Board game explores the Copper Country’s past

HOUGHTON — It’s all fun and games until someone loses a mine.

Have you ever wanted to know what running a mining company was like in the days of the copper boom? A new board game just released by CMX Games allows you to do just that. Game developers David Lankton and Scott Diehl have captured the intrigue and competitiveness of the local mining history in Copper Country, the board game. Diehl talks about the experience of playing the game.

Diehl said, “Each game plays out differently. Everybody feels like they’re in it, that they have a chance to win until the end. Everybody feels like they’re taking part in the unfolding history of the area as the game plays out.”

Lankton’s father was a history professor at Michigan Tech so the game certainly features many educational aspects, but don’t think that spoils the fun.

Lankton said, “We didn’t want to make a game that was educational primarily, because as a game we want it to be fun for people to play but we definitely wanted people to sort of accidentally learn the history of Copper Country as they were playing the game.”

The Copper Country board game is available online through the CMX Games website and at local retailers. Only a limited number of games were printed so if you want to steer the fortunes and failings of copper mining in the Keweenaw, you’ll need to get a copy fast.