but feel a
small bit of happiness. The small plantation
doesn’t look at all like your last home. There
are small tents for the slaves to work in, and
it seems like the work won’t be that hard.
You are one of the lucky slaves.
Continue
15. End
You like your new life as much as you can. The
food is good, the work isn’t too hard, and your
master is kind to the slaves he owns.
Your master is for the abolition of slavery, so he
tries to buy as many as he can to save them.
Once in a while he will send them to his friends
up north to get jobs.
This new life is good and you’re as happy as you
can be, knowing you will eventually be free.
Continue
16. End
You have reached the ending!
What a happy occasion. You’re a lucky slave,
not many actually get a nice master.
You think this path was easy?
Why don’t you try again if you didn’t like it.
Start Over
Thanks for playing
17. Tell on your friends
The thought of having to working without food in
the hot sun is too much for you, and you spill
the whole plan as it had happened. The slave
driver grows angry and sends out search
parties for the escaped slaves. You hope that
the half-day had been enough to get a good
head start to escape this place.
Your prayer comes true in a way, because after
dark, only one slave had been brought back to
the farm. They had lost the scent, and the
others would be free.
Continue
18. Tell on your friends
Later that day, you find out from another slave
that an auction is coming up, and that you
were one of the slaves to be sold.
The next day, the slave driver comes to collect
you and the others. You are packed with
other slaves as you ride the bumpy road.
Arriving at the auction means you have to
stand still and look sharp as potential
masters come to look over you.
Continue
19. Still Say Nothing
You try to keep your friends safe and keep your
mouth shut, even though it means starving and
working to death in the fields for two weeks.
After your punishment is over, you catch word
that you are to be sold at an upcoming slave
auction. You are going to be sold as a field
worker, much to your dismay. You never had
been one before. This punishment was the first.
Continue
20. Still Say Nothing
You have one chance to redeem yourself. You
want to stay at the plantation with your
sister, but that wasn’t going to be possible.
Your only chance is to convince the mistress
to convince the master that you should not
be sold as a field worker. This is a risky
thing though, and it’s very possible that the
mistress would have the master punish you.
Are you willing to take that chance?
Try to convince mistress Say nothing
21. Try To Convince Mistress
Approaching the mistress was risky in of
itself, but somehow you find yourself in the
situation of being able to talk to her. You
blurt out your story quickly, and she nods
her head, walking off afterwards.
Later your slave driver comes up to you and in
a gruff voice, tells you that you should
prepare to be sold as a regular slave, instead
of a field worker. Your plan worked!
Continue
22. Say Nothing
A smart choice. Trying to change your fate like
that would be risky and probably wouldn’t
work. Saying nothing is the safest bet.
At the auction, you are approached by a cruel
looking man. He looks you up and down with
eyes that know no kindness, and nods,
smirking to himself. You fear for your life.
And rightfully too, as he quickly purchases you
and brings you to the small crowd of other
slaves that he had bought. Your new life doesn’t
seem too bright.
Continue To New Home
23. New Home
Your life is hard and doesn’t pay off. One little
mistake and you pay dearly. After only a
week, your body is more sore than ever and
you keep getting weakly. You work as hard
as you can every day, but it’s never enough.
Your master snaps at you when you don’t
move fast enough, and he brings you to the
whipping pole. You sit on your knees as he
strikes you, again and again.
Continue
24. End
Your life wasn’t so pleasant, was it?
You never stood up again after that
punishment.
Your master whipped you too hard and your
neck snapped like a twig.
But unlike the real slaves, you can retry your
life.
What do you say? Wanna try again?
Start Over
Thanks for playing
25. Act strong
You decide to hold your head high and take
whatever life throws at you. The cruel man
kicks the back of your knees, making you fall
down on them in pain.
He smirks cruelly at your pain, and quickly
arranges to buy you. You should be scared.
He doesn’t look very kind or friendly, and
doesn’t seem like the understanding type.
Continue
26. Act strong
So fast it’s all a blur to you, you’re prepared
for your master and set off. Counting
yourself, there are a total of 8 new slaves
that your master had bought. He seemed
like a well-off man, but very cruel. Perhaps
he did something horrible to earn that
money.
Oh well. You can’t do anything about your fate
now.
Continue To New Home
27. Join Them
You decide to trust in whatever plan they have
and you tell them you will join them. The
self-proclaimed leader smiles, saying that
they were glad you made the right choice.
That night, you slip away quietly, making sure
everyone is close. You quickly make it far
enough away to whisper to each other
safely.
Continue to Run
28. Run
You only make it a short way from the slave
cabins before you realize you would be
leaving your sister behind. She’s had a
relatively good life, for a slave at least. She
didn’t have the wild childhood that most
slave children had. She grew up as a maid,
helping the mistress with her children.
Your sister would still have that life if you left,
but she still deserves freedom.
Bring her Leave her behind
29. Bring her
You decide to take the risk and take a detour
to get your sister. It doesn’t take much
persuading, because the leader tells you that
the others aren’t going to wait for you, so
you better make this fast. You get to the
house no problem, but your sister is
apparently on the second floor. You have this
one last chance to leave her. Will you?
Get her Leave her behind
30. Get her
You need to risk it. What a horrible thought, that
you would actually leave your sister here to
continue living the life of a slave, even if it is
better than how you were treated.
You slowly make your way closer to the house,
unseen and unheard by anyone around. It was
late enough that the masters were asleep and
nobody would know about this. You pick up a
small pebble and lob it at the window, knowing
your sister would be in there.
Continue
31. Get her
Loud barking fills the air as you grab another
rock. You freeze, and before you know it your
master is throwing open the door and rushing
out, yelling a million different things at you
while calling out for the slave driver.
You aren’t granted any mercy as he ties you to the
whipping post and beats you unconscious.
After he’s done for the night, he leaves you
there to bleed out from the wounds he gave
you.
Continue
32. End
Nice attempt, but it might have been a selfish
one.
Though, if you had left her behind, then you’d
be selfish too.
It’s a loss either way, but you can try again.
Want to?
Start Over
Thanks for playing
33. Leave her behind
For your own good and for the good of the group,
you have to leave her behind. You can’t risk
losing your only guide, even if they don’t know
the way.
For the next couple hours, all you can hear is the
quiet snap of twigs and the whoosh of fabric
from people’s clothing.
Then, the whole group stops as the leader points
out a lit cabin in the distance. They start
heading towards it, but you hold back. You
don’t know if these people can be trusted.
Speak out Trust the leader
34. Speak Out
You run up to the front of the group and stop the
leader, trying to persuade them to turn around
and to not risk talking to someone there. It’s a
huge risk, someone who lived there would
definitely turn them in if they came knocking at
their door.
The leader shrugs you off and continues to the
cabin. You have a chance to run away and avoid
capture, or you could stay with the leader.
Trust the leader Run away
35. Trust the leader
You decide to trust the leader as they walk up
to the front door. Suddenly, you see this
symbol drawn in the dirt in front of the
porch.
You nor anyone in the group knows what this
symbol means. You all believe it’s a sign, but
you’re not sure. There’s a lot meanings that
it could probably be. What will you do?
Knock on the door Run away
36. Run away
You quickly turn and run away from the
leader, who reaches out for the door. You
pray that the few seconds are enough to get
away and avoid that capture that is sure to
come.
After a few minutes of sprinting, you finally
slow down to a walk and reorient yourself,
thinking a million thoughts of what might
happen to the group. But that’s behind you.
Continue
37.
38. Run Away
You end up stuck out in the cold. Unfortunately,
you can’t build a fire because slave catchers
may spot the smoke and find you.
Second of all, there’s no dry wood around
because it’s winter and everything is coated
with snow. Even though the weather is harsh,
this was a perfect time to escape, considering
all the streams and rivers are frozen, making
them safer and easier to cross.
But it’s still winter, and you weren’t really
dressed for the freezing temperatures
Continue
39. End
Overnight, the temperature takes a huge dip. You try to
continue on your journey the next day, but you can’t.
Eventually, your exhaustion and coldness catch up to
you.
Your numbness continues to a point where you collapse in
the snow. White surrounds you as you freeze to death.
What an awful way to perish.
Not what you expected?
Finding freedom was never easy. Countless slaves died.
Want another chance to live?
Start over
Thanks for playing
40. Knock on the door
You hold you breath as the leader gently knocks
on the door. The person who answers turns out
to be an escaped slave, hiding others and
helping them get to the north.
The symbol, he explains to you, means that the
person is safe to talk to and that they will
provide shelter.
He leads you and the group to the secret hidden
door, leading to the attic. You’re all hidden up
there for the night
Continue
41. Knock on the door
The next morning, the escaped slave leaves you and
the group some food to take on the way. It could be
weeks or even months before the next station like
this.
Once you get outside, you see that a thick layer of
clouds has rolled in during the night and blocked
your view of the sun. Without it, there’s no way of
telling which way to go.
One slave in the group heard that moss grows on the
north or south side of trees; he can’t remember.
Should you try following the moss?
Follow moss Don’t follow moss
42. Follow moss
You decide it’s worth a shot. It’s a lead, and
that’s what you’re lacking right now.
As you and the group follow the moss, you
can’t help feeling that every step you take is
a step closer to freedom.
Keep going
43.
44. Don’t follow moss
The group, including yourself, thinks it’s too big a
risk to take. Especially now.
Since you left in winter, a blizzard occurs. As the
long days go on, you and your group get
weaker. The more snow that falls, the slower
the group becomes. Later, one of the members
dies from the cold. You all grieve, and your
tears basically freeze on your faces.
The rest of you don’t want to die. You may not
make it to freedom, but you could always turn
back. Either way, there are many struggles
ahead.
Go back Keep going
45. Go back
None of you want to, but you have no choice.
When you return, your master is furious!
You are immediately whipped over and over,
to a point where you are screaming for
mercy.
After that, your master treats you lower than
how you were treated before. After several
weeks of very hard work and little food, you
physical can’t take it anymore
Continue
46. End
You had a good attempt, but sadly you didn’t
reach that freedom you were craving. After a
tough time back with your owner, you die of
the labor and small rations. Not just you, but
many others died this way
Don’t like this sad ending?
Want to fight for your freedom again?
Start over
Thanks for playing
47. Keep Going
So far, you and your group are doing pretty
well. But another decision lies ahead.
Nightfall creeps up on you. You can’t help but
gaze up at the heavens. There’s a bright star
up in the sky, but there’s other bright stars
too. Your group can’t figure out which is
really the north star, which would be your
best change at freedom. What should you
follow?
Follow the star Just walk
48. Follow the star
You choose the brightest star in the sky and line
yourselves up with it. You feel so close, the
excitement is buzzing in the air.
You all reach the edge of the forest. There are two
ways you can go. The group can either travel on
the frozen river, which hides your scent better
but is extremely cold, or travel by the
road, which is warmer but more open. Which
will you travel on?
River Road
49. Just walk
Following a star seems silly to the group. You
could go the wrong way. You continue on
your way, heading down a path.
The journey continues, but you get nowhere.
Your food quickly runs outs, and you all to
find whatever you can. Winter doesn’t
pervade much food.
Continue
50. End
It’s simple: No food means starvation
All the group suffers and eventually, one by
one, the group dies away. Your lifeless body
lays in the snow, with a completely empty
stomach. No one said freedom would come
easy
No food. Is this the way you thought you’d die?
How about a re-do?
Start over
Thanks for playing
51. Road
You travel by the road. No one wanted to get
sick because of the cold. You walk
throughout the day. Evening soon comes.
In the distance, you heard ferocious barks and
horses hooves. The group turns to run, but
it’s no use. You’re too late, and there’s
nowhere to hide. The slave catchers caught
you!
Go back
52. River
You travel by the river. It may be cold, but it’s
worth it. After you can’t go further on the
river, the entire group is very weak. You
need to find a faster way to get to the north.
One of the slaves traveling with you brought
along fake disguises and papers. You just
need to figure out where to use them
Continue
53. Continue: Train
One day later, you find a newspaper on the
ground. It states that a train station nearby.
There is a train leaving there that heads
straight into St. Paul, Minnesota.
This is exactly what you need! But after
looking over the fake papers again, you see
that they aren’t very believable. If your
caught, who knows what they’ll do to you.
Will you take the risk?
Take the train Don’t take the train
54. Take the Train
You get to the station, you and the others with
you wearing fake disguises. The group all has
little money, so you haves to sneak on the train.
While sitting in the seats, your heart flutters
with the thought of finally being free.
A man comes around, checking everyone papers.
As he looks at your fake ones, you hold your
breath. He looks up at you, down at the papers,
then he walks away. You let out your breath.
You think he bought it.
Continue
55. End
Soon, you hear people rushing onto the train and they
quickly grab you. All you hear are the words ‘escaped
slaves’ and you know you’re done for.
Returning to the plantation is the end for you. You work for
a few more years before you die from malnutrition.
Unfortunately, not everyone can escape. But you have a
second chance.
Wanna try again?
Start over
Thanks for playing
56. Don’t take the Train
You’ve made it so far, you didn’t want to ruin
your chances of being caught with fake
papers.
The group rests in a small clearing. All of you
are terribly tired, and have the right to be.
It’s been a rough and long journey. All of a
sudden, you hear a faint voice
“Hello! Need a ride?”
Continue
57. Wagon
The source of this voice is a “conductor”, who has
a small wagon to hide you and your group in.
Conductors, as he tells you, help escaping
slaves on the underground railroad.
“How can you know this isn’t a trap” says your
leader. This man can clearly see that your
group is weak from traveling. He doesn’t reply,
instead just signals towards the wagon. Should
you trust him?
Take the wagon Turn down his offer
58. End
It may be a trap, but you can’t walk for much
later anyway. The entire group a climbs in the
back of the wagon.
He takes your group to the border of Ohio, one
of the free states. At last, freedom! You cry as
you thank the man for his help. It wasn’t a
trap!
Congratulations!
Start over
Thanks for playing
59. End
The group decides to turn down his offer. This
could be after all.
After a couple days, your group gives up. All of
you are so weak, you just can’t continue.
This is a horrible way to go, since you were
so close to freedom.
So close! What to try again?
Start over
Thanks for playing
