LEXINGTON, Ky. — at CivicLex in downtown Lexington, Tony Gilmore serves as the Civic Artist in Residence. 

He’s created a game designed to put players in the shoes of the people that make Lexington run.

Gilmore said, “So, the Living City is based on my time in the Civic Lex Artist and Residency Program.”

He said he never thought about all the details and intricacies of how the city government is run and maintained. Gilmore added, “So that’s kind of where the idea for the name came from. Just a city is really a living, breathing, kind of thing that is being maintained. I’ve tried to make this game kind of reflect those intricacies and to show that to the players.”

Gilmore came up with the idea of a board game based on how Lexington operates.

Some of the pieces of the Living City game, which is based on Lexington (Spectrum News 1/Steve France)

Megan Gulla is the CivicLex Director of Programs knows all about what makes the City of Lexington tick.

She explained, “Civic Lex is a civic education organization in Lexington, Kentucky. We focus solely on local government here and we try to help residents understand how local government works, so that pertains exactly to this game.”

Living City creator Tony Gilmore (left) plays Living City with colleagues (Spectrum News 1/Steve France)

Making a board game was no easy task. Months upon months of research and planning resulted in a game that might just make Monopoly and Clue blush, if a board game could.

Gilmore has big plans for his dream and his game. He told Spectrum News 1, “So, what I’ve always wanted with The Living City is I’d like to see the game in high schools, in different libraries, all the libraries here in Lexington. I hope it’s on the shelf at the mayor’s office, so during lunch they could play it. I just want Lexingtonians to have the opportunity to play the game and really experience some of the stories that are being told because the game is based on projects, city wide initiatives.”

An opportunity to play a unique board game that is both educational and informational, as well as a challenge that just might bring The Living City game to a store shelf near you some day.

Gulla is impressed by Gilmore’s project. She said, “I’m amazed by it. I think it’s just incredible what he’s done. This is something that could absolutely be on the shelves at any store.”

Gilmore would love to see the game in stores. For now he say’s we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.