29 Old Board Games Resale Buyers Ask For by Name

Most attic games are worth what the cardboard weighs. A narrow slice of them are worth rent money, and the buyers hunting those titles are not browsing.

They arrive with a list, a memory of a specific plastic component, and a very precise question about whether the box still has its insert.

The gap between a $12 flip and a $600 sale is almost never the game itself. It is the one token that rolled under a radiator in 1987, the electronic unit that no longer wakes up, and the corner of the lid that somebody repaired with packing tape.

Dark Tower and Its Fragile Electronic Centerpiece

Milton Bradley put Dark Tower on shelves in 1981, and the thing that makes it desirable is the thing that fails. The game runs on a battery powered plastic tower with a rotating drum and an optical sensor, and after four decades those drums seize and the electronics go quiet.

A dead tower turns a treasure into a parts donor overnight, so every serious buyer asks whether it powers up before asking anything else. The small warrior and gold tokens, the dragon, and the key pieces disappear next.

Working towers with complete component trays and an intact box have reached the mid hundreds, while silent towers in soft boxes trade for a fraction of that.

HeroQuest and the Furniture Nobody Kept

Milton Bradley and Games Workshop released HeroQuest in 1989, and it remains the most requested title in this category by a wide margin. The plastic monsters survive because children kept them, but the cardboard and plastic furniture does not: the rack, the treasure chest with its separate lid, the sorcerer’s table, the bookcase.

A set missing three furniture pieces is worth roughly half a complete one. The Hasbro reissue arrived in 2021 and briefly cooled the market before nostalgia pushed prices back up.

Complete original sets with the quest books and the cardboard door frames run from the low hundreds upward, and boxed European editions with intact inner trays command the top of that range.

Space Hulk and the Corridor Sections That Warp

Games Workshop published the first edition of Space Hulk in 1989, and the appeal is a claustrophobic two player fight rendered in interlocking cardboard corridors. Those corridor and room sections warp, and warped sections do not lock together, which buyers treat as a defect rather than wear.

The plastic Terminators and Genestealers usually survive, often painted, and paint cuts value for purists while barely denting it for players. Missing blip counters and the plastic door frames are the usual gaps.

Unpainted, unwarped first edition sets with the rulebook and Deathwing expansion sell in the low to mid hundreds; played and painted copies land well under that.

Battle Masters and the Cloth Mat That Refuses to Lie Flat

Battle Masters, a 1992 Milton Bradley and Games Workshop collaboration, is enormous, which is exactly why so few complete copies exist. The board is a large hex printed cloth mat that spent thirty years folded in a box, and deep creases are permanent.

More than a hundred plastic figures come with it, along with a plastic banner standard and a card deck that dictates activation. Sellers routinely discover they have ninety three figures instead of the full count, and buyers absolutely count.

Complete sets with a flat mat and an unsplit box reach several hundred dollars, while figure short lots get parted out to people rebuilding their own copies.

Warhammer Quest and Its Expansion Problem

Games Workshop released Warhammer Quest in 1995, and it is the rare out of print game whose expansions cost more than the base box. The core set includes plastic dungeon board sections, doorways, a Roleplay Book, and a mountain of small counters and event cards.

The character packs, sold separately and in small numbers, now trade individually for sums that embarrass the base game. Missing board sections are the killer here because the dungeon cannot be assembled without them.

Complete core sets in decent boxes typically fall in the mid hundreds, and a set with the original counters unpunched sits in a category of its own.

Crossbows and Catapults and the Elastic That Perished

Lakeside brought out Crossbows and Catapults in 1983, pitting Vikings against Barbarians with spring loaded siege engines and interlocking plastic bricks. The elastic bands that power the catapults have long since perished, which buyers expect and accept, since replacements are trivial.

What they will not accept is a missing catapult arm or a short count of the flying discs, which were made to be lost. Wall sections crack at the pegs.

A complete boxed set with both armies, undamaged siege engines, and the full disc count usually sells in the low hundreds, and incomplete sets get bought purely as brick and figure donors.

Conquest of the Empire and the Roman Plastic Count

Milton Bradley published Conquest of the Empire in 1984 as part of its Gamemaster line, and its plastic Roman infantry, cavalry, catapults, and galleys are the entire draw. Eagle Games reissued the title in 2005 with a different rule set, which split the audience and left the original in demand among people who want the Milton Bradley components specifically.

Missing Caesar figures and the small plastic city markers are the usual shortfall. The map is oversized and creases badly at the fold lines.

Complete sets with a rigid box and a full plastic count run from around a hundred dollars to double that, condition permitting.

Fortress America and the Invasion Markers

Fortress America appeared in 1986, and it asks one player to defend the continental United States against three simultaneous invasions. Fantasy Flight reissued it in 2012, so buyers hunting the original are usually after the Milton Bradley plastic and the original box art rather than the rules.

The laser tower pieces and the small partisan figures are the components that go missing, and the cardboard invasion markers tend to be found in a state best described as chewed. Full plastic counts with a clean board place a boxed copy in the eighty to two hundred dollar bracket, and less than full counts fall off sharply.

Samurai Swords and Its Three Different Names

Milton Bradley issued this one as Shogun in 1986, renamed it Samurai Swords in the mid 1990s after a trademark conflict, and Hasbro revived it as Ikusa in 2011. Roughly three hundred plastic figures ship in the box, including daimyo, samurai, ninja, and gun units, which means a short count is almost guaranteed unless the original owner was unusually careful.

Buyers ask which printing they are looking at, because box art drives a real premium for the earliest Shogun release. Complete Shogun boxes with a full figure count sit at the top of the range, often over two hundred dollars, with Samurai Swords printings somewhat below.

Broadsides and Boarding Parties and Its Tiny Crews

Milton Bradley released Broadsides and Boarding Parties in 1982, and it is the smallest and strangest of the Gamemaster adjacent titles: two plastic sailing ships, a grid of ocean, and crews of miniature pirates who fight across the decks. Those crew figures are barely larger than a grain of rice, and they are gone from most surviving copies.

The masts snap. A set with both ships intact, full crews, and the cardboard sail assemblies is uncommon enough that asking prices reach well past a hundred dollars, while a shipwrecked copy with half its crew moves for pocket change.

Dune and the Original Avalon Hill Printing

Avalon Hill published Dune in 1979, and it spent decades as the most quoted example of a great game locked away by licensing. Gale Force Nine brought it back in 2019, which reduced the desperation but not the collector demand for the original.

The two cardboard battle wheels are the first thing a buyer checks, since they are essential and easily lost, followed by the leader disks and the spice tokens. Unpunched counters push the price sharply upward.

Complete original sets with intact wheels commonly trade in the one hundred to three hundred dollar band, with the expansions adding meaningfully on top.

Cosmic Encounter in Its Eon Edition

Eon published Cosmic Encounter in 1977, and the base set shipped with fifteen alien powers, each one a rule breaking exception printed on a card. Nine expansion sets followed in small print runs, and those expansions now carry the real money.

The flying saucer tokens crack, the cone shaped ship pieces get crushed, and the tissue thin box lids collapse. Later editions from Mayfair and Fantasy Flight are common and cheap, which makes correct identification essential before quoting a price.

Complete Eon base sets sit in the low hundreds, and individual sealed expansions have gone for more than that on their own.

Talisman in Its Games Workshop Editions

Games Workshop kept Talisman alive through multiple editions, with the second arriving in 1985 and the third in 1994, and buyers are rarely vague about which one they want. The second edition draws the deepest affection, partly for its artwork and partly for expansions including the Dungeon, the City, and Timescape, which are hunted individually.

The lead and plastic character figures walk off, and the cards yellow at the edges. Fantasy Flight’s fourth edition is plentiful and inexpensive by comparison.

A complete second edition base game runs in the sixty to one hundred fifty dollar range, and a full expansion collection multiplies that several times.

Kingmaker and Its Two Publishers

Ariel released Kingmaker in 1974 and Avalon Hill picked it up for North America in 1976, giving the game two distinct looks and two distinct collector bases. The game recreates the Wars of the Roses through noble cards, crown cards, and small cardboard counters representing nobles and their retinues.

Those counters are numerous, thin, and easily lost, and the card decks are the part sellers forget to verify. The British Ariel printing with its distinctive board is generally the more sought version.

Complete copies of either edition usually fall between forty and one hundred twenty dollars, climbing for unpunched counter sheets.

Advanced Squad Leader and the Counter Mountain

Avalon Hill released Advanced Squad Leader in 1985 as a total rebuild of its 1977 predecessor, and the system now spans thousands of cardboard counters and dozens of geomorphic mapboards. Buyers in this corner are less collectors than players assembling a functioning system, so they ask about specific module names and specific mapboard numbers rather than general condition.

Counters that have been clipped at the corners, a common play practice, do not hurt value much. Original Avalon Hill modules in shrink wrap reach several hundred dollars each, while opened and punched modules trade steadily in the fifty to one hundred fifty dollar range.

Diplomacy in Its Earliest Wooden Piece Sets

Diplomacy first reached the public through Games Research in 1959, and Avalon Hill took it over in 1976. The game needs no dice and no luck, only seven players and a willingness to break promises, which is why it never went away.

Early sets used wooden army and fleet pieces in seven colors, and those wooden sets carry a premium that the later plastic ones do not.

A short piece count is fatal because the powers are asymmetric and every piece matters. Early wooden editions with a clean map and complete pieces can reach two hundred dollars or more, while common 1980s printings sell for twenty.

Acquire in Its 3M Bookshelf Edition

3M published Acquire in 1964 as part of its bookshelf series, and the hotel chain merger game has been reprinted so many times that the edition determines the entire value. The 3M version with its slim boxes and its particular plastic tiles is the one buyers name.

One hundred eight tiles ship with the game, and a set missing four of them is a set nobody wants, since every tile corresponds to a board space. Stock certificates yellow and curl.

Complete 3M bookshelf copies typically land between thirty and ninety dollars, with early wood tile variants and sealed examples pushing higher.

Titan and the Creature Counter Sheets

Titan arrived from Gorgonstar in 1980 and moved to Avalon Hill shortly after, and it remains a cult item among people who like their fantasy war games long and unforgiving. The game uses a master board, a set of battle lands, and hundreds of small creature counters that must be tracked across stacks.

Losing a single creature type breaks the recruitment chain, which is why counter completeness is the only question buyers care about. Avalon Hill’s edition is more common than the Gorgonstar original.

Complete Avalon Hill copies generally sell between sixty and one hundred sixty dollars, and Gorgonstar printings sit noticeably above that.

Magic Realm and Its Legendary Rulebook

Avalon Hill published Magic Realm in 1979 and produced a rulebook so notoriously impenetrable that entire fan written replacements exist. The game uses hexagonal map tiles that are shuffled into a new wilderness each session, along with a dense pile of counters for characters, monsters, and treasures.

Buyers verify the tile count first, because a missing tile permanently shrinks the map. The chit counters for hidden enemies are the second check.

Complete copies with an intact rulebook and unmarked tiles commonly trade between eighty and two hundred dollars, and the rare copy with unpunched counters draws competitive bidding.

Escape from Atlantis and Its Sinking Island

Waddingtons released Escape from Atlantis in 1986, and it does something few family games attempt: the board itself is consumed during play as hexagonal island tiles are removed and the land disappears. Stronghold Games reissued it as Survive in 2010, so buyers specifically requesting the Waddingtons box want the original plastic sea serpent, whale, and shark, plus the chunky island tiles.

Those tiles are the weak point, since a missing one means the island cannot be built correctly. Complete original copies with all creatures and swimmers typically sell between fifty and one hundred forty dollars, less when the box corners have given way.

Atmosfear and the VHS Tape That Still Has to Play

The game first appeared as Nightmare in 1991 and was later marketed as Atmosfear, built around a VHS tape in which the Gatekeeper shouts at players on a timer. The tape is the game, and a tape that has degraded or been recorded over reduces the box to a set of plastic keys and a board. Buyers now ask explicitly whether the tape has been tested.

The sequel tapes and the later expansion packs are hunted separately. Complete sets with a functional tape and the full key count run from thirty to well over a hundred dollars depending on which release and which region.

13 Dead End Drive and Its Spring Loaded Traps

Milton Bradley released 13 Dead End Drive in 1993, and the entire point is a plastic mansion full of traps that fling character pawns out of play. The chandelier, the tipping bookcase, the trapdoor, and the swinging portrait all rely on small plastic catches that crack with age and rough handling.

A trap that no longer triggers is treated as a broken component rather than cosmetic wear. Character portrait cards go missing constantly.

Complete working copies with all twelve character pawns and functioning mechanisms sell in the forty to ninety dollar range, with the sequel title drawing similar interest.

Mall Madness and Its Talking Console

Milton Bradley’s Mall Madness arrived in the late 1980s, and the talking electronic version is the one buyers name, not the quieter original. The console announces sales and demands payment, and when the speaker dies or the contacts corrode, the game loses its personality and most of its resale value.

Plastic credit cards, shopping list cards, and the small purchase markers are the components that vanish. Battery corrosion in the console is the single most common reason a listing gets rejected.

Tested working copies with complete card sets typically fetch fifty to one hundred twenty dollars, and dead consoles sell as parts.

The Omega Virus and Its Chattering Tower

Milton Bradley released The Omega Virus in 1992, and it is built around a central talking tower that taunts players in a synthesized voice while a timer counts down. Like every electronic game from that era, the value question begins and ends with whether the unit powers up cleanly and whether the battery compartment escaped corrosion.

The plastic blaster pieces and the colored keys go missing. The board is a large plastic base that cracks if stored under weight.

Tested working copies with all four player units and complete keys sit in the sixty to one hundred fifty dollar range.

Key to the Kingdom and Its Fold Out Board

Waddingtons published Key to the Kingdom in 1990, and it is remembered for a board that unfolds into a sprawling fantasy map and for a plastic key that unlocks the endgame. British availability and limited distribution elsewhere made it scarce, and the demand comes disproportionately from people who played it once at a friend’s house and never forgot it.

The plastic dragon, the skeleton pieces, and the key itself are the missing components that matter. Card decks yellow badly.

Complete boxed copies regularly clear one hundred dollars and have gone considerably higher when the box is crisp.

Which Witch and Its Three Dimensional Haunted House

Milton Bradley put out Which Witch in 1970, a game staged inside an assembled cardboard and plastic house where a marble drops through chutes to knock player pawns off the path. The house panels are cardboard, they tear at the tabs, and a set with torn tabs will not hold together for play.

The marble is gone from most copies, and replacements are obvious to anyone who knows the original. Buyers want the complete house, the four character pawns, and the original box art.

Complete assembled examples in playable condition run from one hundred to three hundred dollars, and rough copies still find buyers for parts.

The Green Ghost Game and Its Glowing Board

Transogram released The Green Ghost Game in 1965, and its selling point was a board that glowed in the dark and stood on plastic legs above the table so players could reach underneath. The glow layer degrades, the legs snap, and the small plastic skeleton and spider components disappear.

Because it was played in darkened rooms by children, surviving copies are rarely complete, and a full set is a genuine find rather than a common one. Complete boxed examples with functional legs and the original glow reach the one hundred to two hundred fifty dollar range, and even broken copies sell.

The Clue VCR Mystery Game and Its Aging Tape

Parker Brothers released the Clue VCR Mystery Game in 1985, one of a short lived wave of titles that required a VCR and a television in the room. The tape presents filmed scenes with actors, and without a working tape the box contains cards and a notepad and little else.

Buyers ask for a tested tape and a complete card deck in the same breath. Mold on the tape shell and a missing instruction booklet both drag prices down.

Complete tested copies generally sell between twenty five and seventy dollars, higher when the shrink wrap is still on and the tape is unplayed.

Rail Baron and Its Deed Cards

Avalon Hill published Rail Baron in 1977, and it has outlived most of its contemporaries because railroad enthusiasts keep buying it regardless of what the hobby market is doing. Players purchase real historical railroads, and each one is represented by a deed card, so a missing deed removes a route from the game permanently.

The paper money wears out and the small plastic train markers go astray. Later Avalon Hill printings are more common than early ones, and buyers sometimes specify which.

Complete copies with a full deed deck typically move between forty and one hundred ten dollars, with sealed examples far above.

What the Missing Piece Really Costs

None of these games are valuable because they are old. Plenty of games from the same years sit in thrift stores at a dollar apiece and will remain there.

These particular titles survive in demand because each one does something no current game does quite the same way, and because the companies that made them stopped making them.

The recurring lesson across all twenty nine is that completeness is not a detail, it is the product. A tower that does not light up, a tape that does not play, a counter sheet three counters short: each turns a collectible into a project.

Anyone selling should count before listing, and anyone buying should ask the awkward question first.

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