What do a map of WWII safe houses, a pile of 8-sided coins, an egg timer and a thimble have in common? They have all been pieces of one of the top 10 vintage collectibles for 2024…the board game!
Early games are hard to find and quite pricey when you do. Watch for 1840s games from the W.B. Ives Company, 1860s games from Milton Bradley and Mcloughlin Brothers, and Parker Brothers from the 1880s. Games from the 19th century are prized by collectors who are drawn to their incredible color lithography.
More commonly found, and easier to afford, are games from the mid-20th century. Baby Boomers will remember the popular television-based games produced from 1949-1979. Many of these were modeled after children’s shows, including Roy Rogers (1949), Hopalong Cassidy (1950) and The Partridge Family (1971).
Television games increase greatly if they have been signed by the show’s actors. Case in point is the “Batman and Robin” game from 1965. In good condition it normally sells in the $100-$120 range. However, a mint condition copy signed by six of the show’s cast members recently sold for $1,380 at auction.
Pre-television games were often based on sports, travel and books. Milton Bradley’s early 1900s “Baseball and Checkers,” and the 1926 Parker Brothers double board game “Football, Baseball and Checkers” are both good finds. Thayer’s “The Game of Authors and Their Books” and Milton Bradley’s “Junior Combination Board” from 1910 with twelve games in one box are popular with collectors. Parker Brothers and All-Fair Games continued to produce high quality lithography through 1940 and are sought for their quality graphics
One of the top selling games in this category was released in 1957 and recently sold for $1,084 at an east coast toy auction. Be on the lookout for the Swift Meats “Major League Baseball Game” as they are starting to surface.
Intellectual games that combine fun with learning have long been a favorite of families. Scrabble, trademarked in 1948, ranks at the top of “letter cross-word” games, making it into the Guinness Book of Records as having been played by over 500 million people. Risk, a game of strategy published by Parker Brothers in 1959, is a map of the world during the life of Napoleon which is won by eliminating your opponents and ruling the world. And who doesn’t remember the challenges of the top selling game of 1984, Trivial Pursuit?
Nearly all of the early 20th century children’s games required the ability to read. In 1949 CandyLand changed all that. The colorful game with its Peppermint Forrest and Gumdrop Mountains was designed to “teach color recognition, matching and the concept of taking turns,” remains a top seller and the early examples are popular with collectors.
The Game of Life, originally created by Milton Bradley in 1860, was modernized in 1960 by toy designers Reuben Klamer and Bill Markham. In its reincarnation it featured two innovations to the world of board games, a three-dimensional board and an integral plastic spinner. To promote the 100th anniversary edition of the game Milton Bradley hired one of the top TV personalities of the day, Art Linkletter. Players pass through the various stages of life as they travel the board in a small plastic car trying to land in “Millionaire Acres” and avoid “The Poor Farm.” The re-release of The Game of Life is recognized as the top selling game of 1960.
It will come as no surprise that Monopoly reigns as the top selling board game of the 20th century. Originally based on the 1903 designs of Elizabeth Magie, the game underwent a series of changes from 1906-1930, eventually evolving into what we recognize today as Parker Brothers Monopoly..
The original game (Black Box #7) is the ultimate find for collectors, but any game dated 1934-1954 will demand top dollar. Also highly collectible are the rarely issued game pieces, including the Scottie dog, top hat, thimble, boot, wheelbarrow, cat, racing car and battleship. Games from 1991 forward were produced by Hasbro and are of little interest to collectors. Until next time . . . Linda
Linda Kennett is a retired professional liquidation consultant specializing in down-sizing for seniors and the liquidation of estates.
