Collection: Fair Trade Board Games

Fair trade board games are tabletop games — including chess, backgammon, dominoes, and traditional strategy games — produced under verified labor and material sourcing standards. Many in this collection are handcrafted from wood, stone, and natural materials by artisan producers. Board game production at artisan scale is among the most skill-intensive in the games category, with each piece individually shaped, finished, and assembled by hand.

Why Buy Fair Trade Board Games?

Artisan board games — chess sets, backgammon boards, domino sets — are objects where skilled craft is the primary input. Hand-carved wooden chess pieces require hours of carving, sanding, and finishing per set. A handcrafted backgammon board involves woodworking, inlay work, and hardware assembly that can't be meaningfully compressed without changing the character of the game. In conventional import markets, this labor content is frequently invisible in the wholesale price.

Fair trade sourcing establishes minimum pricing that reflects actual production time — the carving, turning, finishing, and assembly a quality handcrafted game requires. For artisan game producers, fair trade buyer relationships provide the income stability that makes continued craft production viable as a livelihood rather than a secondary income that gets abandoned when other work pays more.

A handcrafted board game is made to be played for years — passed between players, travelled with, often passed on. Buying fair trade means the craft behind it was valued appropriately, and the artisan skills it represents are supported rather than extracted by the purchase.

What are fair trade games and puzzles?

Fair trade games and puzzles are made under standards designed to ensure fair wages, safe working conditions, and more transparent sourcing. They are often produced by artisans or small workshops using natural or durable materials. For shoppers, this means better visibility into how products are made and who makes them.

What materials are used in fair trade board games?

Common materials include wood, natural fibers, and paper-based materials sourced through more transparent supply chains. These materials are often chosen for durability and lower environmental impact. The key factor is how they are sourced and processed, not just the material itself.

Why choose fair trade board games?

Fair trade board games offer a combination of more durable materials, handcrafted production, and clearer sourcing. They are often designed to last longer and be used repeatedly, which can provide better long-term value. For shoppers, they also offer more transparency into how products are made and who benefits from the purchase.

Explore the entire Fair Trade Games & Puzzles department →