[Captain Blondebeard]

I just wanted to carve out a little section to talk about some gem of games that you have stumbled across at garage sales, thrift stores,etc. Today I went to some local thrift stores to look for games. There is one place where I have had good success and today was no disappointment. Someone must have been a huge adventure fan and graciously donated some fantastic pieces. There were 5 boxed adventures and 3 of them were complete and in pristine condition. I got the following:

Flight of the Amazon Queen (minor shelf wear, complete) This made me happy because my boxed copy was missing the registration card.

Lure of the Temptress (brilliant shape, complete)

Return of the Phantom (it's been re-shinkwrapped)

Loom (Amiga, shelf wear but complete)

Sherlock Holmes and the case of the Serrated Scalpel (box is brilliant but I'm pretty sure it's missing some of the contents. Not sure what though)

None of these are considered really rare but most are difficult to find for under 30 bucks in that shape. I had all but Sherlock Holmes (I was thrilled to add that to my collection) but these are different languages and variations.

At another thrift store I found a copy of Tie Fighter and B-Wing. They are not very collectable but it will look good on my shelves.

So, blow me away guys. What have you found?

[Weare6]

Originally Posted by Captain Blondebeard

Flight of the Amazon Queen (minor shelf wear, complete) This made me happy because my boxed copy was missing the registration card.

Lure of the Temptress (brilliant shape, complete)

Return of the Phantom (it's been re-shinkwrapped)

Loom (Amiga, shelf wear but complete)

Sherlock Holmes and the case of the Serrated Scalpel (box is brilliant but I'm pretty sure it's missing some of the contents. Not sure what though)

At another thrift store I found a copy of Tie Fighter and B-Wing. They are not very collectable but it will look good on my shelves.

Wow you scored big time. There some real good classics here.
I unfortunately have not had the experience in finding anything... as yet.
Its funny I have collected all the Sherlock Holmes games myself but the
only one missing is the 'Serrated Scalpel', the box version is hard to find.
'Lure of the Temptress', 'Loom' I had on the Amiga years & years ago... great games.
And I use to play Tie fighter religiously on my old 486. Good times.
Well done on the Find!

[mbday630]

I have found some really good jigsaw puzzles that are hard to find, but I can't say that I found anything at goodwill/thrift stores that is a really find. I did find a Kyrandia game for 1.99 that I picked up, still haven't sold it and I have another copy, so sure not making any money on that. Wow though, You really found some real treasures. Good job!!

[Giles Habibula]

I never luck out at goodwill stores or rummage sales.
I have some classics in my collection, but I paid full price for most of them at the store when they were released.

[Fantasysci5]

I remember when I first got into adventure gaming, I had stayed up all night, and then saw almost my entire street was doing yard sales. I went to see what they had, and got the "Ages of Myst" cpy, which had both the original Myst and Riven, for only 50 cents. Best buy ever.

[fov]

I love finding games at thrift stores, especially old boxed ones. In fact most of the boxed games in my collection are thrift store and Craigslist finds (I somehow thought it was a good idea to flatten and throw away all of my game boxes in the 1990s. ) Here are some of my finds.

The most recent was last fall at a flea market while I was on vacation, I noticed a boxed King's Quest V on my way out of the store. It's not in pristine condition but I'm still happy to have it.

[Captain Blondebeard]

I want teh Dr. Brain games so bad. Did you find those at flea markets fov?

[fov]

Yep, those were Goodwill finds. The ones shown in the pic are both the same game but different releases (one Mac, one PC). I think I have another on CD as well. Haven't played any of them yet. One of these days...

[Captain Blondebeard]

I wish I could find some of those beauties that you found at a thrift store. I paid at least 20 bucks on Ebay far all of those.

[Phod]

Not really finds, but several years ago I set out to try and get as many of my favorite adventure game designer autographs as I could, autographs on the original game boxes. I actually managed to succeed for the most part and my collection is around 50+ boxes. Only one real important one eluded me.

[TechnoSpike]

Captain Blondebeard and fov, sorry to say this, but, can I just say that I deeply envy you guys?

There's no goodwill/thrift stores anywhere near where I live and there's no habbit of making garage sales in my country!

The one time I managed to go to a non charitable second hand store (in another city) I didn't find anything of my liking (only recent games) and resorted to buy one game just for the sake of it... a couple of weeks later, what do I see? ... the same game, for sale, new & sealed in a retail store, for the exact same price I had paid!

[UPtimist]

This wasn't me and this wasn't a thrift store (and I've told this before), but a friend of mine got at a local supermarket (this isn't the same size as those as you have in USA etc., mind you) in a sort of a "waste bin" sale for a couple of euros the Gabriel Knight Mysteries pack in a, let's say, mid-condition. It was somewhat bruised but all intact otherwise.

When I went there the next day or so, they were all gone (there had been a few, he said). It still hurts

[Captain Blondebeard]

I just got Indiana Jones and the Last Cursade and Loom for 5 dollars each from some guy. Free shipping.

Not a huge bargain but anytime you can get two old Lucas Films games for 10 bucks you have to do it. I now own 4 copies of Loom and 3 copies of IJ.

[fov]

Lucky you! I hit several thrift stores in the last few weeks and found nothing. (Well, got a Journeyman game for a few bucks, but it was just in a jewel case.) Maybe I'm looking back on past finds with rose colored glasses (I feel like I used to find a game or two every time I went in), but I'm starting to worry that I've cleared out the Bay Area's cache of old adventure games.

[Captain Blondebeard]

Originally Posted by fov

Lucky you! I hit several thrift stores in the last few weeks and found nothing. (Well, got a Journeyman game for a few bucks, but it was just in a jewel case.) Maybe I'm looking back on past finds with rose colored glasses (I feel like I used to find a game or two every time I went in), but I'm starting to worry that I've cleared out the Bay Area's cache of old adventure games.

I only check once every few months or so. This ebay deal seemed like a no brainer. I don't understand the thought process behind selling the games for 5 bucks "buy it now". Then on top of itoffering free shipping. That is basically giving the game away and then going through the work of making way to the post office to send out the games. The media mail shipping is going to be around 4 bucks each. Maybe 6 bucks when combined.

[fov]

Big Craigslist score today! Unfortunately no boxes, but I got a bunch of Sierra game manuals (and floppy disks) as well as other retro games of the same vintage. Details and pictures on my blog.

Best part is, they were free. The lady giving them away said they'd belonged to her kids (who are my age) and she was cleaning house. I made sure she'd asked her kids if they were okay with it first. Apparently they didn't believe that anyone would even want them...

[TheLongestJourney]

Originally Posted by fov

Big Craigslist score today! Unfortunately no boxes, but I got a bunch of Sierra game manuals (and floppy disks) as well as other retro games of the same vintage. Details and pictures on my blog.

Best part is, they were free. The lady giving them away said they'd belonged to her kids (who are my age) and she was cleaning house. I made sure she'd asked her kids if they were okay with it first. Apparently they didn't believe that anyone would even want them...

So stoked that you got Treehouse. I love that game! I used to play it all the time. I still have the cassette with the theme song on it that is amazing!

[fov]

Did you also play The Playroom? There was one disk for that mixed in, but it's Disk 2.

[Trunkyo]

I meant to dig up this post a few months back, but then I forgot. (That was a really great thread.) Glad to see you've overcome your embarrassment, Captain.

I mentioned this a few years ago, but the huge thrift/discount score in my neck of the woods used to have a ton of Sierra games and other hard-to-find classics on sale. Some were still in the big boxes in excellent condition (Willy Beamish, The Colonel's Bequest, Phantasmagoria), others were only in jewel cases (The Neverhood, realMYST).

What I didn't mention before was, I did some asking around at the store and found out most of the games came from one gigantic donation. Apparently, a veteran adventure game enthusiast and collector in my city had passed away, and her family decided to dispose of all these "cheesy old DOS games", since none of her grandkids were interested in them. Such a shame, I wish I had met his woman, we could've had a lot of great discussions.

[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by fov

Johnny Castaway! I remember that screensaver when I was in middle school!