Of the many toys and games that are available to collect, some of the most abused and played with are board games. In spite of electronic games and gaming systems, board games are still published in multitudes. But they are usually bought for play, and so seldom survive in very good shape as a collectible.

Every time my brothers and I got a new game, the first thing we did was remove all the parts from the box, threw out any supporting framework from within the box, and then played with the game. If we were lucky, we didn’t actually lose any parts, but they were always just dumped back into the box at the end of the game, and suffered not only the wear and tear of playing but also the indignities of having the parts mixed together when in storage. Needless to say, our games are not a pretty sight to a collector.

As a collector, now I cringe at the way we treated our toys and games. Would it really have taken that much more time to put the parts back into the internal framework the game came with? At the time, yes. Now, not that much. Even games we did not play much are less than pristine, as far as collectibles go. In such a hurry.

The only games I now have that are in excellent condition are those I got as an adult and which were seldom played with. I have a few of those, as well as a few games I bought solely as collectibles and not to play with at all. Curiosity required I remove the shrink-wrap and at least look at the game parts, but they are all as originally packaged. The Rocky and Bullwinkle game, for one. This also goes for the few jigsaw puzzles I have purchased as an adult.

If you are buying games at garage sales and flea markets, you can expect to have parts missing. If the game is out of print and the numbers sufficiently low, that may not make much difference, but in general, loss of pieces means loss of value. But, since we are collecting for fun and not profit, buy the games anyway.

At least, what they have in bulk, is made up for by their general light weight. This is a collectible that can be safely stored on upper closet shelves. Attics and basements are not recommended due to damp and insects. Keep the grandkids and great-grandkids away, or buy them an electronic game to play with instead.

Watch for movie or TV show related games, or collect those in a certain vein, like Candy Land or Uno. How many versions of Uno are there, anyway?

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