The Real Places Behind the "Uncovering Loyalties" Game

The online game Uncovering Loyalties was launched in 2024 by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and iCivics, a nonpartisan civic education organization, to bring ideas of the American Revolution to classrooms throughout the nation. Available to anyone, Uncovering Loyalties puts players at the center of the action in pre-revolutionary Virginia.

To play Uncovering Loyalties, visit here.

Step inside eight real places in this historic town to see where people formed their opinions, and sometimes took actions that helped lead to the American Revolution.

Over time, colonists clashed with Governor Dunmore over British rules and laws. Fearing for their safety, he and his family had to flee the colony.

Newspapers like the Virginia Gazette helped spread revolutionary ideas and shared news about British taxes and protests like the Boston Tea Party. Printers also published political writings, like debates between Patriots, who supported the American Revolution, and Loyalists, who supported the British.

In the 18th century, people got news from conversation, letters, and newspapers like the Virginia Gazette.

Today, we also get news from television, social media, and other online sources.

At the Market House, all kinds of people came to buy or sell goods. It was a place to gather and to share news of the day, making it an economic and social center of 18th-century Williamsburg.

Wythe was interested in the world around him. At the table, there is a globe, a telescope, and a model of the solar system. Wythe also owned hundreds of books. In his will, he left them all to Thomas Jefferson.

The Brafferton Indian School taught Indigenous boys English language and customs. Some of its students became translators and diplomats (political representatives) for their tribes. One student from the Pamunkey tribe, Robert Mursh, became a Patriot soldier and later a Baptist preacher.

British colonists tried to make Indigenous people adopt their customs. But American Indians have kept important parts of their culture throughout centuries of change. American Indian interpreters at Colonial Williamsburg practice traditional crafts and games, like stickball.

Enslaved people played a board game called mancala, which is on the table. Mancala is an African game. Enslaved people could easily make the pieces for mancala using wood and small rocks or similar items.

In Williamsburg, Virginia, the Revolution came about because of the conversations and actions of everyday people. By seeing where they lived, worked, and socialized, we can better understand their lives and legacies.