Board games became a little more intimidating with the release of 1981’s Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg. Suddenly you no longer had to focus only on winning the game, you needed to worry about survival. That’s how I felt when I first read the book as a kid. I was convinced the characters of Candy Land were going to come to life and take over my bedroom. Lord Licorice was nowhere near as frightening as the prospect of jungle creatures and natural disasters sweeping in, but it was still scary. I eventually got past my fears, and now, I can appreciate this beautifully hand-crafted Jumanji game by Gemma Wright.

The prop maker has reproduced the board, game pieces, and case to an incredibly detailed degree. She sculpted the raised images on the lid and board and cast them from silicone. She combined the casts with wood, green resin, and lots of carefully applied paint. Wright spent hours on perfecting the hinges alone, so I can only imagine how much time she poured into the project. Her posts about making the board span a few months.

It’s clear from looking at the finished product that all the work was worth it. Her Jumanji set looks even better than the one shown in the 1995 movie. This is the kind of game set that you’d pass down through generations and make up wild tales about. The way it’s painted and stained makes it look like the set has been around for ages, and you could probably get kids to believe it’s a relic. Not that we’re advocating lying to children…

These photos show off all the details of this handmade piece:

If you’re interested in purchasing a complete board, you can get Gemma’s contact information in this post. No price is listed but given the high quality of the set, don’t expect it to be cheap.

Would you take a chance and play Jumanji if you had a board like this? Let us know in the comments.

HT: The A.V. Club