Board game based on Chain O’ Lakes
By James Card
It’s like Monopoly but set on the Chain O’ Lakes.
Instead of landing on Marvin Gardens or Park Place, players land on Sunset Lake or Camp Onaway. Instead of collecting easy money from the Community Chest or pulling a Go to Jail card, players find money on the Crystal River (collect $10) or get caught waterskiing after hours (go back three spaces).
The board game is the brainchild of Seth Nelson, a Waupaca native now living in Minneapolis. He spent his boyhood boating, skiing and swimming on the Chain O’ Lakes. He is the son of Todd and Sharon Nelson and his family roots date back to the Civil War where his ancestor Issac Baker is buried in the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in King.
Nelson is working out the final details and will be launching a crowdfunding campaign by the end of the month on indiegogo.com to raise $7,200 to print 200 limited edition Chainopoly board games with premium pewter pieces.
“This is a passion project. I look forward to launching the campaign,” said Nelson via email. “The idea is to raise money for the Wisconsin Veterans Home. If we exceed our goal of $7,200, 80% of the remaining proceeds will be donated to the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King. The other 20% will go to the creator and designer to cover labor and design costs. If we don’t make our goal we can settle on building 100 games for $6,500. That’s the bare minimum. We must get there. If we don’t; the money will be reimbursed back to the donors,” he said.
Crowdfunding campaigns often offer perks for donors and Nelson has come up with some ideas such as a local businesses could advertise within the game itself either as a property on the board or on one of the cards.
One example he gave: “Renew subscription with Waupaca County Post. Pay $20.” Other donation perks include receiving limited editions of the board game and being credited as a producer on the boxed set.