The Price of Coal
One of my favorites on this list is The Price of Coal by Jen Adcock. Taking inspiration from the deplorable conditions in West Virginia coal mines in the 1920s, this 3-5 player game uses a deck of prompts to guide characters through different situations in the shadow of the mountain and the company. With easy gameplay mechanics and relationship-based character creation, The Price of Coal humanizes a tragedy that most folks don’t remember. The game ends with a re-enactment of the Battle of Blair Mountain, when the U.S. Army is called in to deal with the workers fighting to unionize.
