Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
The year is 1840 and America’s first mining boom is about to strike in the remote wilderness of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Take on the role of a mining company and compete for copper by casting miners and machines into what was known as the underground lottery.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Action Points
Spend a limited allowance of points across several possible actions each turn.
Area Majority
Compete to have the strongest presence in areas that award control or points.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Push Your Luck
Choose whether to secure current gains or risk them for a larger reward.
Read the full game description
The year is 1840 and America’s first mining boom is about to strike in the remote wilderness of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Take on the role of a mining company and compete for copper by casting miners and machines into what was known as the underground lottery. As the industry grows, so do the communities surrounding your mines. But every attempt to wrest copper from the ground hangs the fortunes of your company, and the lives of your miners, in the balance. In Copper Country, each player takes on the role of a unique mining company and competes to produce the most copper before it's all gone! To produce copper, players hire miners to work mine sites. Your miner's productivity is measured in shifts. Each shift, you reveal one card from the top of the production deck, then choose an outcome by playing capital card resources from your hand, placing your miner at risk, or both! Stake your claim by building company houses to increase your miners' loyalty and safety. Expand your mining empire by building shaft houses and hoist houses to increase your copper production. When a player produces copper, the byproduct — poor rock — is removed from the industry track and dumped onto the mine site, reducing shifts nearby for all players. As players remove more poor rock from the industry track, local businesses open their doors, historical events occur, and Copper Country enters new eras of production. The game ends when the last poor rock is dumped onto a mine site, depleting Copper Country's mineral wealth. The winner is the player who has produced the most copper!