America

If this scenario is exploring the Tea Act, the 13 Colonies must be present. Adding America adds a number of design challenges:

1. How to represent America from a physical, economic and political perspective.
2. When to apply the current India/EIC mechanisms and when to establish new ones.
3. How to maintain the amount of interaction and tension with the additional space.

Note

A work like this where the “East Indians” and “West Indians” are being discussed can easily cause confusion. Since discussion around the term “Indians” should rightfully apply to those of the country of India, the current thinking is to use the term “Natives” to represent the indigenous people in North America.

The term is derogatory, but, sadly, makes sense given the arrogance of that both the British and the American Colonists displayed to the indigenous peoples of North America. It is reasonable to argue that there isn’t much difference in how the EIC treated the people of India and how the ambitious Colonists treated the Native Americans.

On the Table

A board is needed to represent America with its trade opportunities, enough of the Atlantic Ocean to place ships, and other space to support other mechanics and components. The goal is that the board should take a little space on the table and in the box as possible. Ideally, it’s only a one-panel board, two panels if necessary.

Board Layout

Some things to note about the goals for the layout.

• The country of India is fairly large, especially compared to just the thirteen colonies at this time. We want to keep the size perspective the same between the two, meaning that India will take up more physical space.
  • In a vertical orientation, to keep the perspective of size similar, India will be a little taller than the 13 colonies.
• India is shaped like a triangle or a kite, while the original 13 colonies are shaped like a thin rectangle. This shape is tricky, as it constricts the trade routes and the pathing between them. The resulting geometry is less interesting.
  • This is a reason to potentially add additional trading space outside the colonies.
• Historically, the average trade order in America should be cheaper than the average trade order in India.

Regions for the 13 Colonies

Similar to the base game, we want to break up the 13 colonies into various political and/or economic regions. Grouping the colonies together politically is problematic, as each colony had its own political structure. However, on the board, the New England colonies are small enough to make that impractical.

A number of historians group the colonies together from an economic perspective:

• New England: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
• Middle (the “Breadbasket”): Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
• Chesapeake (the “Upper South”): Maryland and Virginia.
• Southern (the “Lower South”): Georgia and North & South Carolina.

Note

Having four regions emphasizes the importance of Virginia politically and separates the economic region of Maryland and Virginia, which were distinct in their tobacco and raw iron materials than the other southern colonies. It also keeps some flavor and historically balances out the population.

Ports

There were four ports that the East India Company used when shipping Tea to America. From north to south:

• Boston (New England)
• New York (New England/Middle)
• Philadelphia (Middle)
• Charleston (Lower South)

Options

The base game map contains one port per sea zone. Because of this, we have the following options:

1. Have three sea zones, with one port each. Split one port (probably New York due to proximity) across the surrounding ports.
2. Have all four major ports and develop additional rules to handle the extra port(s) in a zone.

Due to the Event Die and Firm Strategy cards having three zones, it makes sense to try to match that and only deviate if necessary.

Assuming we use the three sea zone and port strategy:

• E for East (Boston in New England)
• S for South (Charleston in Lower South)
• W for West (Philadelphia in Middle).

…

It’s a stretch, but one could say that W is an upside-down M (for Middle).

Economics

When ordering the above regions in terms of economic export value:

1. Tobacco (Chesapeake)
   • Note: North Carolina also produced tobacco.
2. Rice and indigo (Lower South)
3. Wheat, flour, breadstuffs (Middle)
4. Furs, money from sugar trade (New England)

The Chesapeake was also the most populated colonies, allowing for more importing of British goods. In terms of the estimated Colonial population, the regions had the following population (including slaves):

Region	1740 Pop	1770 Pop
Chesapeake	296k	650k
New England	290k	589k
Middle	220k	570k
Lower South	99k	400k

From a British perspective, the Chesapeake region had both the most attractive imports and largest population to export to for Trade. In addition, credit and loans were significant in all regions, more so in the Upper and Lower South.

Note

It should be noted that the shipbuilding in New England was vital and became a major source of shipbuilding. Accounting for that in the game is important.

Other Regions and Locations

In creating this scenario, there are certainly other nearby geographic areas that could be included.

Ohio Territory

This space on the board could be useful in representing an opportunity for conflict from either the French, Algonquian-speaking or other indigenous tribes that typically fought against the British and the Colonists during the 18th century. It also represents an opportunity for expansion, feeling similar to the Company’s push into additional regions in India.

Ohio is especially interesting considering the amount of Land Companies which issued shares for the land in the region. A similar thought can be given for the Mississippi Territory.

Quebec and Florida

The territories of Quebec and Florida became a large issue for the 13 colonies, notably during the French and Indian War and the War of Jenkins Ear, respectively. These are additional areas whose orders could be closed and provide targets for the British military to open them. Having these areas would also increase the usable space for trade routes and more interesting geography.

The West Indies

Considering this is a story primarily about tea (and its impact on the 13 Colonies) and less about overall trade, the current thinking is not to include the West Indies directly on the map.

Historically, from a British perspective, the West Indies were significantly more profitable. If the board is setup realisitically from a historical standpoint, the Firms would be incentivized to focus on trading there, instead of the 13 colonies. This would break the narrative that we are trying to tell with this scenario.

In addition, all of the West Indies are islands and thus would be seaports. Additional rules or considerations would be needed to support them. For historical reference, the British West Indies included:

• Jamaica
• Barbados (and the Westward Islands)
• Leeward Islands
• Bahama Islands

However, on the map, this does become an area to represent the Dutch and French West Indies in terms of smugglers. Having their board presence and information located here would be both thematic and logical.