The Beautiful Boards of Wargaming! – Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection from GMT Games

Continuing along in this new series devoted to the best looking boards found in the wargaming world where I will highlight the art and layout of a different board in a wargame that we have played to show you the various talents of the artists and graphic designers involved. In my humble opinion, a well designed and attractive board can make all the difference in the world to me enjoying a wargame. Don’t get me wrong, the game has to be good, but if it’s also good looking it always is a better experience. A board can draw me in. Can make me feel that I’m there. Can set the stage for the thematic immersion that we all crave. And I have found many of these type of boards and I want to make sure that I share them with you.

Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection is a board game belonging to the well known and successful COIN Series from GMT Games that deals with the American Revolutionary War covering the period from 1775 to 1783. It uses the COIN Series system that was developed by Volko Ruhnke to cover modern insurgencies and changes it to suit this multi-faction conflict in the 18th century for the struggle over control of the rich and productive American Colonies. The COIN Series is perfectly suited to deal with not just the military focus of a war or rebellion but also includes the political and economic affairs of the time. In Liberty or Death, 1-4 players take on the roles of one or more Factions who will fight the war in their own particular way with very different end game victory conditions and different tools to use. These Factions include the powerful British who are attempting to suppress the growing anti-crown sentiment among the 13 American Colonies that lie thousands of miles away and take weeks by sea to reach; the under funded and cagey Patriots who are trying desperately to incite rebellion among their fellow colonists while also attempting to build a sizable army to clash with the British regulars over control of key Provinces and cities; their Indian rivals who are caught between a rock and hard place as they must attempt to cooperate with the British to hold down the expansion and growth of the Patriots as they encroach into their ancestral lands while working to create a network of villages to attract warriors to their cause; and finally the French who have waited to join the war against their bitter rivals England until the colonists have proven their mettle with key victories and growing support.

The board for Liberty of Death is simply one of the finest works ever to grace my gaming table! The board is absolutely stunning as it portrays not only the political boundaries of each Colony but highlights the terrain and lay of the land to create a totally immersive and beautiful canvas to play out this titanic struggle for control of America.

This is not the first time we have highlighted a game board that has been illustrated by Terry Leeds as we covered his great work on Campaigns of 1777 several months back. Terry Leeds’ talents have shown through on this project. He has designed some really great boards for other games that we have loved including Paths of Glory (1999)and Fields of Despair (2017) from GMT Games along with Saratoga 1777 AD (2013) from Turning Point Simulations to name just a few. He has a very good talent for clearly representing the terrain and topography of the battlefield and always throws in interesting choices for accents.

The board is a very long and tall 22” x 34” mounted game board that covers the eastern seaboard of the 13 Colonies at the time and includes adjacent areas such as Florida in the south, Quebec and Quebec City in Canada to the north as well as the western frontier. The concept behind the game is this idea that each space found on the board, including rural Provinces (Colonies and Indian Reserve) and urban Cities found in the American Colonies supported or opposed the British Government and their policies including the occupation of major cities such as New York and Boston, the presence of British troops and their unlawful taxation of the colony’s commerce to pay for the costs of the British Crown waging war over control of North America during the French & Indian War. This Support or Opposition is shown on the board with markers under the name of each of the areas on the board. These areas do not just represent the individual 13 Colonies but sometimes combine smaller colonies together into one area such as is the case with Maryland and Delaware.

Looking at the view of the northern colonies, you can see that most of them have heavily urbanized areas and cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk. I really like how the cities are located on the board itself denoted by small circles with arrows that show how they connect to the spaces around them. Then, from those smaller circles, there are larger blow up circles that project out into the ocean that are blown up and shown the dense urban streets lined with buildings. This really creates a sense of development and concentration of population in these areas. Contrast these spaces with the surrounding countryside, which represents the underdeveloped rural nature of the colonies where farmers would have raised their crops and livestock to then transport and sell in the markets in the cities.

I also really love the stylized boxes shown around each of the areas with their name at the top and the Uncontrolled/Controlled and Neutral/Support/Opposition smaller boxes at the bottom. Also at the bottom of these boxes is the population value for this area with some being shown in white, black and others in yellow. The white represents a Colony, Black is an Indian Reserve and yellow represents a City. These are important in the game as various Events will make reference to the type of location you can take special actions in. I just love the detail of the cities and Mark did a fantastic job of using historic maps to depict and closely follow the development from the era. As the land comes into contact with the Atlantic Ocean, I really liked what Terry did here with the wavy lines emanating out from the shore and the use of color to differentiate deeper water from the shallows. Such a nice and stylistic touch here that doesn’t necessarily directly effect gameplay in the mechanical sort of way but it makes the gamer feel they are there and deepens the connection with the game and what is being modeled.

On the western frontier, you will find various 0 population areas called Indian Provinces where the Indian faction starts the game with a few Warriors and Villages. This area is rough and rugged terrain where forests covered the land and fed and supported a large wild game population including deer, elk, turkey, bear, fox, raccoons, beavers and other small woodland creatures like squirrels and chipmunks. The really interesting geography here is shown very well with the Appalachian Mountains creating a near impregnable wall separating the settlers and the native tribes. This wall is very central to these areas and supports the concepts of the argument of the Indians in opposition to the colonists invading their lands and taking their game and lumber. One of the redresses the colonists had against the Crown was that they were not allowed to travel to the west of the mountains and definitely were not supposed to settle these areas. This prohibition was due to King George III’s Proclamation of 1763. The colonists believed that the Crown should be doing a better job at keeping them safe on the frontier and the young Americans were bursting at the seems and needed new lands to expand to support their population growth and the expansion of the American economy.

My other favorite part about this area of the board is the forests shown graphically with little trees, shrubs and bushes. Nothing really that fancy but their presence really sets the mood for the game on the frontier. The relief drawings of trees are so reminiscent of being on the frontier that when I play, I actually can hear the song of birds in the trees, the sounds of rushing water from nearby streams and the other unknown noises that originate from the deep and dark forests of the frontier. I am sure that the British, who were more used to level and flat plains of grass to do battle in, were unnerved at this foreign world and the detail of the board really reinforces this aspect.

The Southern colonies are also very well represented on the board with North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. There are just 2 cities in the south being Charles Town and Savannah and each are only 1 population cities. I really love the look of the urban setting in Savannah and if you have ever been there you can definitely see the past is reflected in the present with the building layout. One other key thing I would like to point out is that North Carolina is green, while South Caroline is brown and Georgia is a tan color. This was a nice progression for the colors to show the different areas clearly and to also offset them from each other.

Finally, a good looking board is great but remember we are here to play the game and whether or not the board helps with that endeavor is also an important aspect to review when passing judgement on its aesthetic. And Liberty or Death looks good but also is very functional as the various holding boxes, the French Naval Intervention Track and Legend are all printed on the board at the bottom. Here also is found the Sequence of Play, which helps players go through the eligibility process when each card is revealed. In these boxes, which are only used in administrative potions of the game, have very interesting art splashed into them harkening back to the art of the American Revolutionary War period.

One of these administrative areas is the West Indies Box, which is a location that only the French and British players can interact with after the Treaty of Alliance has been played and the French are directly involved in the war. Here are the staging areas where the French Naval Squadrons are kept until used by the French to blockade ports and cities along the Atlantic Ocean to cage the British forces and keep them out of the way of the Patriots as they are attempt to wrest control of the colonies and win the hearts and minds of the people.

The really great thing about this box artistically is that the background is made up of the various island groups found in the West Indies south of Florida. This is a really nice touch here that provides some context and anchors the players in the struggle for control of these resource rich islands.

Found at the bottom of the board just to the right of the West Indies Box is the name of the game with a very cool and thematic logo consisting of the British flag and American flag on opposing sides with the various implements of war displayed including muskets, cannon and drums above a stylized banner with the game title. Below this artistic work is the name of the various design team members including designer Harold Buchanan, developer Mike Bertucelli and then the name of the artist Terry Leeds.

At the top of the board is found the Available Forces Boxes for the Indians and British. Between these is the Overflow A Box and you will notice the Available British Forts Box as well with the star shaped spaces numbers 1-6 as the British can place out 6 Forts. Here can also be seen the beautiful Great Lakes in Lake Huron, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Similar to the effect used by Terry in the Atlantic Ocean, the wavy lines emanating outward from the center create a sense of motion of the water as the wind and tides create waves.

The board used for Liberty or Death is a virtual piece of art! It is undoubtedly the most beautiful and well designed board I have ever seen and adds such a layer of immersion for players to be able to get into the mood and feeling of the conflict. For this reason, and due to the subject matter, this is my 2nd favorite COIN Series game. I just think that this package, including the cards, player aids and other elements are so very well done to create a wonderful experience.

I wrote a fairly in-depth review of the game and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2017/03/01/turning-the-wargaming-world-upside-down-a-review-of-liberty-or-death-the-american-insurrection-by-gmt-games/

Earlier this year, I started writing a series called COIN Workshop where I discuss the various factions in the games and provide a how to play summary of their Commands and Special Activities. Here is a link to the first post in the series covering the Indians: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/01/17/coin-workshop-liberty-or-death-the-american-insurrection-from-gmt-games-indians-faction/

If you are interested in Liberty of Death: The American Insurrection, you are in luck as there was a recent 3rd Printing copy that was made available and you can order a copy for $85.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-826-liberty-or-death-the-american-insurrection-3rd-printing.aspx

The next board that we will take a look at in the series is Lanzerath Ridge: Battle of the Bulge from Dan Verssen Games designed by David Thompson and illustrated by Nils Johansson.

Here are links to the previous entries in the series:

Kekionga!: A Dark and Bloody Battleground, 1790 from High Flying Dice Games

Campaigns of 1777 in Strategy & Tactics Magazine #316 from Decision Games

Battle Hymn Volume 1: Gettysburg and Pea Ridge from Compass Games

From Salerno to Rome: World War II – The Italian Campaign, 1943-1944 from Dissimula Edizioni

This War Without an Enemy: The English Civil War 1642-1646 from Nuts! Publishing

Holland ‘44: Operation Market-Garden, September 1944 from GMT Games

Maori Wars: The New Zealand Land Wars, 1845-1872 from Legion Wargames

Imperial Struggle: The Global Rivalry – Britain & France 1697-1789 from GMT Games

Stilicho: Last of the Romans from Hollandspiele

Nevsky: Teutons and Rus in Collision, 1240-1242 from GMT Games

A Most Fearful Sacrifice: The Three Days of Gettysburg from Flying Pig Games