The Best Strategy Board Games for Adults: Chess, Dominoes & More

You can’t play chess with lipstick, but you can play on an absolutely beautiful board that will serve as a design piece on your coffee table. It’s a game that’s been entertaining for centuries. Early origins of the game can be traced back to India, where it was called Chaturanga (like the yoga pose) before it spread over to Persia and the Middle East. By the 12th century, it was a highly popular game in much of Europe. Pieces were initially crafted in ebony and ivory or stone, but these days, the king and his court can be fashioned out of marble, wood, acrylic, and even porcelain. And these are sets you’ll want to leave out long after you’ve checked your mate’s mate. Plus, we’ve included a selection of other games—backgammon, dominoes, and tumbling blocks—to play or gift this holiday season. 

Monochromatic Chess Sets

NYC Skyline chess set

$135

MOMA DESIGN STORE

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Marbles chess set

$100$85

CB2

Acrylic chess set

$149$126

CB2

Man Ray chess set

$430

DESIGN WITHIN REACH

Antique Chess Sets

Modernist chess set by Carl Auböck

$2,990

1STDIBS

Carved Italian Stone Marble Chess Set

$395

CHAIRISH

Herend Hungary porcelain chess set

$15,156

1STDIBS

Michael Graves Art Deco chess set

$699

CHAIRISH

Colorful Chess Sets

Printworks chess set

$58

ANTHROPOLOGIE

Printworks chess set

$47

URBAN OUTFITTERS

Acrylic chess set

$169

URBAN OUTFITTERS

Sunnylife lucite chess set

$220

ANTHROPOLOGIE

2-in-1 chess & checkers set

$44

MOMA DESIGN STORE

Luxury Chess Sets

Ralph Lauren Fowler chess set

$1,995

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE

AERIN Shagreen Chess Set

$3,250

NEIMAN MARCUS

L’Objet chess set

$1,795

L’OBJET

Baccarat chess set

$14,846

HARRODS

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Jenga

Linley tumbling blocks set

$250

THE RAKE

Sunnylife lucite jumbling tower

$169

URBAN OUTFITTERS

SunnyLife mega jumbling tower

$110

SHOPBOP

Tumbling tower game

$150

CRATE AND BARREL

Dominoes

Adira domino set

Modern edge domino set

Vigor dominoes set

$45

ONE KINGS LANE

Aerin Enzo dominoes set

$375

MAISONETTE

Sunbeam dominoes set

$48

ANTHROPOLOGIE

Pink marble domino set

Rain tree wood domino set

Backgammon

Jonathan Adler optical illusion backgammon set

$395

NEIMAN MARCUS

Travel backgammon set

$550

ASPINAL

Barona backgammon set

$239

ONE KINGS LANE

Aurosi shagreen backgammon set

$600

OLIVELA