2023 Topps Game Within The Game: The Beautifully Artistic Online Exclusive

Topps Game Within the Game makes its 4^th appearance in 2023. The artistic set is once again an online exclusive with some interesting options and surprises.

But what can collectors find in the 2023 Topps Game Within The Game? What do they cost? And what are the details of the release?

Shop for the latest 2023 Topps Game Within The Game Card on Topps.com

2023 Topps Game Within The Game release date & release format

2023 Topps Game Within the Game is an online exclusive release with a new card from the 10-card offering released each month. The cards are based on oil paintings by noted artist Paul Jennis. Each card features two images of the player.

Cards are made available on Topps.com and sell for $7.99 each (with some discounts for bulk orders). The cards are available for a limited time and print to order, so the print run of each card varies based on the popularity of the subject.

New cards are available on Topps.com as they are released. The latest release is Rangers rookie Josh Jung.

2023 Topps Game Within The Game base set & design

As mentioned above, the complete set of 2023 Topps Game Within the Game will contain 10 cards, with card #9 available at the time of this writing. The design is based on the oil paintings of artist Paul Jennis and features two images of the subject player.

Cards are printed based on the number of orders within each card’s active window, so the print runs vary from card to card, with a low of 1,265 and a high (so far) of 4,513.

The checklist (or at least the 9 names we know so far) is a mix of current and former big leaguers, with a good number of 2023 rookies, including Rookie of the Year winners Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll.

The overall set design is fairly minimalistic, letting the artwork do the talking. White borders around a gray frame with the player’s name on a small nameplate at the bottom of the card.

The design evokes a frame on a painting at a museum. The card back features a short snippet about the player and a bit of info on the artist.

Shop for the latest 2023 Topps Game Within The Game Card on Topps.com

2023 Topps Game Within The Game parallels & autographs

In addition to the base versions, colored foil-bordered parallels are also possible. Parallels include Rainbow Foil (/99), Red Foil (/10), and Parallel (1/1).

In addition, 10” x 14” Fine Art Prints are available for $24.99 each. These are printed on 1/64” cotton fine art paper and feature ultra-high-res scans of the original artwork.

Encased Artist Proof versions numbered out of 20 and autographed by the artist are also available for sale for $129.99. Prints labeled 1/1 are also available for $249.99

Shop for all available prints on Topps.com

2023 Topps Game Within The Game value

Looking at the sold-out cards from 2023 so far, as well as 2022 Topps Game Within the Game, what can we intuit about their value? Base cards, not surprisingly, sell for around the price of release. Some sales are for a dollar or two more, some a dollar or two less.

Even graded, base cards aren’t high dollar cards, with cards even in PSA 10 slabs selling for a low of around $15 to a high water mark of $60.

Parallels fare slightly better, although /99 Rainbow Foil versions seem to settle in the $20-40 range. The few sales of the rarer (/10) Red Foil have been in the $100-150 range.

Artist Proof sales have been a bit all over the place. Recent sales of Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson have been for $200 and $140, respectively. Meanwhile, a Masataka Yoshida card sold for less than $20. 

The Fine Art Prints seem to sell for less than the price of release.

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Shop for the latest 2023 Topps Game Within The Game Card on Topps.com
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Final thoughts on 2023 Topps Game Within The Game

Are 2023 Topps Game Within The Game cards a great investment? The early returns suggest they probably are not. That being said, these are some beautiful cards with vibrant, colorful artwork.

If you’re a player collector of any of the featured players, or are looking for lower-population oddball rookie cards for the rookies in the set, these offer a fun and low-cost addition to your collection.

What’s your take on 2023 Topps Game Within the Game? A worthwhile purchase? A quality investment? Or an online-only product that will get lost in the shuffle? Let us know at card_lines on Twitter.

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2023 Topps Game Within The Game checklist & print runs