According to Yankee Magazine’s “Antiques & Collectibles” columnist Catherine Riedel in the November/December issue, antique and vintage board games are now prized collectibles. Board games date back from 5,000 to 7,000 years and were first mass-produced in the United States in the 1840s. This relatively new collectible category is fun, approachable, and affordable.

“Antique and vintage board games have crossover appeal,” says Garrett Sheahan, a collectibles specialist at Skinner, Inc. “For some collectors, it’s the early lithography. For others, it’s the memory of playing these games as kids. Then there are those who love the pop-art design aesthetic of later games, like Twister.”

Follow these tips (courtesy of Riedel of Skinner, Inc., and Yankee Magazine):
• Board games cost $50 to $1,000 for most examples. However, don’t confuse board games with game boards. Game boards (such as checkerboards and cribbage boards) are hand-wrought examples of Early American folk art and cost much more.
• Purchase games in near-perfect condition, without stains, tears, or warping. Later examples should have all their pieces intact as well.

Catherine Riedel, a regular contributor to Yankee’s “Antiques & Collectibles” column, works for Boston-based Skinner, Inc., one of the nation’s leading auction houses for antiques and fine art and the only major auction house headquartered in New England. With expertise in more than 20 collecting areas, Skinner provides a broad range of auction and appraisal services, and Skinner auctions regularly achieve world-record prices. Skinner’s appraisal experts appear regularly on the PBS-TV series Antiques Roadshow.

For more information, visit YankeeMagazine.com.