Since there are a few folks here who visit thrift stores and garage sales to find board games and other game show-related items, I\'m curious what your best find is. The reason for this thread is that I found mine this afternoon, a copy of The $50,000 Pyramid\'s home game in real good condition for $1.49. Pickings are generally thin in this area. Before today, my best finds were an almost complete 10th edition Jeopardy! game and a Break the Bank game from 1977 in questionable condition.
I\'ve been doing this a lot longer than most of you, and by far, my greatest thrift store find was a sensational copy of Shenanigans for 75 cents.
One of the things I wish I\'d done back in the day is kept track of where my games came from. I remember some (like that one), but unfortunately in most cases I no longer recall which ones were thrift shop finds vs antique malls, garage sales, mail-order, Ebay, trades and whatnot.
My best find so far has been a complete-and-damned-near-mint copy of Blokus for...I think it was three bucks?
If trashing counts, one day I got home from work and saw that a neighbor had placed a largeish stack of games next to the dumpster in the garage, including a complete-and-in-great-shape sixth? (not sure, as I\'m still at work. Definitely single digits though) edition Concentration. It was promptly rescued. :)
I\'ve been finding a few more game show-related games lately, but nothing earth-shattering. Latest have been the 80s $OTC complete with Quizzard for 25 cents, and the 2nd edition of $10,000 Pyramid for $1.
I say you overpaid.My best find so far has been a complete-and-damned-near-mint copy of Blokus for...I think it was three bucks?
Found a 2nd edition Deluxe Wheel of Fortune game from the 80s (with removable wedges) for $3 and the Wink Martindale High Rollers game for $1 at a thrift store where I am (in both cases, the boxes had seen better days, but all the parts were still there and both games were still playable)
I don\'t go to thrift shops much myself, but a lot of people I know who know I\'m a game show nut will give their thrift shop finds to me, whether I want them or not. I have too many Password and Jeopardy games even for me, but there was one that made my day - a 1992 Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego game from University Games in the shrink wrap. (This is stretching the topic a bit - it\'s based on the computer game, not the game show).
I\'m also reminded of the time I was at a game shop and saw a bunch of used game show games on a very high shelf. I went to the counter and asked if they bought used games. They asked \"What do you have?\" When I replied that I have a ton of game show games, they told me they don\'t buy those.
Me: \"You have some on the shelves\".
Them: \"and they\'re still there, so we\'re not buying more.\"
It was more polite then that, but you get the idea. In hindsight I should have been considering buying, not selling.
One of my better finds the other day was a near-mint condition DVD Recorder (how to burn the discs was very confusing for the seller) for $10.00. I have now started my transferring of VHS game show tapes into DVDs which hopefully wont take as long as my conversion of all my vinyl records into CDs. :)
I also remember picking up a Tic Tac Dough (50s Home Version) game for under $10 at a thrift shop years ago, then used it as trade bait for a sizable amount of game show tapes.
The majority of my 230-odd board games were from thrift stores (the only ones I remember buying on eBay were Say When!!, 3OAM, the 1st and 3rd MB Price, and I think Who What or Where and $ale of the ¢entury 1st editions)
Some of my thrift finds includes
As some of you know, I\'ve damn near built an occupation out of thrift shopping. My main goal when I go out is game show stuff. Some of my most recent finds:
Check out that link up there, though, because the fascinating stuff found in thrift stores goes way beyond board games.
In all the years I\'ve been scouring the local thrift shops, I can count these finds.....
-Many years ago, I spotted a $20,000 Pyramid home game at an area Goodwill.
-About as long ago, I found an SOTC Quizzard game.
-Probably more important than the aforementioned [in my mind!], I found a copy of Harry Eisenberg\'s \"Jeopardy!\" book.
-A local estate sale shop has, probably ever since they opened, a copy of the \"Shenanigans\" home game. I bet I\'m their only customer who\'s even heard of the show. Willing to let someone else buy it.
-Seen a good number of home games from [relatively] obscure shows, usually in antique malls.
I\'m not sure what my best one was, but I once found the board game version of the Scrabble (the game show). That has to count for something.
Macklemore would be proud of you guys. ;-)
I think my biggest pickup was the 80s $25,000 Pyramid game from Cardinal, which I bought for $2-3 about 10 years ago...I keep saying I\'ll break it out for Game Night, but that has yet to happen. :-P
The one rarity I wish I had bought was a LMaD board game from Ideal, made c. 1974. I was in high school when I saw it at a flea market, and I think it went for about $10. Wanted it dearly, but I think it was just a little too steep for me at the time, and it prolly wouldn\'t have gotten much play at the time.
Boy, let\'s see...
I\'ve acquired the 70\'s version of Jackpot while I was a sophomore in College, and Electric Jeopardy! a couple of years back.
I\'ve been on the lookout every now and again, but no list of desired games.
I\'ve had my share of finds. Thrifts are kind of hitsy-missy, but I do find some nice things now and then:
Who What Or Where for 97 cents. Decent shape.
Pay Cards!, barely played for $1.99 (although it may have been half-off)
A Jeopardy! Challenger for $.69 - complete in the box with manual and even the styrofoam that holds things in place.
Flea markets are the best, though:
I bought a serviceable copy of Jack Barry\'s Tic Tac Dough and a super-nice Second Edition Match Game together for $1.50.
My first-edition Jeopardy! board game cost a buck. Cover\'s rough and a dollar tab is missing but it\'s hanging in there.
I splurged on my Bill Cullen Price Is Right. I think that was $6. But it\'s all there.
Now all I have to do is find the Jeopardy! and Password Plus 8-tracks for my Milton Bradley OMNI system and I\'ll be set.
80s? Man, they were still using it well into 1992!
- Australian Wheel of Fortune 2nd edition, otherwise like Pressman\'s editions of the day except for a tan puzzleboard with a border reminiscent of the original three-line puzzleboard, which the Aussies used well into the \'80s.
Because I\'m curious, which cover do you have on your copy?I\'ve acquired the 70\'s version of Jackpot while I was a sophomore in College,
The biggest two, in the last three months courtesy of Red, White and Blue:
Like Matt, have been at this for a long time. Thrift stores probably make up a quarter of the collection, but among the favorites -
Make A Face (found two incomplete copies over the years so I could cobblejob one complete set)
Twenty-One
Down You Go
It Takes Two
A Question Of Sport
By The Numbers
Two For The Money
Stump The Stars
Play Your Hunch
$64,000 Question Junior
Jan Murray\'s Treasure Hunt
maybe I\'m just a neophyte, but, I am wondering, how to British and Aussie game show games wind up at American flea markets and thrift shops
That would certainly explain the complete and nearly perfect copy of Pandemic that I snagged a month ago for two bucks.
That and a distinct lack of taste on the part of the original owner. :)
so you\'ve got a ticket to ride? I have to ask...do you care?
hey, i calls \'em like I sees \'em
At least they opened the game up! The Ticket to Ride I have was still hermetically sealed.
I have been haunting thrift stores ever since I could drive in the seventies. You can find my most recent thrift store finds recorded in the proper Geek Lists on Boardgame Geek.com (my user name is Alfonzos). All but two of my foreign game show home games were thrift store finds. My best game show home game find was Wink Martindale\'s Top Secret in Venice California for $2. My best thrift store find of all-time is Jati by 3M for $10 in Anaheim California.
My best game show home game find was Wink Martindale\'s Top Secret in Venice California for $2.
Yeah, you win.
Years ago I found a new copy of La Ruotta Della Fortuna at a SPCA thrift store in Santa Rosa, CA for $3. My favorite find, though, while not a rarity by any means, was a copy of Cardinal\'s $25K Pyramid at a Goodwill in Greensburg, PA. I set out blindly in the longshot hope of finding a copy for a get together I was holding the next night, with no assurance of success, and there it was, in pristine condition. Serendipity.
I\'ve acquired the 70\'s version of Jackpot while I was a sophomore in College,
Because I\'m curious, which cover do you have on your copy?
(I know I already posted in this thread)
Lately I\'ve been on a run of finding late 60s/early 70s games... nothing rare, but interesting to me nonetheless. In the last 2 or 3 weeks I\'ve picked up $10K Pyramid 2nd edition, Jeopardy 4th edition, and Who What or Where 1st edition. Also found TJW 2nd edition, but the question book was missing so I passed.
My best game show home game find was Wink Martindale\'s Top Secret in Venice California for $2.
Yeah, you win.
Especially considering Wink paid $90 for his copy.
Also found in my stash today: Eye Guess.
My game show finds are somewhat limited: Millionaire (needed it for the Marathon), The $100,000 Pyramid Endless Games version, and a couple days ago Trivial Pursuit Game Show with Wink on the box.
My non game show find includes a USB Super Nintendo controller and a touchscreen version of one of these bad boys for $55 in perfect condition.
Does it work well, and if so, who makes it? I\'ve wanted to pick one up but apparently buying one from Amazon is a crapshoot, as there are a lot of crappy knockoffs that some sellers send out.My non game show find includes a USB Super Nintendo controller
My non game show find includes a USB Super Nintendo controller
Does it work well, and if so, who makes it? I\'ve wanted to pick one up but apparently buying one from Amazon is a crapshoot, as there are a lot of crappy knockoffs that some sellers send out.
Now if they do this same thing, only for Sega Genesis, I\'ll be in business...
Does it work well, and if so, who makes it? I\'ve wanted to pick one up but apparently buying one from Amazon is a crapshoot, as there are a lot of crappy knockoffs that some sellers send out.
My non game show find includes a USB Super Nintendo controller
Now if they do this same thing, only for Sega Genesis, I\'ll be in business...
By that are you saying you want a SNES-form-factor gamepad for a Sega Genesis, or a Sega Genesis-form-factor USB gamepad? \'Cuz if it\'s the latter, congratulations, you\'re in business.
Thanks for the pic, Cory, that at least gives me something visual to go on! :)
EDIT: From the looks of it, it looks like at least one version of the GTron pad. But Amazon\'s listing doesn\'t look like yours. Which is too bad, because Amazon Prime + Amazon Locker = big, big win.
Well, that makes sense, since the contents look like yours too. :)
Now if they do this same thing, only for Sega Genesis, I\'ll be in business...
\'Cuz if it\'s the latter, congratulations, you\'re in business.
Thank you, looks like I\'m in business indeed! :-)
Somewhat tangential to the topic of buying GS home games, I am in the process of working through my father\'s estate. Before he passed away I was handed back all of my old board games, and they\'re in the garage. They can\'t stay there.
Based on my read of the thread so far, it seems like I have nothing earth-shattering-- probably the best of the lot is a Pay Cards! home game. There\'s a Concentration and a WOF which was completely unopened until my kids opened it. I need to check on edition numbers and such for these.
It seems to me that thrift stores might not the best way to get these into the hands of those who would really appreciate them-- which is what I\'d really like to do; i.e. folks here. Any ideas from the group on how to do this?
Best I can say is put up offers for anyone who wants to buy them here, and have people message you off-board if they\'re interested... I recently got a bunch of tapes from someone here on this board by responding to an open offer they posted here, so I know posts of that sort DO get noticed... good luck!
I would totally buy the Pay Cards and the Concentration from you! E-mail me (cory@pacdudegames.com) and we can set something up.
If there\'s no objection from the moderators-- I\'ll put up a post in a new thread about this.
Let me verify condition, editions, and the like and compile a full list-- please stand by, it could be a few days (or more, depending on the day job).
One of my best game show finds wasn\'t a board game...it was an old VHS tape that had a 2002 episode of It\'s Academic. Really was a blast watching it. :)
Board game related, I found a good quality copy of the 1986 TPIR board game, and a still-sealed copy of Trivial Pursuit: Game Show. I paid about $2 for each.
I found a 1960s Jeopardy! home game at the St. Vincent dePaul in Marquette, Michigan, but I didn\'t feel like spending $20 on it. Found a 1970s Family Feud at a garage sale once, and I have several old Wheel board games from the 80s somewhere. I also have Jeopardy! for the NES, which I bought when I was about 10.
I\'m actually not overly interested in old home games, and it doesn\'t help that the stores around here tend to have very few of them.
What I like to find most at thrift shops are:
1.) Old VHSes and DVDs of obscure or hard-to-find cartoons. Some (The Little Fox) are treasures; some (Bonkers) are vague childhood memories; some (Butt-Ugly Martians) are probably crap, but at least seem like they\'d be fun to mock.
2.) Obscure CDs, usually country. One good find was a country music sampler disc that RCA packaged with Maxwell House coffee in 1996 — at least one of the songs on it was from an album that never had a physical release. I\'ve also found at least two advance copies of albums that never had \"real\" releases, and one of the albums that Hunter Hayes did back when he was still a child.
3.) Books that look interesting in one way or another. Sometimes the title is enough to draw me in — I Don\'t Remember Dropping the Skunk, but I Do Remember Trying to Breathe is one of the best titles I\'ve ever heard, even if it\'s a Christian life lessons book for teenagers.
If a store has homemade VHS recordings, then I will frequently check the labels in the off-chance that any have old game shows. So far, the best I\'ve done is the credits to Classic Concentration on a tape I found at a senior center.
Personally, I just buy the tapes and look through them when I get home. Surprisingly, no game show stuff.If a store has homemade VHS recordings, then I will frequently check the labels in the off-chance that any have old game shows.
The only VHS tape I\'ve ever purchased at a thrift store is \"Expansion\" #1 for this little beauty at a Salvation Army. It\'s still in the shrink wrap, although I might bust it out one day since my fiancee still has a VHS player and I still have the unit that I got for Christmas when I was four years old.
Do you still have a tube-TV kicking around, as well?The only VHS tape I\'ve ever purchased at a thrift store is \"Expansion\" #1 for this little beauty at a Salvation Army. It\'s still in the shrink wrap, although I might bust it out one day since my fiancee still has a VHS player and I still have the unit that I got for Christmas when I was four years old.
Sure do!
Sure do!
In that case, you\'re good then! :)