Pocatello woman finds board game based on the Gate City

Kara Whitworth was shopping at the Pocatello Youth Ranch looking for a game she could play with her family. She ended up finding one she never expected – “The Game of Pocatello.”

“I knew it needed to come home with me, whether we played it or not,” Whitworth said. “And when I got it home, I realized that it hadn’t even been opened ever before because all the cards are still in their factory sheets.”

So it was a brand new game with historic value. Familiar names like the Sandpiper Restaurant, Idaho State University and Pocatello and Highland high schools can be found across the board. Others, like National Video, are a thing of the past.

The game is similar to Monopoly, but rather than buying houses or property, players do a commodities exchange system.

The game was produced in the early 80s as part of a fundraiser for the Jaycees group. The Jaycees group focused on leadership training and community service for future generations.

Whitworth said she loves seeing how much Pocatello has changed since the game was made.

“It was just cool to look through some of the businesses,” Whitworth said. “Some of the businesses that are still around, some that I’ve never heard of, some that I know have closed since I moved to Pocatello. It’s definitely cool to find something with your city name on it.”

Whitworth posted on social media about finding the game and had a great response. Many people were interested in the game.

Some people had never heard of it and others had their own copy. Some people even offered to buy the game from Whitworth. Whitworth said even though she only paid $1.99 for it, she’s not interested in selling it.

So if she doesn’t want to sell it, does that mean it will stay in its box on a shelf or join the family at game night?

“I’m a collector at heart but I’m also a kid at heart so it’s going to get cracked, it’s going to get played,” Whitworth said.

The game was produced by Wheeler-Dealer, who personalized games for several different cities. While we couldn’t locate another copy of the Pocatello board game, we did find other city versions. Those games are selling on sites like Ebay or Amazon for anywhere from $10 to $100.