NYC Publisher Assouline Launches Game Room: Walnut and Leather Chess, Backgammon and More

Assouline, the publisher headquartered in New York, has opened Game Room, the second chapter of its Library Collection of objects. The pieces are sold through the company's online store. The idea is to take familiar games, including backgammon, chess, playing cards and dominoes, and remake them in rich woods, pebbled leathers and brushed brass, as objects meant to gather people and keep them at the table.

The set has five pieces. The Empire chess set is the most expensive at $2,500. The Pebble backgammon set costs $2,250, the Library tic-tac-toe $750, the Pebble domino set $650 and the Pebble playing cards $450. Walnut, leather and brass run through the range.

The domino set pairs pebbled leather with walnut trim and a signature pebble-shaped handle. Assouline describes it as equally at home on a bookshelf or a game table. The pebble motif ties back to the Berber origins of the Assouline family name, a thread the family has discussed in its Library Collection podcast.

Best known for coffee table books, Assouline has been widening its scope toward what it calls the contemporary library, with objects, scents and accessories alongside its titles. Game Room continues that push. For anyone shopping for the holidays, the cards at $450 are the lowest entry point, while the chess and backgammon sets sit at the top. The site lists complimentary shipping on orders over $200.