expensive board games

The 10 Most Expensive Board Games in the World

Board games are usually not items that are of any particular difficulty to attain. However, there are some interesting exceptions that might be a buck or two above your usual board game budget. Whether you are an enthusiast of rare and/or expensive items/collectibles, or just a simple fan of tabletop entertainment, you might be wondering what the most expensive board games on the market (some items of the list may not be necessarily “on the market”) are. Here I have listed some of the board games that are worth a lot of money.

10. Outrage! – Deluxe Edition

Originally published in 1992 as Outrage! – steal the crown jewels, the popular board game was republished into an “imperial deluxe edition” by the publisher Imperial Games. The deluxe edition holds the Guinness world record for the most expensive board game and for good reason too. Not only this entire set is one hundred percent handmade, but also all the pieces are made out of solid 18ct gold or Sterling silver and where appropriate set with rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds.

But don’t be sold just yet, there’s more. The case is also handmade premium wood and the brass handle just adds to the magnificence of this beauty.

Although it is important to mention that this is only the highest “retail” price among all board games, at a mind-blowing 23000 Dollars, it might be not as cost-effective as the non-deluxe version of the game.

9. Scrabble by Swarovski

swarovski-scrabble

Most of you probably already know what Scrabble is and how it’s played but if you’ve been frozen in ice since World War 2, Scrabble is a game of forming words with a series of tiles that you’re dealt and placing them on the 15×15 game board. It’s a pretty simple game as far as gameplay goes but by no means is it easy.

Played by 2-4 people/teams, the game is (in Canada and the U.S.) a trademark of Hasbro Inc. Board game publisher and creative company.

read more: The Best 2-player Board Games

On the game’s 60th anniversary in 2008, the publisher announced a collaboration with the Austrian jewelry maker, Swarovski. The result of this collaborative project to celebrate the classic word game’s anniversary was the sparkling SCRABBLE: Swarovski Encrusted Board Edition. A 20,000$ upgrade to the original version designed with around 30,000 crystals handpicked by Swarovski’s expert craftsmen.

It might be interesting to know that in wedding terms, the 60th anniversary is referred to as the Diamond Anniversary, which provided a fun opportunity for the designer to pull quite the wordplay!

8. Smart Scrabble

My initial intention was not to list any repeated labels here but there are a few that simply cannot be overlooked. For example, this carbon fiber Scrabble system with LED lighting and an integrated RFID that transmitted each tile’s placement to the internet almost instantly, was made specifically for The inaugural Prague Mind Sports Festival in 2012. What better way to host international professionals in Scrabble than spending over 30,000 bucks on their setup?

The Mind Sports Festival features many different games and an even wider range of players including but not limited to Backgammon, Bridge, League Of Legends and of course, Scrabble.

In 2012 however, it is safe to say that Scrabble players got the best treatment and enjoyed playing in a tournament on an extremely advanced, delicate, good-looking and definitely expensive board.

7. The Oldest Existing Version Of Monopoly

Purchased and now owned by the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, this Monopoly board is said to be Charles Darrow’s very first one.

It is commonly believed that Monopoly, one of the most popular games of all time, was actually inspired by a game invented by Elizabeth Maggie, known as The Landlords Game. However the vast majority of the people found Monopoly more tangible and more entertaining. Because of its insane popularity, the game’s first edition, handmade by Charles Darrow himself, was auctioned for a significant some. 147,000 dollars to be exact.

If you ask me, even after going through all the troubles of getting a loan, this piece is still too valuable to “play with”. An antique that is right where it is supposed to be. So I’ll stick to my normal board of Monopoly for the time being.

6. The Art Of War Chess Set

Victor F. Scharstein, craftsman and artist, describes this set as his 30-year-long dream to make. The very adequate naming of this artifact is meant to let everyone know about Scharstein’s passion about ancient Chinese empires, which is clearly visible in his design as well.

This one-of-a-kind set features rhodium and gold chess pieces that move over a jeweled ebony board. To raise the bar of luxury, the designer has ornamented every piece with precious rocks like diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. The board even stands on four golden feet bejeweled with diamonds and rubies. Even the writings on the board are made out of solid 14 carat gold. The creator spared no expenses in making this set as luxurious and shiny as possible and it would be a lie to say it doesn’t show.

This Chess board is definitely one of the most beautiful ones out there and for that it might be intriguing, unfortunately though it is priced well over 1$ million, which isn’t even a far fetch considering the time, effort and materials that went into building this glorious collectible.

5. Charles Hollander Collection Royal Diamond Chess Set

Amongst all the board games ever made, to this day chess holds a very special historic and symbolic significance. That’s why The Charles Hollander Collection decided to make their own version of the beloved classic game.

The Royal Diamond Chess Set is the name of this entirely handmade dream of all jewelers. It is made with 1168 grams of 14-carat white gold, 186 grams of pure silver and an astounding 9900 black and white diamonds.

Designed by renowned French artist, designer and master of jewelry, Bernard Maquin, and also the first of the collection, this set took 30 skilled craftsmen approximately 4500 hours to make.

For the insane amount of work that has been put into this fine work of art, it is priced at 1$ million. It’s the optimal father’s day present if you can spare the cash!

4. Charles Hollander Roulette

Another one of the Charles Hollander Collection of luxurious board games, this set is the ultimate functional Roulette with Bernard Maquin’s golden touch of luxury.

It took 4800 hours of time to forge and is made out of top quality yellow gold, silver and lots of colorful diamonds.

Not unlike the classic look of the centuries-old game this set includes a small roulette wheel, a dice cup, a set of chips, two dice, and a dice rake. With the small difference in the used materials. 200 carats of diamonds, 3.5 kilograms of fine gold with 3 kilograms of pure silver to top it all off, just to name some of these materials.

The only downside being how heavy the whole thing is, it is difficult to set an accurate price on the set. However, it is estimated to be well over 1$ million, slightly above Santa’s budget even for the best of children.

3. Golden Monopoly by Sidney Mobell

Given the nature of the game, fans of Monopoly must have wondered how much the most expensive Monopoly set is worth. Artist Sidney Mobell claims she’s worked every single day for a year to find out.

After making her own Monopoly using 23 and 14-carat gold, diamonds and other gems of the sort, Mobell donated the most expensive Monopoly set in the world to the Museum of American Finance in 2003.

This gold-encrusted board features pieces and dice made out of premium gold and valuable stones such as rubies, sapphires and diamonds. It is estimated to be worth over 2$ million but the designing artist seems to believe that the game is in fact “priceless” and even though it is completely understandable if you don’t agree with me, I too, believe that properly having fun is worth more than gold.

2. Charles Hollander Backgammon

We’re going back to the Charles Hollander Collection and this time the most expensive item on it.

The Charles Hollander Backgammon like all the other items on the collection is designed by the remarkable artist Bernard Maquin. Its design is inspired by the eastern origin of the game and it shows off the top tier craftsmanship of French jewelry.

Backgammon is a classic on every level and Maquin made sure to give the game the attention it deserves. It’s jeweled with 61,082 black, white and yellow diamonds weighting 2071.48 carats and if that’s not enough diamonds, the checkers are also set with 2960 white diamonds. The entirety of the gold that’s been used weights about 6.77 kilograms which is accompanied by 150 grams of silver.

The price tag on this beauty is an overwhelming 5$ million plus shipping. Make sure you don’t lose the dice though!

1. Jewel Royale Chess Set

You might have it seen it coming from a mile away and yes, the most expensive board game in existence is a chess set. One of premium quality made by the British jewelry company Boodles in 2005.

All the pieces are sparkling with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and sapphires and it’s built on a basis of fine yellow and white gold along with platinum. The exquisite design of each piece represents the glory of the British crown and it’s not even too over-the-top. With the exception of the detailed horse figure which serves as the knight of the set, all pieces are shaped helical with enough empty space in the center to make them the perfect weight. Each of these pieces is said to be worth around 100,000$.

As the most outstanding mixture of board games and luxury, this delicate set is said to be valued 9.8$ million. After all, how can you name it after royalty if it’s not worth a crown or two?

Final Thoughts

If you were wondering what board games are worth a lot of money and whether or not you can get yourself one, the good news is now you know the answer. The bad news however, is that if you don’t own a private jet, chances are these items aren’t of practical use to you. Either way one thing is clear, a board game can be extremely valuable so next time you visit the stores in search of a new board game journey, check the price tag first. Let us know what you think about these games and prices in the comments.

You can visit our board game blog to see all types of board games on the islimagames site. If you wish, by registering your e-mail address, we can send you related articles from our website.

Join Instinct list!

Get all latest news, exclusive deals and academy updates.