Free Fun Vintage Board Games Pictures & Illustrations
Take a nostalgic trip through the history of board games with this collection of vintage game board illustrations, from French “Peace” boards and Dutch travel games to illustrated map games from the 19th and 20th centuries. These free, high-resolution prints are ideal for decorating a game room, crafting retro-inspired décor or adding unique visuals to your creative projects.
Popularity of Board Games
Board games have gained popularity in recent years, particularly among the younger generation. Board game cafes have popped up lately; there is even one in my town. Many pubs have a collection of board games that customers can use for free.
We have an extensive collection of board games, ranging from "3-person chess" to "Go International Travel," as a family. There are seven versions of Monopoly, from the London Olympics edition to the Hong Kong and Newcastle versions.
We love playing vintage board games. For example, Go International Travel is a 1960s travel board game complete with traveller's cheques, visas and money in many European currencies that no longer exist.
Board games date back to the Egyptians, with Senet from 3100 BC, backgammon from 2000 BC, Chess from 1300 BC, and Snakes and Ladders from 200 AD.
One of the newest board games I have spotted reflects the current times: "Pandemic." It's a cooperative strategy game. It will be interesting to see whether it becomes a classic.
I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures of old game boards. I particularly love the boards with vintage pictorial maps.
How to Download The Board Games
Click on the title of the vintage game board you want to download. A higher-resolution image will open in a new window in your browser. If you click the game board with your mouse, you will see the option to save or print the image.
Board Games Illustrations 1-6
Print showing the game board for "The Road to Washington" (1884) from the Library of Congress. A dice game with "Washington" at the top and "Grand Central Depot" near the bottom, with connecting routes through the cities of "Philadelphia", "Newark", "Baltimore", "Boston", "New Haven", "Dover" where you "lose next turn", "Cincinnati", "Chicago", "Richmond", "St. Louis" and "New Orleans." When a player lands in a city other than Dover, he moves his game piece to a designated city.
This is a picture of a Dutch Board game, the Owl Game. A circular board game with compartments containing objects, animals and dice. In the middle is an owl with a mirror. Below the game board, the Game's rules are in three columns.
3. Around The World In 80 Days
Another Dutch Board game (1876), with 80 numbered boxes featuring scenes from Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. In the centre is a representation of a world map with the travel route.
Dutch board game (1907) for the second Peace Conference in The Hague and the start of construction of the Peace Palace. A heart-shaped, board-like game with squares numbered 1 to 63. In the midfield, the rules of the Game are in letterpress.
Above the board are two trumpet-blowing angels of peace, further images of the journeys of various heads of state, and a fantasy representation of the Peace Palace yet to be built.
5. Picture of Zoology Board Games
Picture a vintage board game in the form of a circle with numbers numbered from 2 to 117, with vertebrates and invertebrates. Four hunting scenes are in the middle. In the corners around the circle are images with lines of cats.
6. 1876 French Celestial Map Game Board
You will find more wonderful vintage Celestial maps and antique zodiac maps here.
Board Games Illustrations 7-12
7. Trouble In China - French Board Game
1900s French game board map - Les troubles en Chine. There are some vintage maps of Asia and China in Picture Box Blue.
8. 1932 Picture of Japanese World Map Game Board
This game board has a wonderfully illustrated pictorial map of the world. It reminds me of some of the Chase Pictorial World Maps.
A vast collection of vintage Japanese illustrations and prints on Picture Box Blue.
9. Pictures of Board Games - Atchin
A vintage Dutch board game called Atchin (1974). Atchin is the old name of present-day Aceh in North Sumatra. The game's objective is to capture the Kraton (Sultan's Palace). Three representations of Dutch soldiers and Indonesians are shown under the rules of the Game in letterpress.
A picture of a Monkey board game from the British Museum collection.
An octagonal game board with compartments numbered 1 to 63 arranged in a spiral, some bearing pictures of monkeys; in each corner, monkeys wearing clothes; in the centre, six monkeys playing musical instruments; the rules are at the bottom.
1898 picture of a flower parade for a board game.
A Dutch rectangular board game with 88 numbered squares. In the centre, a large image of a flower parade during the inauguration celebrations following Queen Wilhelmina's inauguration in The Hague. Pictured is the first prize-winning chariot. Wilhelmina and Emma watch from a stage then. On the left, the Game's rules are in letterpress in two columns.
12. Pictures of Board Games: Chinese Game
This is a picture of a circular game board from the British Library collection. There are sixty-three fields for cutting out: the head and shoulders of a Chinese man at the centre, facing right, smoking a pipe, surrounded by numbered fields, some with Chinese figures and buildings; below, numbers 1-15 for cutting out; No. 34d from a series.
Board Games Illustrations 13-18
The Game rambles through the USA. It is an instructive geographical game for the young. The board game shows a map of the United States of America as it appeared in 1890.
14. George Washington Snake Game Board
A picture of a game board with red, gold, and blue spaces, numbered 1 to 122; the board includes numbered illustrations that correspond to the blue "starred" spaces, which are action spots. The player who lands on one follows the instructions with the corresponding illustration and moves accordingly.
At the beginning of the Game, a portrait of George Washington appears, and at the end, a rustic-looking homestead is identified as the "home of the Washington family."
Illustrated board game with circles numbered 1 to 63, walking over the Eiffel Tower. Goose board-like advertising game, created for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, for Bokler's cocoa.
Two columns stand on the left and right, each with a girl. The girl on the left carries the French flag, and the girl on the right holds the American flag. In the background on the right is the Statue of Liberty. The Game's rules are in letterpress in the middle of the page.
An illustrated board game with a spiral with compartments numbered 1 to 63, with figures from the novel 'The Fate of Klaasje Zewindow' (1865-1866) by Jacob van Lennep.
17. Plane Trip Around the World
If you like this aeroplane-themed pictorial game board, you will probably enjoy these vintage airline posters and maps.
A Japanese woodcut depicts a pot filled with spring anemones and dwarf plum blossoms on a game board from the Japanese chess variant, shôgi. The stones in this Game are also called 'horses'; hence, this design is part of a print series published for the new year of the Horse in 1822, accompanied by two poems.
Check out these Japanese Luna animal illustrations on the blog.
Board Games Illustrations 19-23
Assarmot was Poland's first educational board game, created around 1830 by Klementyna Hoffmanowa. Based on the classic Game of the Goose, players rolled dice and moved along a spiral board featuring key figures and events from Polish history.
Designed as fun and educational, the Game helped kids learn history while playing. The name Assarmot comes from a legendary ancestor of the Sarmatians, and the Game was so popular that it was reissued in 1904 as "Piast" with updated content.
The hand-coloured board has 63 illustrated spaces, each with its own rule—some move players forward, others set them back. The goal? Reach the final space, a map of Poland, first!
"Cannonade" is a board game produced in 1916 during World War I, reflecting the patriotic fervour prevalent in New Zealand at the time.
An Estonian board game called "Puppet King".
22. Fun Version of Snakes & Ladders
This is a fun Estonian version of the classic Snakes and Ladders board game.
Snakes and Ladders has been around for over 2,000 years, starting in ancient India as Moksha Patam. It was more than just a game—it was a lesson about life. The ladders stood for good qualities, such as kindness and honesty, helping players climb toward success, while the snakes represented bad habits, like greed and anger, pulling them back down. When the British introduced the Game to England in the 19th century, it became a fun family game, losing some of its deeper meaning but keeping the same ups and downs. Even today, it reminds us that sometimes we get lucky breaks, and other times we have to start all over again!
Tutu's Game, a revival of the Game of the Goose. A revival of the Greek Game of pleasure and recreation.
Final Thoughts & Other Posts
Part of the charm of these vintage board games is simply seeing how people used to play and the wonderful artwork that went with them. The colourful boards and illustrations are a little snapshot of their time, reflecting changing fashions, interests and everyday life. And with board games enjoying another burst of popularity today, it seems that gathering around a table for a bit of friendly competition never really goes out of style.
The Index of American Design includes some watercolour paintings of toys, and the site also has a collection of vintage paper dolls and a fascinating set of 37 vintage paper models. Not forgetting the fantastic collection of Japanese Toy Pictures (omochae).
If you enjoyed these pictures of board games, you might also enjoy these other pictorial collections on Picture Box Blue.
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Love the board games
Thank you
These are so very cool! Can’t wait to figure out how to use them! Fantastic collection!
Thank you, we love playing board games in my family and discovering new one.
These would be perfect to frame for a family room or basement game room. You share such wonderful vintage images! Thanks for linking up each week. #HomeMattersParty
Thank you, that is a great idea for a den or games room.