From the 2016 message that announced the sampler sets were available: The 2016 set was designed by 2015 BARGE Main Event Champion Jennifer Shahade who also happens to be a two-time American Women’s Chess Champion. This chess set is also available in 34 pieces so you have a complete chess set.
From the 2017 announcement that made the sampler sets available: The 2017 set was designed by 2016 BARGE Main Event Champion Bex Lynn showcasing her mastery of music.
(Most of this text was likely from Michael Brennan, and it was liberated from a snapshot of bargechips.org held by the Internet Archive. Some small edits have been made to make it match the rest of this site.) Introducing the 2018 BARGE Chips This was a tough year. The head designer of the BARGE Chip Committee had to veto Chris’s first two suggestions of Non-mastery of Music (Sitar, Key-tar, bagpipes, concertina, moog, didgeridoo, theremin, kazzo and Tibetan throat singing) and a full checkers set of just two chips – red and black. Thankfully, the ghost of Tom Bayes spoke to Chris in a dream or a bar (he is not sure which) and inspired his theme of “The Poker Curriculum” – coming to a university lecture hall near you soon! ...
On behalf of our 2018 champion, Don “BINGO” Rieck, I’m pleased to announce the 2019 BARGE Chip Set. This year’s theme is ADB BINGO featuring a cocktail for each letter. There is also an Easter egg on the sides. I invite you to order your sample chipsets and accept a challenge: drink the chipset at BARGE! Ribbons will be waiting! Of course, these chips look especially great stacked up! Photo by Ken Kubey ...
Our 2020 chips were designed by 2019 Main Event winner Scott “Scottro” Harker with help from Patrick Milligan and Michael Brennan. Scott’s chips were not produced until the 2025 batch, but Scott had a design in mind dating back to 2020. From his comments about these chips (heavily edited): My theme was just me. I wanted two palm trees, each one bending inward, and a pair of 7s rising like the sun in the background. The WOW and the bee are personal. It’s more of a desert sunrise. ...
Context: Russ Fox was the first BARGEr to win the Main Event twice. However, his second win was in 2020 when the event was held online. Because of this, his win merits an Asterisk. This, Russ’ second set, highlights major sporting events that merit an Asterisk. His first chip set, back in 2002, used the theme of “Rocks”. References Russ provided these explanations for the images on his chips: Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961 to set the record, but it was in a 162-game season when the previous record was set in a 156-game season; the record had an asterisk. ...
Jessie Capps, 2002 Main Event winner, has had a fondness for Rubber Ducks for some time. He often brings them to the tournament poker table. It seems like a good idea for a theme for his chips. This set was designed by Patrick Milligan with input from Jesse. This set includes ducks for Independence Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mardi Gras, Halloween, and Summer Vacation. Chronologically, these are the first BARGE chips to feature denominations. ...
The 2025 chip theme, chosen by 2024 Main Event winner Tim Showalter, is “Nuts”. The reverse sides of the chips depict a variety of nuts, more or less. This is the second chipset with denominations. The first was 2023. BARGE chips have traditionally eschewed them. They were included at Tim’s belligerent, tiresome insistence. Prototype black chips in a stack. The edge design, stacked neatly, makes a repeating nut pattern. (See Caro’s Book of Poker Tells, tell #1, “When I was a boy, I liked to play with blocks.”) This was inspired by the 2019 chip set. ...