Board Game Companies We Have Known: Copp Clark Games

In 1869, William W. Copp and Henry J. Clark, two employees of W. C. Chewitt and Company (previously known as  Maclear and Thomas, and Scobie and Balfour before that, and just a small bookstore in Toronto, Ontario upon its founding by Hugh Scobie in 1841), assumed control of their company, renaming it to the Copp Clark Company.   In all its previous incarnations, the Copp Clark Company had been a publisher of books, including the first Canadian Almanac, and this continued for the rest of the company’s existence.

However, the advent and success of other board game companies, particularly Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, prompted many other companies to seek a share of this new revenue stream.  Copp Clark was no exception, and throughout the 20th Century the company brought a number of board games.  Most of these games would be considered “also rans”, such as North Sea Oil, Find the Lady, or The Perfect Crime, but some were genuinely fun to play, such as Oh Hell and the still-popular Stock Ticker.

But all good things come to an end, and so did the Copp Clark Company’s board game ventures.  Today a quick Internet search reviews Copp Clark Limited as, “…the leading publisher of financial trading and settlement calendars in the world. The company provides authoritative reference data on holiday observances affecting global financial markets as well as publications and software products for the trading community.”  [LINK disabled]

OMG, it’s a gamer fate worse than death.

The next time you play an old Copp Clark board game like Stock Ticker, remember to mourn the zombification of the once great Copp Clark Games Company.  And don’t forget to support your favorite game publisher, or it could happen to them, too!