A charity shop customer has urged others to keep an eye out for three particular board games after finally finding a classic title he had been hunting for months. Josh Wright discovered the Escape From Atlantis Game at his local St Elizabeth Hospice Retail centre for just £2, a game that regularly sells for more than £73 on eBay.
The Long-Awaited Find
Josh, who shared his discovery on TikTok, said he had been visiting the shop "for months" before finding the game. "It's usually just the same stuff, but today something caught my eye," he explained. "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."
He admitted he was initially "scared" to check the price because the shop had a reputation for being expensive, but his concern turned to joy when he saw the £2 sticker. "I have been collecting these Waddingtons games for a while," Josh 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."
eBay Resale Value
Josh presented previous eBay listings showing both titles regularly fetch "£50 upwards". He also included a screenshot of a recent sale of Escape From Atlantis exceeding £73, noting he "didn't want to pay the crazy eBay prices".
"So here it is... the exact game I have been searching for all these years," he announced. "It's from 1986 and in amazing condition for £2. And before you ask, yes it is complete."
In response, one TikTok user said he had recently found the same game, writing: "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."
Waddingtons Legacy
The Waddingtons brand was established in Britain during the 19th century as a printing firm before moving into board game manufacturing in 1922. Hasbro acquired the business in 1994 following decades of iconic releases including Monopoly, Cluedo and Risk, alongside table-top football game Subbuteo and playing card game Top Trumps.
According to LoveAntiques.com, the highest value board game on the market today is a bejewelled chess set priced at £7.8 million. An existing Monopoly Atlantic City board game has been valued at £90,000, while a complete Star Wars Imperial Assault holds a value of £800.
