From a collectors point of view. I think mine, right now, would be Bad Day On The Midway. Mint box, all docs, and manual. (Or maybe The Dark Eye?)
Rusty

We don't collect games. As soon as we're done with one, we trade it in to EB or sell it on eBay. That way it stays in circulation and more people get to play it. We both feel that the entire purpose of a computer game... its raison d'etre is to be played. It doesn't do anyone any good sitting on a shelf.

People who write walkthroughs or are game "gurus" have a good reason to hang on to old games. It is sometimes necessary to "fire one up" in order to assist someone else.

But hanging on to a game I will never play again (which includes 90% of games I've played) just so I can say I have it? Seems like it does the genre more good to get those games in the hands of an ever-wider circle of people who can play them and pass them on again.

I really dont know the value of games so I dont know what game I have that may be rare and valuable. I know I have one hell of a collection and a lot of old stuff I bought over the years at Gametraders. I do have things that I paid a few bucks for selling at 20-30 dollars.

But BJ, Some of us are collectors. We enjoy having them, holding them in our hands and enjoying the art work, replaying with them even if its not all the way through. You're right!

Naw... I'm not right. It's just an opinion, therefore neither right or wrong. It so happens that my darling LR happens to share the opinion. But all we're saying is that we don't understand game collectors, not that they are "wrong." Different strokes, yanno?

BTW, Rusty. Gone over to TAC for your daily bump yet?

Well, some people would disagree with you BJ. People collect all kinds of things including computer games. Personally, I really don't see any harm in it. I think that there are enough computer games in the world so that collecting doesn't have to be considered hoarding. Some people get alot of enjoyment out of collecting computer games. To me, that's what it's all about - enjoyment. Playing, collecting, whatever.
Rusty

P.s. - BJ, I was just about to do that! LOL!

You guys collect computer games? I'll be darned

Yes, Syd, I am one of the weird ones...
Rusty

I think I might have failed miserably with this topic!
Rusty

I collect everything: books, music, games, children and my personal fave... dustbunnies! (I have some of my favorites in shadow boxes)

But PC games - nah I just keep them til I am done playing them. Since I replay all my games and have many others I swear to finish someday, they all sit on various shelves and such - happy as little clams.

Laura

So you are a computer game collector after all, gatorlaw.
Rusty

C'mon over to the Swap forum, Laura. I'm sure I can talk LR into trading a couple of her kids for a copy of Drowned God or Rose Tattoo.

{Thought going through Rustys head right now-"I think I have helped to derail my own thread!"}
Rusty

People give away, sell or trade their games? Well, I can see trading or selling if one has to - it's a way to play games without the infusions of cash it sometimes requires! I can see it. I've never done it, but one day I may have to.

I keep mine - I just do. I don't have that many games, just because I have not been playing as long as many of you. I do hope my games will be mine forever.

I'm a newbie on this, though. Who has the record number in their collection - it's Syd right? Syd is one of the people who has hundreds of games, at least I think I remember reading that. Any others?

What is my most valuable game, from a collector's standpoint. Oh, I don't know, maybe Obsidian - swell game, too.

The Kings Quest Series they said a while back at E-Bay brought $500.00 I think they said.

We collect games too, we have 257 games and most of them we havent even played and we keep adding to it. When we get through we wont get rid of it either we do sometimes loan to friend here in town tho but I am always afraid they will get broke or lost. And how can it be hoarding when we buy them to play for ourselves to start with and only one copy just because we dont get rid of it when were through with it?

Josie

Fried, I think it's deep that no one can say what is their most valuable game. It's a little like saying which kid is your favorite. You don't want the others to know.

I guess I just eschew the term "Collector" because that implies I would trade or sell my rat pack stash. I am more of a person who starts accumulating items in a set category and eventually there are so many of them - I suppose they qualify as a "collection". I have boxes of comics, campaign memorabilia, old albums and such. I just liked them and never give or sell my "stuff" so it got to be a whole lot of "stuff". I prefer the term "Rat Packer" or "stuff accumulator".

I bought one game a good number of years ago, then went back and bought some more. This continued. I never trade, never sell - I just keep them, buy new ones and replay them all. After a while - I ended up with a bunch of games. I have a limited memory - so after two years they are all new to me again. Senility has some advantages.

Laura

I have 713 and still adding to it.

Syd and I decided to count every single CD as a separate game and then mulitply the annoying ones by 3 - as they feel like you play that long to get through them. The good CD's we mulitplied by 10 - cause they are 10's. So between us, we now have a "google" games.

Laura

How about if we throw in a few dust bunnies too?

I suspect, with the ever changing technology, that computers should be "collected" along with the games because I think we're all beginning to realize (since WindowXP came along) that the older games aren't going to play worth a darn (that's d-a-r-n) in the future.

I don't colnsider myself a collector but I guess more of a pack-rat with a bent towards collecting. I developed this condition when I went into the service at 18 with the intent that the things I left behind (Mickey Mouse Watch; metal movie projector with a bunch of films; Lionel Train; etc.) would some day go to my kids........when they came along.

The first thing to leave home after me was all those things.......given away to relatives who undoubtedly tore them up in no time. Never saw them again.

So I figure this set me to hanging onto things of no particular value to anyone but me. I've collected a few old cameras; AM Radios (pocket); certain books; an old (similar to a cassette recorder) portable Dictaphone (yeah, I know that joke!) ; etc.

As for games.......I'm a piker. Only have about 50 but I can't seem to let go of any of them.

I sold a second copy of obsidian for $175, I'm not a pack-rat by any means, but it pays to check on the ones too save....

Won't say am a collector. I just buy what I like and tend to keep it. There are only a couple of games that I would even trade or sell. My oldest games are pre-dos games for the Commodore--only remember Wasteland and Beer Tapper. Have enough paperbacks maybe to qualify for a collection--mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and westerns. On and off with stamp collecting and haven't bothered counting how many games I've got though probably over a hundred. Can't see buying one of everything just so can say you got all of them. To me the enjoyment comes with using things. Won't find any toys, cards, or games unopened very long with me.

When I die all the games I collected and played, even Kofun are going into my coffin. LOL

My most valuable game is Riven, I like it the best.

I'm a player collector. I only collect games I intend to play, or at least "think" I intend to play. I'm also superstitious about this whole thing and it doesn't feel "right" to announce which valuable games I have. I do have some pretty rare ones. If you were over for dinner or drinks I would show you. We could pull them out and fire a few up. With the 6 computers in my game room we could get a lot of games running at once... But saying what I have on a forum, or listing my collection on GTZ or on a web page feels wrong somehow. I wonder why.

I wonder why also. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="confused.gif" /> It's not like we know each other and I am asking you how much money you make or something.
Rusty

Lasanidine,

I think playing through Kofun qualifies as a "near death experience"

Laura

Well, Rusty--I think this is a very interesting thread, as I'm an avid eBay seller/buyer.

So--judging from the price they're presently going for...I'd say VAMPIRE DIARIES or my KINGS QUEST series are the most "valuable" games I own. And I probably won't own them much longer, as neither one of them is a particular favorite of mine and I've been offered a price I can't refuse. The games that are valuable to ME are part of my personal collection that I would never part with, as I dearly love replaying them or just looking at their lovely boxes on my many shelves.

Some of my more obscure games (MARILYN MONROE FILES and HAMLET may be valuable, not because they are particularly great games, but they are practically impossible to find.
Cynch

I guess my most valuable game I guess as far dollar worth would be Flight of the Amazon Queen,but there are several that I treasure very much,one of which GK2 I lost a couple years ago and not been able to replace.I do still have the orginal box it came in tho

I have an unopened Blue Heat. And quite a few others, but that is probably one of the most valuable games I own.
The $500 bid for King's Quest was fake.

I am impressed. I have two I keep running (desktop and laptop) and one old laptop I could fire up if I needed to (wait, I have another old laptop I forgot about, make that two). 6 computers sounds about right!

An interesting thread. Lots of angles. I'm not a collector, I prefer to buy rather than trade (feel I'm funding more games that way.) I'll trade to get stuff off my shelves and to get games which aren't sold any more.

I'll go along with BacardiJim on games are meant to be played. There are games I'd like to play but never will because there aren't that many copies around and the game has become collectable. Not sure I'm missing out on marvellous playing experiences but I'm interested from trying to know how Adventure games have evolved over the years.

Valuable to the world? No I don't have any games which fetch zillions on eBay. Valuable to me? My favourite games like "Legacy of Time" and "Riven" and "Atlantis 2" which I will replay.

Regards, Peter.

BillyBob and everyone,

Posted in new thread instead - see 'old games'.

Gelert.

I'm with Gelert here.
I think games will be recognized soon as piece of art and I can envision museums and public displays in maybe 10-15 years.
Keep in mind that my generation (27 now) was the first that dedicated a lot of time into playing games on home-computers.
This generation is slowly but surely the one that will rule things in a few years (natural cause of life) and we will remember like everyone before us the good things in our youth.
And BAAM! we will want to re-play those old games or look at the boxes etc.

Here is a reply to a question why to collect Lucasarts games (in a Lucasarts forum) I gave earlier this year (Note: The FM-Towns versions of some Lucasarts Games were games produced for a Japanese system (FM-Towns) by a japanese company.
Those versions are EXTREMLY rare and score well over $200 US normally <- The last one on Ebay was not sold for $187.00 US because the reserve was higher).

<start quote>
Let me explain why I collect Lucasarts/Sierra adventure games.
In 1999 I realized that both companies are not gonna honor their glorious past anymore like I hoped before. I imagined HUGE collector collections with all their games ever produced + a lot of extras on DVD-ROMs.
Just think how beautiful that would have been...
Anyways.
I decided to try to buy every adventure game ever produced by those companies to preserve it for the generations after us.
I did and I still do believe that one day we will have museums devoted to computer games. See the kids that played the games back then are the 20-30 years old these days (the one with the money and mostly zero liabilities).
So I collected them and now I have most of my mission done.
I don't feel nearer to the companies or better than anybody else that only played the games from warez version downloaded from the internet.
I'm just happy that the beauty of the old incarnations of those once kickass companies are somehow preserved when one is looking at those detailed old boxes, read the marvelous and witty hintbooks and look through the Adventurer or InterAction magazines (examples about how advertizing is done in a cool way).

I'm not interested in everything LEC related however so I can't value how much the FM-Towns versions of those games would be worth to me.
I stick to PC versions only.
However I did pay over $100 US for the King's Quest VI painting signed by Roberta Williams so I better not judge.

Hope you understand at least my view and motivitation to spend loads of money on those things.

<end quote>

I think other collectors might think the same when it comes to rare out of print games from companies that went under years ago.
Maybe they want to preserve the work of these outstanding companies.
Others of course might have different ideas about the purpose (e.g. getting a lot of money when selling etc.)

Oops ! Sorry Wizball.

Ummmm....Wizball? At 27 you were the first generation to dedicate a lot of time into playing computer games? I was a young adult (19) and playing Zork when it was released in 1980. You were 4. In 1984 I was playing King's Quest, and I had played every computer game I could get my hands on in the meantime. You were then the ripe age 8. I don't think I need to go on, do I?

Not that this has anything to do with your actual point.

It's been said before, but my most valuable game is the one that is the most difficult to replace.
First and formemost, I love playing games. If it was just a matter of hearing about a wonderful game (new or old) and going to the store to buy it, I would not be classified as a collector. Of course, it doesn't work that way. I read the posts about an interesting game, then the hunt is on to find it. Whether or not I will love the game is a different matter. I won't know until I play it. If I don't enjoy the game, I get rid of it (irregardless of how difficult it was to find).
If the game was good enough for me to want to play it again, then it is a keeper.
Of course, the collector in me now wants to have all my keepers in as good a condition as possible, so I'm always trying to upgrade my favorite oldies by trying to find them in the original boxes .

It's from necessity, since I actually play the old games I collect. The slightest difference in hardware configuration, bios setups, memory allocation, etc. will result in a game choking on say a Pentium 200MHZ and run like a dream on the Pentium 133MHZ or 486 66MHZ boxes sitting next to it. Plus you can get these babies now for like 20.00 apiece at any Goodwill. Old gaming computers ready to go for a pittance. If I'm going to have library of old games, I want to be able to play them.

I also keep the saved games in the box so I can return to favorite scenes, or have the ability to go back into the game and help others if need be.

Six computers? All in one room? Wow! You could listen to the music from Faust while playing Syberia left-handed, Tony Tough right-handed and control the keyboard in Shadow of Destiny with your nose.

Some day I want a game room with six computers. Of course, by then real gamers will have a game room with twelve computers.

As BJ has already said, we play the games then pass them on. But, there have been times that I wish we hadn't. I wish we still owned our copies of Grim Fandango, The Longest Journey, and Chaos: A Fantasy Adventure Game. They were all fun to play in their own ways. But, I will never part with my Monkey Island games. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER.

We started selling and trading our games to support our habit. But, it is good to know that some of those games went to good homes where they got played and kept or played and resold/passed on. I always hate to know that we have sold a game to a "Collector" who intends to set it on a shelf and never play it. What good is that? Games were created to be played and enjoyed. I really doubt that any game developer went into a project saying, "I want to make a game for people to buy and keep until the price/demand for the game makes them a tidy profit." Any interview I have ever seen usually says just the opposite, "We are creating a game for people to play and enjoy."

BTW, we still have a copy of GK3, unopened, that we are looking to get rid of.

I thought I was bad with 4 computers. 2 in my bedroom, 1 in my sunroom, and 1 at my office. All are used mostly for gaming.

I still don't know if "valuable" on this thread is supposed to be valuable to me or money-wise. To me the most valuable is Thief Gold. In fact, I am thinking about buying another copy in case mine wears out with all the playing.
Have no idea how much games are worth. Have kept all of mine (must be around 150) except the original Prince of Persia and Day of the Tentacles. I think Day of the Tentacles is now a collector's item? Not too swift on my part to give just those two away.
Laura's experience is the same as mine. Always go back eventually and replay games because I forget enough to make them seem like new again.
And, Wizball, I have to also mention that I, along with a GREAT number on GameBoomers, are a generation or more ahead of you and have been addicted to gaming since the beginning. True gamers have no age boundaries. Just a shared love of computer chair adventure!!!!!!

Some thread Rusty.

I know this sounds silly but my games are like "old friends". I have kept every game I have purchased but 3. I'm one of those gamers that replay games. I'm not a "collector" per se`. I wouldn't buy a game to just have it and never play it and I wouldn't spend a lot of money. I guess I'm just a "keeper".

Some of my games have become rare though like:

Alice An Interactive Museum
Celtica
Cassandra Galleries
Obsidian
Rose Tattoo
Serrated Scalpel
Dark Eye
Hard Evidence" Marilyn Mone Files

to name a few. I cherish all my games. I know, it's silly. <img border="0" alt="" title="" src="graemlins/pacify.gif" />

BTW....does anyone know which Obsidian is the oldest? The green box or the blue box?

~Dee

PS I have also kept the computers to play them on.

Its not silly at all Dee. I treasure mine too. I dont trade or sell unless I have a spare copy. I just like having them.

It would be interesting if anyone has knowledge of the value of older games and could post them here. Not that I would sell any of mine, but, I would think twice about loaning any of them out. Someone mentioned that Obisidian was going for $150. Besides the fact that game is really hard to find. Won't ever let that one out of my house!!!!

Obsidian is another game I wish we hadn't let get away. Been thinking lately it might be nice to replay. But at the time we needed the bucks to buy more games.

Same with Sanitarium, but it seems Providence smiled on us in that respect. Going out to WalMart today to try to find one of these $9.44 versions.

Well i do cherish my Police Quest collection.. might not be valuable money wise but personally its valuable to me... i dont collect games.. i buy them and keep them.. cause i know one day i would regret it when id really want to play the game i gave away...

Cheers

~Polo

This is a very interesting thread. It's so nice to read all the different slants people have on their games. As for me, I just buy. I don't think I'm a collector, just a lazy consumer. I have lots of games that I know I will never play again, don't know their value and I guess I don't care. If someone came to my door and asked for them, I would probably give them away. I don't feel like putting in the effort to resell them or trade them.

I'm also a player collector. Right now I have the attitude that after I'm done with one I'll trade it for something else. Did that with Alice Interactive and Treasure Hunter. Sometimes that's the only way to get the chance to play some of them. I may *really* regret trading some of them in the future though, although I'd like to play through as many as I can at least once, so that will take awhile. Living in a smallish apartment has a definite drawback of space though, plus having multiple computers.

Hard to say what the most valuable game in my possession is. I think the game I had the hardest time tracking down is Blue Heat, and I know it fetches a pretty penny. Also, based on those ebay auctions I read about, Vampire Diaries is pretty valuable. Although my box is crushed on it.

Just to clarify, I meant monetary value in my initial post.
Rusty

Just curious, what is the difference between someone who buys games and keeps them and a game collector? Seems to me that there is a very thin line between the two. I guess it all has to do with how you look at it.
Rusty

Yes, but now we have hijacked your thread to Cuba, where your Capitalist ideas of worth have no meaning, gringo!

Muahahahahahahaha

No, this one hasn't been hijacked yet.
Rusty

I think there is a difference between someone who buys games and keeps them, intending to play or replay them someday, and someone who buys them because they're speculating on the "Collector's market" and holding onto things only because they think they will increase in value.

So, a collector is someone who buys games with the intent to unload them someday for a profit and the other is someone who buys games and keeps them forever, never thinking about making money? This makes sense to me. If this is true, then I am not a collector. I buy games, keep them, sometimes replay them, and never want to sell them. Thanks for helping to clarify this for me Jenny100.
Rusty
P.S. - However, I am interested in the worth of games even though I don't want to sell them. I get a charge out of finding out that for example, a game I bought a year ago for $20.00 might now be going for 4 times that amount on ebay. I guess I am just weird.

I also collect games, and my reason is because I enjoyed them so much, I want to keep playing them over and over. If I get a rare game, and I played it and I don't like it, I would sell it. My purpose of collecting games and keeping them forever, is for me to play them. Some I have bought and doesn't work correctly on my computer, and I don't care how rare it is I would sell it or trade it. That is my biggest enjoyment, playing them. I don't like, I get rid of, I love I keep.

And I have two that I think are valuable.
Obsidian-Retail box sealed with Strategy Guide, which I haven't played yet, but will. And if I don't like it I will sell it.

and Sanitarium-Retail box with 1996 Gamecomputer game with demo inside. Which I plan to play as well. And if I don't like it I will sell too.


Liz

Iam not a collector but I have one game that took me so long to find and when I did it was in mint condition and all that other good stuff. I have yet to finish Orion Burger but I have no plans to sell or trade it any way soon.

None of the games I've saved were done so out of expectation of future monetary reward. Of those I have saved, I've done so for one of three reasons.

1. I flat-out loved the game, and had expectations of replaying it on several occasion. Timelapse and Post Mortem are examples of that genre.

2. I had some personal involvement with the author(s), and thus had an emotional attachment to the game. I consider myself to be a good friend of Josh Mandel. (despite the fact that we argue occasionally) And so, everything from Freddy Pharkus to Callahan's Crosstime Saloon sit on the shelves.

3. This category constitutes games that I had person involvement in on a real level. That means anything from editing a walkthrough to managing a game-specific thread on a CompuServe forum. Shivers, Lighthouse and Black Dahlia are examples.

I guess there is a fourth category. That is games that were either so bad that I couldn't get anyone to buy them from me, or games I bought so cheap that they have no resale value also sit on my shelves. Qin is an example of the former. Amber is an example of the latter.

Am I the only one who liked Qin, then? I found it fascinating, once I realized that the magical floating I Ching yarrow sticks were just there for enjoyment and not a puzzle I couldn't figure out.

Of course, that game was one example of "grainy" 640x480 graphics I have to concede to Scott Osbourne.

Actually I rather enjoyed Qin but I'm a history buff (it was my major in college) so I tend to enjoy the educational games like Qin.

BacardiJim, I have Qin loaded, and I am at the very beginning, the review I found very interesting, I let you know if I like this game or not.

Liz

Syberia, The Longest Journey, and The Beast Within are my most valuable because I never tired of those games. I also have a soft spot for both Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2 and Discworld 1 and 2.

P.S. Count all the Monkey Island games too.

I have quite of few of the "very hard to find" big bucks games, but to me my combo 'Zork Nemesis/Zork Grand Inquisitor DVD' has to be a winner.

I don't agree. I have no intention of selling my core collection. Other than the extras, spares and games I no longer want, I fully intend to keep my collection forever. It's a collection. I am a collector. It doesn't mean I'm going to sell at some point. That said, everyone has their price.

I agree with you Scout 100 percent.

Scout,
Not sure how you disagree with a question but, anyway, this quote of mine was a question in response to Jenny100. I was wondering what the difference is between someone who buys games with the intent to make a profit someday and someone who buys games, replays them, and will never sell or trade them away. I was wondering which one would be considered the "collector". I think that word means different things to different people. Some would say that the person who buys games with the intent to make a profit someday is the collector.
Rusty

Rusty, I think that technically makes them an "investor."

I love my games, and would never part with it. But, I think the most valuable game I have is the longes journey (in Norwegian).

Caroline

friedmonkey,

It seemed to me that your question was a statement in disguise, a sort of rhetorical question. That was what I was responding to. No biggie...

If you really are asking, IMO a person who buys games with an intent to make money someday, is as BJ says, an investor first. A person who buys games with an intent to possess only, whether a player or not, is a collector. It's all gray area though as collectors start selling and investors start keeping and like you say, there's the reward of seeing a game suddenly increase in value. I do find it interesting that people who avidly buy and maintain and store their games insist they are not collectors. I'd say anyone who tosses the boxes can make that claim, otherwise, if they keep the item intact, never sell it, actively pursue more and more purchases, I'm not so sure they aren't really collectors.

Scout,
My question was meant as a clarification of what Jenny100 said prior. Like you said, no biggie.
After giving this much thought (do I have too much time on my hands today?) I tend to agree with you. If taken at face value, the word "collector" to me, means aquiring games, holding on to them, and building a collection. In contrast, someone who actively buys, sells, and trades games would not be a collector. They would be an investor, a trader, a dealer, or something along those lines.
Wow, it's amazing how many different meanings this word has in the gaming world.
Rusty

Well, what I said was

You could call either one a "collector" since they both "collect." But they have different priorities. Someone who buys games mainly for playing purposes probably isn't going to care that much if the game is "mint in box" as long as it's playable. Someone who is thinking about the "Collector's market value" is probably more concerned about the cosmetic appearance of the game box and its contents than in whether the floppies are still good.

But, how can someone who aquires games just to turn around and make a profit be considered a collector? They really aren't collecting anything. They are just like a middleman, a stopping off point for the games. Boy, this sure is more of a gray area than I thought. I guess it boils down to what the word "collector" means to you. It means different things to different people.
Rusty

I am a game player, first. I will turn around and sell games when I am done with them, but I'm not really concerned with making a profit. (Though I usually do... I write great eBay. ) However, if I don't make a profit, no biggie. We just use the money to do nothing but turn around and buy more games. The majority of games we both buy and sell are used. We make just enough to support our habit. We are part of the teeming masses that play the games and then keep them circulating for others to play.

Does the fact that we resell games, usually at a profit, make us "investors?" I don't think so. It just makes us good bargain hunters when we buy the game for a below-market price in the first place. Regardless, our primary purpose is to play the game and pass it on.

Is this attitude that unusual? I don't see many other folks saying the same thing. Are we freaks?

Yes, you are freaks (j/k)
Rusty

Collect as a verb, yes, just about everyone does that. Dealers, investors, collectors, gamers. Collector as noun, to my mind, that excludes those those who sell or trade all their games as a matter of course, either as a means to more games or as a way to recoup intial investment.

Bacardi Jim, to me, your approach is almost a political one. You seem to feel a commitment to recirculate the game. No, I don't see many people concerned about "passing the game forward", me included. I'll give away games sometimes or sell at undermarket if I think I can afford to of if the mood strikes me but it's not a policy or anything like that. Pretty much act as the mood strikes me.

I wouldn't call what you do investing either. To me that conjurs up images of big trunks full of shrinkwrapped games and constantly watching the market for the right moment to pounce.

Then there's the conservation/archival question. I know people who collect to make sure these games survive down through the decades intact. That's pretty important too and something I don't see many people talking about either.

You also are a brave one, Monkey. Have been enjoying reading your threads and arguements with great interest. I love a good debate. And , I think you'll agree, we can agree to disagree...

No, you are not freaks, BacardiJim. (Friedmonky's a bit naughty at times, isn't he?) Have been enjoying your better half, Lucky's Rainbow(?), as you put it somewhere I think, input also.
Speaking of collecting, were you able to track down that game to buy, I think it was Sherlock Holmes: The case of the Rose Tattoo? Or was The Riddle of Mr. Lu? Have both somewhere in the basement. But I know where the Rose Tattoo is, sorted out a box of games 2 days ago.

I would be happy to lend it to you, for as long as you both would like. The Rose Tattoo is a deloghtful older game, and the dart game isn't nearly as bad as you would think, if you get some hints here.

I'd kind of like to have it back, loved this older game, would like to play it again someday. And if it got scratched or broken or lost, I promise I wouldn't care. Would be happy to share the enjoyment with you and Lucky. Makes having played the game more fun, to be able to talk about it with someone who has also played it. If you want it, just email or post.

Brave? Why do you say that? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="confused.gif" />
Rusty

Well, you have been involved in a lot of spirited debate, don't you think? I think that's brave. And, I was kinda jokingly referring to your comment about my comment about Jim's review (whew), at the Boomers review section. Remember?

God yes we would like to borrow Rose Tattoo!

Can't find it on eBay for under $30, and that only rarely. Check your email, Kathy.

Cool! Will go look for it now.

KathyO,
Ah, yes, now I know what you mean. I don't think I get involved in any more spirited debate than the average person. Maybe a little more lately regarding the Dark Fall reviews.
Rusty

I guess we can talk spiritedly, but not meanly about anything, can't we!

I think that some people sell their games to get more games. Some people might want to put games back into circulation so that more people can play them. That's rather a romantic ideal, if you ask me - who knows what happens to something when we get rid of it - it doesn't always go to a "good" home. Maybe some people don't like to keep extra stuff around. They might be "possession minimalists", or something like that.

I think other people keep them, to keep them, because they love them. Some people keep them because them love them, but they also keep them as a "collection" which might have monetary value. I've heard of gamers who buy two games, one to play and one to keep. I think all of that is good. What's wrong with selling or giving away your games? What's wrong with building a collection of games, or collecting anything, in mint condition? Also,as was said before, why you do something, your original purpose, can change over time. Sometimes people keep their games because they love them, discover they have something valuable, and then sell some of the "valuable" ones, to make some money and (possibly) to get more games for their "collection", which they love! Wow, run on sentences, but you get the idea. I don't think any of that is bad - it's your stuff, you can do whatever you want with it. Works for me.

Me, I keep mine because I want to keep them, along with the art I acquired (I have it on the walls, on bookshelves, and in boxes, hopefully between sheets of acid free paper!), my music, my science fiction magazines (some from the 1960s - I am running out of room for the magazines), my books, my photographs, my plants, everything on my computer hard drives, and........ you get the idea. I keep stuff. It makes me happy, to have my "stuff" around. I know we are supposed to all be into this "simplification" thing, but I'm not going there. Having stuff around that I love - it's good. It makes me happy. They can cart it all away when I'm gone. Oh wait, lest you think I'm a complete materialist, I also want to have the the people I like and love, around me - also beautiful scenery, great weather, good conversation, and other intangibles. I want all the good stuff, around me, and that includes material possessions. Wait, did I mention food, and drink - where is that good bottle of wine I've been saving! Think I'll open it now!

You know, even though I love my material "stuff", if I found something that was really valuable, I might sell it - a little money right now would not be a bad thing.

Jeez. I hope that doesn't mean they can come cart me away when you're gone, mszv!

Ya can't take it with you, ya know....

Tell that to the lady buried in her cadillac

mszv, I am with you, I like all my stuff. Books, music, art, seashells, my mardi gras beads - it feels so comfy to me. But if it burned up - so be it. Well my books would get to me a bit. :sniff:

I just have a hard time selling things. I would give things away before I would sell them. Unless it was an abject emergency. As for collector, dealer whatever. I think people should be how they are. It is all good to me. If you think "paying it forward" with games (nice analogy Scout ) is the way to go - great idea. If you want to preserve games for the future - great there too. If you want to save them on shelves and marvel at how they look - I hear you.

If we were a homogonized group - how boring that would be.

Laura

When I'm gone, BacardiJim, you'll be the first to go! Hmmm, never thought of it like that!

My most valuable games are probably the mint & boxed Celtica, Cassandra Galleries, Pilgrim, Gord@k, Red & Green Reahs, Neverhood and Obsidian.

Wow, SirDave. You have all the goodies! Just those alone would be quite a collection.
Rusty

Thanks Rusty- have worked pretty hard to get a good basic collection of AGs from 1993 to 2000. I guess that some others in my collection that are gaining value are (all boxed and mint) The Rose Tattoo, Amazon Queen, Versailles 1685, Secrets of the Luxor, I Have No Mouth..., Dinotopia, Infocom Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces (the original 30 game collection) and, finally, my latest acquistion, that I've been trying to get for months: a mint, boxed Bad MoJo.

Sirdave,

when you say mint, do you mean unopened?

Not overall. Some are still shrinkwrapped, but could have been shrinkwrapped by the seller for all I know. Essentially, I mean that they are in a condition that would be acceptable if you saw them on the store shelf. Sometimes it's hard to decide what is mint. For instance, it's well known that the Celtica box came with no cardboard insert and is generally thin so it's not unusual for even the best Celtica boxes to have a crease or ding or 2 in them.

I definitely do not use the term mint to describe a box that has any sign of wear and tear such as worn flaps or tears of any kind.