rares

Rares is a term used in English to refer to items that are scarce or valuable within a particular collection, game, or market. While rare is an adjective, rares is often used as a plural noun to denote the items themselves, rather than the property of scarcity. The usage is common in hobbyist and commercial contexts where collectors or players categorize objects by how difficult they are to obtain.

In collectible card games and trading-card markets, sets are typically organized into rarity levels such as common, uncommon, rare, and beyond. The plural rares is used to describe the group of cards at the rare level or higher, and traders or collectors may highlight specific rares when discussing value, condition, or edition. Rares may include special printing variants, foil versions, or limited-run cards that increase desirability.

In video games, rares commonly describe loot, enemies, or encounters that are harder to obtain or defeat than common ones. Players might seek rare drops or rare spawn points, and game economies often place higher value on rare items due to their scarcity, power, cosmetic appeal, or event-specific availability. The concept of rarity in games frequently includes tiers such as rare, epic, or legendary, with rares situated above more common rewards.

Economically, rares influence markets through scarcity and demand. The price of rare items is shaped by factors such as edition size, condition, provenance, and ongoing interest from collectors or players. While the term is widely understood in these domains, rares is not a standard everyday plural outside specialized contexts.

See also: rarity, rarity levels, rare item, collectible markets, trading cards.