A charity shop enthusiast has said fellow bargain hunters should keep their eyes out for three specific board games when scouring the aisles. While certain vintage video games are famous for commanding eye-watering prices, some of their old-school board game equivalents can also be worth a small fortune.
Josh Wright took to TikTok to share his excitement after stumbling upon one such treasure during his charity shop trawl - a game he'd been hunting down for ages. "I can't believe I have found this in a charity shop," he said in a video.
The hunt for a classic game
Josh revealed he'd been popping into his local St Elizabeth Hospice Retail centre "for months" before finally hitting the jackpot with the prized discovery. "It's usually just the same stuff, but today something caught my eye," he went on in his clip. "At first I thought it was just another random donation, but when I looked closer I realised it's something I've been looking for for years."
Josh admitted he was initially "scared" to check the price tag, noting the shop had a track record of being on the expensive side, but that concern quickly turned to joy when he clocked a sticker reading £2. "I have been collecting these Waddingtons games for a while," he said. "They made some gameshow games like Blockbusters, but the ones I love are The Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs and Escape From Frankenstein - they go for crazy money."
Games worth a small fortune
Indeed, Josh shared previous eBay listings, which revealed both titles regularly fetch "£50 upwards". However, there was one game that had consistently eluded him until now. "I didn't want to pay the crazy eBay prices," Josh explained, including a screenshot to show a recent sale of more than £73.
The hard-to-find game? "So here it is... the exact game I have been searching for all these years," he announced, proudly holding up the Escape From Atlantis Game. "It's from 1986 and in amazing condition for £2," Josh gushed. "And before you ask, yes it is complete."
A fellow collector's find
In response, one TikTok user disclosed he recently discovered the Escape From Atlantis Game too, commenting: "You're joking, I got the exact one a few weeks ago. I did a video on it, £1.50 into £42.50, was 100 per cent complete as well."
The Waddingtons brand was established in Britain during the 19th century as a printing firm, before moving into board game manufacturing in 1922. The company was acquired by Hasbro in 1994 following decades of iconic releases including Monopoly, Cluedo, and Risk, alongside table top football game Subbuteo, and card game Top Trumps.
