What is a donated board game worth?
One missing piece takes a board game from resalable to landfill, which makes completeness the only tier question that really matters.
- Typical value, good condition
- $2
- Published range, good condition
- $1.75 to $2.50
What a donated board games is generally worth
Fair market value is a range, so these are ranges. The suggested figure sits inside the band the source guide published for that condition.
| Item | Like new | Good | Fair | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board Game | $2.50 to $3 | $1.75 to $2.50 | $1 to $1.75 | Source 1 for Board Game |
| Card Game (boxed) | $2.50 to $3 | $1.75 to $2.50 | $1 to $1.75 | Source 1 for Card Game (boxed) |
| Chess, Checkers or Backgammon Set | $2.50 to $3 | $1.75 to $2.50 | $1 to $1.75 | Source 1 for Chess, Checkers or Backgammon Set |
| Puzzle | $1.50 to $2 | $1 to $1.50 | $0.50 to $1 | Source 8 for Puzzle |
Values are per item, in 2026 dollars, from the DeductiBee valuation dataset, edition 2026.1. A range is what the source guide published; the suggested figure is the point inside it we prefill, not a price.
How this range was derived
Published: Salvation Army "Board Game" $1.00-$3.00 (the only primary source printing a range). Goodwill Int'l prints "Board games $1" and Catholic Charities prints "Board games $1-$5"; the Goodwill figure is a point value and Catholic Charities is registered corroborating, so neither enters the median (CITATIONS.md 3.1, 3.3). L*=$1.00 H*=$3.00; tiers split at 35%/70% of span per CITATIONS.md 3.4-3.6. The published row is unqualified, so it backs the generic board-game leaf only. CORROBORATION 2026-08-04 (registry pass, no values changed): goodwill-wnct-valuation-guide "Board Games" $3.00 point value; beacon-house-donation-value-guide "Board Game" $1.00-$4.00. All registered corroborating, so per CITATIONS.md 3.3 they do not enter the L*/H* consolidation and the published range above is unchanged. DERIVATION PASS 2026-08-04: catholic-charities "Board games" $1-$5, agrace "Board games" $1-$9, kokomo's compound "Books, Board Games, Puzzles, DVD's" $0.50-$4.00 and hope-village "Board Game" $1.00-$3.00 are now all recorded in sourceIds. All are corroborating, so per 3.3 none enters the L*/H* consolidation and the published range above is unchanged; hope-village's row is identical to The Salvation Army's and is one observation republished in any case.
- Like new
- Unworn or barely used, with tags or as good as. The top of the published range.
- Good
- Used, complete, clean, and working, with no notable damage. The middle of the range.
- Fair
- Visible wear but still usable and saleable. The bottom of the range, and generally the lowest condition that can be claimed at all.
What drives the value of a donated board games
The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.
Games are sold complete or not at all. Charities that price games generally open the box, and a game missing a pawn, a die, a card, or the rules sheet goes to the bin rather than the shelf. Most published rules include a component list on the first or last page, so counting against that list is the single most useful thing a donor can do, and it takes a few minutes per game.
The box is the second factor. Corner splits, a crushed lid, and water staining all reduce what a shop can ask, because the box is both the packaging and the storage. Inside, punched tokens are normal and expected, but tokens still on their sprue put a game near the top of its band, and a warped board or a shrink-wrapped game that has never been opened is a different proposition entirely.
Beyond that, the category splits by what wears out. Card games live or die on whether the deck is complete and the cards are unbent, since a single missing card ends it. Chess and checkers sets need every piece and a sound board, and a replaced pawn is visible immediately. Puzzles are the hardest case, because a completed count is the only proof of completeness and an opened puzzle nobody has assembled is an unknown. Expansions are separate items when they are separately boxed.
What evidence supports the condition you claimed
A number you can trace and defend is worth more in an audit than a generous one you cannot.
Open each box, lay the components out beside the rules sheet, and photograph them in one frame; that photo is the evidence that the game was complete when it left. Write complete on your list only for the games you actually counted. Note anything sealed, and for puzzles, say plainly whether the count was verified or whether the box was simply closed.
Like new generally means sealed or played once, box square, tokens unpunched or unmarked, rules crisp. Good means played, complete, box worn at the corners. Fair means complete and playable with a tired box or a replaced component. A game missing pieces or rules is below Fair and generally is not deductible, since it cannot be sold or used as intended.
Items people log as a board games by mistake
Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.
Jigsaw puzzles
A separate and lower row, and the completeness problem is worse: nobody can verify an opened puzzle without assembling it. If you have not counted it, the honest tier is the bottom of the band.
Card games
Their own row here. A deck missing a single card is unplayable, which is why card games should be counted rather than shaken and assumed. Collectible card sets are a comparable-sales item instead.
Video games
Console and computer games sit in the video game rows, not with board games, and consoles are valued far above either. Filing a console game here understates it considerably.
Up, sideways, and out
Every value on this page comes out of the toys and games section of the donation value guide, which shows the rest of the category with the same sourcing.
Also in Board Games
- Dominoes or Tile Game$2, good
- Dice or Party Game$2, good
- Other Board Game$2, good
Full ranges, all three tiers, and the sources for each are in the toys and games valuation guide.
- ValuesToys and games donation valuesThe whole category, item by item, with the published range and the source behind every line.
- ValuesAre donated stuffed animals worth anything?What donated stuffed animals and dolls are generally worth, why many charities cannot accept used plush at all, and what to check before a toy leaves the house.
- ValuesHow much are donated video games worth?Donation values for video games, consoles, and handhelds by condition, why digital libraries cannot be donated, and what to reset before a console leaves.
- ValuesHow much is a donated pair of jeans worth?What a donated pair of jeans is generally worth, why denim is priced above other pants, and how to tell like new from good on a pair you actually wore.
- ValuesWhat is a donated winter coat worth for taxes?Fair market value for a donated winter coat, why a coat and a jacket are priced on different lines, and what evidence supports the condition you claim.
- LookupLook up any other itemSearch the whole catalog, pick a condition, and read the range with its citation.
- CalculatorWhat the deduction is worth to youTurn a documented total into a range of tax effect, with the marginal-rate assumption stated on screen.
Questions about donating a board games
Does one missing piece really matter?
Are jigsaw puzzles valued the same as board games?
Is an expansion a separate item?
Where these values come from
Every range on this page traces to one of these. Values are derived from the published ranges, never copied from another product’s valuation database, and never invented where no source covers an item.
- Donation Value Guide (The Salvation Army Thrift Stores | Donation Valuation Guide)
The Salvation Army (Thrift Stores / Adult Rehabilitation Centers)
Primary value source. A published range from this guide can set the low or high end of an item's band. Fetched and read .
- Valuation Guide for Goodwill Donors
Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Donation Value Guide
The Beacon House Association of San Pedro (Beacon House Thrift Shop, San Pedro, CA)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Thrift Store Valuation Guide
Catholic Charities Maine (Catholic Charities Thrift Store)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Donation Value Guide
Agrace (Agrace Thrift Stores; Wisconsin's largest nonprofit hospice, Madison/Janesville WI)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Estimated Valuation Guide & Receipt for Items Donated to the Kokomo Rescue Mission
Kokomo Rescue Mission (Kokomo, Indiana; Federal I.D. No. 351104430)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Donation Value Guide
Hope Village for Children (Hope Village Thrift Store, Meridian, Mississippi)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Valuation Guide for Goodwill Donors
Goodwill Industries International (compiled list, republished by member affiliates)
Primary value source. A published range from this guide can set the low or high end of an item's band. Fetched and read .
- Donation Value Guide - What is my donation worth?
Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago (Goodwill Retail Services, Inc., Tax ID# 39-2040239)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Valuation Guide for Charitable Contributions
Small Business Taxes & Management (A/N Group, Inc.), ISSN 1089-1536
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
The rules behind the thresholds
- Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated PropertyIRS, IRS publication
- Publication 526, Charitable ContributionsIRS, IRS publication
- Instructions for Form 8283IRS, IRS form
A value is evidence, not a ruling. Deductibility depends on your own facts, including whether the organization is qualified and what records you kept. This is record-keeping software, not tax advice.
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