Thrifting: 50 Retro Games for $50 at Goodwill

Overview

I hit the jackpot at Goodwill: over 50 classic PC games, all 99 cents each. DOS games, Windows 95/98/XP titles, all in nearly perfect condition. This is a full unboxing and overview of everything I found, including Doom 2, Quake 2, StarCraft, Warcraft 3, Command & Conquer series, Star Wars games, sim games, and a ton of EA Sports titles. Someone clearly donated their entire PC gaming collection, and I’m here for it.

Key Moments

• Microsoft Wheel Mouse (PS/2, $5)
• DOS Games: Links 386 CD, Wing Commander III, Doom 2, Star Wars Dark Forces
• Special: Over 1000 Games CD compilation, Star Wars Trilogy CD-ROM, C&C Generals Zero Hour expansion
• EA Sports pile: Madden 2000/2001, NHL 2000/2004, FIFA 98/2000, NBA Live 98, Triple Play Baseball
• Windows 98 games: Links LS 1998, Star Wars Jedi Knight Dark Forces II, The Sims, Medal of Honor, Unreal, Escape from Monkey Island, Sim Golf, Call to Power II, Quake 2, Warcraft 3 + Frozen Throne, USAF, Delta Force, Army Men, Emperor Battle for Dune, StarCraft, Railroad Tycoon 2 (Soviet disc), Red Alert 2, Wing Commander Prophecy, Star Wars Battlefront, Outlaws, C&C Renegade, Shogun Total War, SimCoaster, SimCity 4, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Civilization II, Clive Barker’s Undying, Dungeon Keeper 2
• Windows XP: Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle-Earth (DVD-ROM), Warhammer 40K Dawn of War, Doom 3, Star Wars X-Wing Alliance

Full Transcript (Edited)

[Due to 44-minute length, see video for full game-by-game overview]

Summary: Found 50+ games at Goodwill, all 99 cents each. All discs in perfect condition—looks like someone donated their entire collection. Planning to test games on my Packard Bell 286, 386, 486, and Pentium machines. Taking requests in comments for which games to try first and on which systems!