The Most Expensive Board Games Ever Sold
How much would you spend on a board game? For the average person, that number is probably pretty small, but what about for a hard-core enthusiast? What about for the billionaire who wants to take their gaming experience to the luxury level? You might be surprised by just how much some of these games cost, from the highest levels of what’s reasonable, to outrageous specialized pieces of game-turned-art that cost the same as a small yacht.
My favorites are those games designed as functional works of art, games that have been handcrafted by artists who aren’t just interested in creating a luxury game for luxury’s sake but want to design and produce a handmade item of incomparable quality and intrinsic value — games that are intended to be played as well as held onto as family heirlooms for generations to come.
A few of these are not too pricey on their own, either, but become extremely costly once all their expansions have been added together on top of the base module. While not all players will want these expansions, and only a very few would ever buy all of those at once, the collected price for these games in their entirety is massive.
Others are expensive because of how rare they are, how pristine. This sort of rarity is always fascinating because it speaks to some vintage aspect of the world and culture — we can find, in rare board games, hints of historical truths and forgotten stories that underpin common beliefs we often take for granted.
Regardless, there’s something here to delight everyone, with enough glitz, mystery, and fun to make any collector or admirer of fine art weak in the knees.