Any rare PC games?

[BetaWolf47]

What PC games are especially rare or valuable?

(Please move to WIW if wrong section)

[Nikademus1969]

The first 2 Elder Scrolls games come to mind, altho I don't know how "rare" they are now that they can both be downloaded.

[Kitsune Sniper]

There's no real measure of rarity, at least not in the same sense that console games have, when it comes to PC games.

Unlike most post-Atari era console games, PC games came in media that could be very sensitive to weather, storage, magnetic forces... and so on. Sometimes a game is valuable only because there's not that many working copies anymore. Other times, a game can be very common (like Zork, which showed up in dozens of reprints in different game sets) but the original packaging and contents are worth a lot of money.

It's all variable.

[BetaWolf47]

Thanks for the info. By the way, magnets don't affect disks.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Thanks for the info. By the way, magnets don't affect disks.

Floppy disks?

MY HIGH SCHOOL HOMEWORK WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU, YOUNG MAN.

[BetaWolf47]

Nuh! I forgot that not all WIN32 games are on CD!

[Flack]

There are lots of "rare" games. Unfortunately, they're not worth much. There are also "popular" games, which are typically worth more than simply "rare" games because they have name recognition. Sierra and LucasArts made many popular/collectible PC games, but they weren't "rare" by any stretch of the imagination.

There are only a few examples of games that were both popular and rare. The first Akalabeth/Ultima release was rare and super valuable.

EDIT: And of course magnets affect floppy disks ...

[Kitsune Sniper]

There are only a few examples of games that were both popular and rare. The first Akalabeth/Ultima release was rare and super valuable.Or Ultima XI Ascension: Dragon Edition, which was rare and super valuable to begin with (it had a ton of bonuses plus ALL the previous Ultima games!)

[swlovinist]

Lots of collectable PC games. Many are classic or vintage, complete in good shape. Worth a ton? Not usually, and locally I find the occasional game very cheap. I then sell it online starting at 99 cents and it usually goes for more than I paid. With that being said, some PC games have just been forgotten and think that collecting them would be fun, although tough.

[tom]

The FF games are going for quite a bit sometimes on ebay, also: Man Enough, Afterlife, Alter Ego, Lula The Empire cums back, the Spellcasting series (any Legend title really), the Star Saga series, Tsunami games, Panik in the Park, and Atari Action Packs perhaps?
and of course, this, super rare and expensive:
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=200202&g2_serialNumber=2


these are getting kinda rare now:
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=200238&g2_serialNumber=1

[j_factor]

I'd imagine there are lots of obscure PC games that only had a few thousand copies printed, if not much less.

[Haoie]

Unlike almost all modern console games, PC games can still have a very limited distribution.

[Raging Prawn]

Keep in mind that there was a time where these games were made at home and sold in ziploc bags - and there's plenty of desirable stuff in that category including the aformentioned Akalebeth, the first Ultima (which I had, and - believe it or not - lost), Mystery House etc... (those are all Apple 2 games, not x86 -I lump them all together). These titles all command top dollar because they truly are insanely scarce.

On the other hand, there are games that are unbelieveably rare on PC that you couldn't sell for $5. It all comes down to historical significance and desirbility in my opionion. Games that command both categories fetch the really big $$$. I have seen many games on my want list go for hundreds of dollars. I swear you can have a giant bidding war break out on the most random titles in the PC world just because you and some other guy in Cleveland are the only two that remember Datamost and you've both been waiting 3 years for that boxed copy of Zorro.

AFAIK there's no NWC gold cart equivilant in the PC world, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the ultra rare classics starts to get there eventually. There are only so many copies of the original Zork left... and it's a real piece of gaming history.

[tom]

Quarterstaff always demands quite a penny on ebay, Mac only title

[Torx]

dunno how rare but... BLOOD for DOS.
supar fantastico!

[FantasiaWHT]

MAC-only Sierra games.
I got $90 for a sealed copy of one of the X-wing games; I knew it was a legit seal because it still had a coupon for a free offer of some kind on it.

[kaedesdisciple]

That last Quest for Glory collection always seems to go for quite a bit as it was never re-released again after that print. I still kick myself in the ass for not keeping better tabs on that disc, and I remember throwing the box out thinking to myself, "this won't be worth anything." Jackass.

[Kitsune Sniper]

The FF games are going for quite a bit sometimes on ebay, also: Man Enough, Afterlife, Alter Ego, Lula The Empire cums back, the Spellcasting series (any Legend title really), the Star Saga series, Tsunami games, Panik in the Park, and Atari Action Packs perhaps?

Wait, what? I couldn't sell a -sealed copy- of Panic In The Park for $10. Or Afterlife (though that was a sealed CD with manual) for $5.

[tom]

Typically, when I was after Afterlife (boxed), a bidding frenzy occured

[roushimsx]

The PC collecting market is so silly weird. You know something is amiss when junk like Duke Nukem: Nuclear Winter moves for $50/disc only while gold like Duke Caribbean is lucky to hit that much complete.

Lots of neat little odds and ends that cost a pretty penny, though. I'd love to get my dick beaters on a complete copy of One Unit Whole Blood sometime. That's like, the ultimate Blood pack.

It's always kind of bummed me out that Looking Glass' best games get as ignored by collectors as they did by consumers back when they came out. You can pick up new/sealed copies of Terra Nova for as little as $10; it was easily their biggest flop (and a major reason why the studio died) and yet it's one of my favorite games from them. Incredibly innovative and the controls still work great.

[swlovinist]

PC games is almost the only given when I shop in thrift stores now. I have sold many PC games(C64 to present) to fund my console collection.

[norkusa]

Not really rare but the strangest ones I've seen are MVP 2005 Baseball and NASCAR 2003. Who would think 5 year old sports games would sell for $75+?

[phreakindee]

Ahh one of my few areas of expertise.

Most valuable pc games are valuable because they are well known but older. Sierra, Origin, Infocom all those go for large amount when complete boxed. Most cartridge games or booter disks from the 80s are rather "rare" but tend not to sell very high due to not being known.

Some notable games in demand:

FF
Blood expansions
Duke 3D boxes
Id software games
Sierra titles
Infocom complete sets
Old bethesda games

Some very hard to find games are those that were simply not big sellers, obviously. Some particularly elusive ones:

Boxed Commander Keen games full version
Maxis game expansions (Simcity expansions, etc)
SimHealth
Boxed b&n Epic Megagames games
Any handmade/ziplock bag games from the author/or mail order titles

So very very many games from the shareware days are nearly impossible to find full versions of, since they were not sold in stores... Probably thousands with only hundreds of copies made officially (piracy made full games even more rare, quite common to find bootlegs)

[NayusDante]

Boxed b&n Epic Megagames games

Hmmm. I have a ton of those, minus the catalogs. Didn't see a reason to keep 20+ back then.

[Push Upstairs]

I'd love to get my dick beaters on a complete copy of One Unit Whole Blood sometime. That's like, the ultimate Blood pack.

I have this. :)

The box is long gone but I still have the discs, including that silly "Game Secrets" cd that came with it.

Oh how I love blowing up zombies and cultists with 35 packs of dynamite.

[FamicomFreak]

I always wonder about the rarity of these games. I have one game Commander Keen Aliens Ate my babysitter which is sealed and I wonder if it's worth anything. that'll help

[Jorpho]

Boxed b&n Epic Megagames gamesEh? Ancients II, to pick one at random, doesn't even seem to be selling at $10, even if that is more than what a lot of other games might sell for.

[Gameguy]

The Neverhood seems to go for a good amount, even disc only copies.

Knights of Xentar is supposedly really rare according to the Wikipedia article about it, but I have no idea how much it's worth. I've never seen a copy for sale on ebay and I've been checking for a few years already. Does anyone know how much copies are worth?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Xentar

[Geddon_jt]

I would love to have a good resource for this.
I've had a lot of luck in the wild for nice old PC games lately. Specifically, I found the following:

Martian Memorandum (Tex Murphy 2) PC 3.5" (NEW/SEALED) I loved this game as a kid!
Under a Killing Moon PC CD-ROM with PANDORA DETECTIVE factory sealed inside (NEW/SEALED)
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands SSI (NEW/SEALED)
Ultima VII: The Black Gate PC 3.5" complete with EVERYTHING "PC Gamer Edition"

These are all games I loved years ago, so its cool to have nice complete or new copies of them. Any idea what these are worth? Anyone? Bueller?

[phreakindee]

@NayusDante:

The boxes are quite hard to find now, though some occassionally pop up on eBay for a reasonable amount. Jazz Jackrabbit is the hardest to find boxed it seems, with Jill of the Jungle second. I knew many people who had these back in the day, but they tossed the boxes and documentation, as everyone seemed to. They were just too bulky to keep around.

[Jorpho]

Ahh, here's what I was looking for.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102192
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60500
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25836
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19504
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16071

Too bad playinggamesinteractive.com seems to be no more. Fortunately you can still see their interesting list of high-priced rarities at archive.org (http://web.archive.org/web/20071206083452/www.playinggamesinteractive.com/category.html?UCIDs=623139|1096838) . They're actually missing a few of the older ones, like Gord@k, Cassandra Galleries, and Alice: An Interactive Museum .

[NayusDante]

The B&N boxes are actually smaller than a typical 90s game box. I've got Kiloblaster 1-3, Overkill, Jill 2, Dare 2 Dream II, all four pinballs, Castle of the Winds I, Ken's Labyrinth (buggy), Electroman, Loader Larry, and a few others. They're all floppy disc.

They all have the same "Ready To GO" logo on them, and the same disclaimer on the back. "This product is family friendly and features no graphic violence..."
...always thought it was funny to see that on a game called "Overkill."

[FxMercenary]

There are a few PC titles worth collecting.

1. The id Anthology ( 1996? ) goes for around $300 if it includes the shirt, I owned it for a few weeks before I fell on hard times.

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/doom/images/a/a2/Idbox.jpg

Some other popular titles are unauthorized expansions to Warcraft II and Starcraft. Aztech's Armory can go for around $75

An odd one is Starcraft: Stellar Forces

[Blanka789]

Eh? Ancients II, to pick one at random, doesn't even seem to be selling at $10, even if that is more than what a lot of other games might sell for.

I have about 15 of these for sale, all different games. I posted them on ebay and couldn't get 10 cents for any of them besides Jazz Jackrabbit (which sold for $30 plus all 3 times I sold one). I've had them on DP for $1 apiece for awhile now and haven't sold any.

[Trebuken]

Wizardry VIII...

Been wanting this for awhile but it's more than I anticipated.

[Jorpho]

The B&N boxes are actually smaller than a typical 90s game box. I've got Kiloblaster 1-3, Overkill, Jill 2, Dare 2 Dream II, all four pinballs, Castle of the Winds I, Ken's Labyrinth (buggy), Electroman, Loader Larry, and a few others. They're all floppy disc.

They all have the same "Ready To GO" logo on them, and the same disclaimer on the back. "This product is family friendly and features no graphic violence..."
...always thought it was funny to see that on a game called "Overkill."They're all from some company in New England, aren't they? Any idea if Ancients I was ever released in a box like that?

The box for Enigma Pinball is a spectacularly amusing failure; it would probably be discussed more often if it wasn't more obscure.

[darkslime]

Thanks for this thread. I never really knew what PC games to look for other than lucasarts ones before.

[tubeway]

There are a few PC titles worth collecting.

1. The id Anthology ( 1996? ) goes for around $300 if it includes the shirt, I owned it for a few weeks before I fell on hard times.


No, it doesn't. There are a couple BINs on ebay for that, though. I just sold one on ebay and it went for $120 and was complete.

[roushimsx]

Wizardry VIII...

Been wanting this for awhile but it's more than I anticipated.
Didn't realize this one was so in demand!

Can't believe the game didn't do better in sales. Like, it's not really my typical sort of game and even I loved the hell out of it. Reviews were pretty universally fantastic as well, right?

Snatched up the budget rerelease (small box / $20) in '03 because it'd run on my laptop at the time. So happy I did that.

[FantasiaWHT]

Oh, I thought of another one - Star Wars Galaxies Collector's Edition. When I worked at EB Games, the morons at corporate "pennied" it out (meaning to trash it, technically). Instead I took it home and it sold on ebay for $150.

[Nikademus1969]

Wizardry VIII...

Been wanting this for awhile but it's more than I anticipated.
Didn't realize this one was so in demand!

Can't believe the game didn't do better in sales. Like, it's not really my typical sort of game and even I loved the hell out of it. Reviews were pretty universally fantastic as well, right?

Snatched up the budget rerelease (small box / $20) in '03 because it'd run on my laptop at the time. So happy I did that.



Oh yeah, when I got my copy about 2 years ago I paid about 50 bucks for it! I think the reason it did not do so well was because you could only get it from one place (EB Games, I think?) and they did not have it for very long.

[pwpcody]

I've sold Sam & Max games for a bit.

Also I believe Day of the Tenticle, at least complete, is worth a few bones.

[The 1 2 P]

I've been waiting for a thread like this, mainly so I know what to look for when I visit my local Goodwill. They always have so many different types of pc games(boxed, jewel case, etc.) but I never know what to pick up. Someone needs to make a definitive list of 20-50 PC titles you should always pick up when you come across them.

[roushimsx]

Oh yeah, when I got my copy about 2 years ago I paid about 50 bucks for it! I think the reason it did not do so well was because you could only get it from one place (EB Games, I think?) and they did not have it for very long.

I picked up my rerelease version at Best Buy *shrug*

[Blanka789]

I've been waiting for a thread like this, mainly so I know what to look for when I visit my local Goodwill. They always have so many different types of pc games(boxed, jewel case, etc.) but I never know what to pick up. Someone needs to make a definitive list of 20-50 PC titles you should always pick up when you come across them.

I second the creation of said list. I've bought so many PC games thinking that if I didn't like them/couldn't run them, I could sell them with ease. This is just not true.

[norkusa]

The older hex war sim games always sell for a decent amount. Specifically the Talonsoft and SSI stuff. Sold a sealed Pacific General for $60 earlier this year and a few complete Battleground series titles for $50.

[aaron7]

I paid $100 for my CIB Daggerfall and $60 for my CIB Duke3d Atomic Edition.

Also paid $100 for all three Magic: The Gathering games.

Guess that's rare?

[Jorpho]

The original boxed Fallout Tactoics used to get pretty high prices, but since Fallout bundles have started popping up the price might have gone down. The same goes for the PC version of Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire (but not the Mac version, nor Alpha Centauri on its own).

There's a couple of other three-figure games here:
http://store.purplus.net/vinsof.html


I've bought so many PC games thinking that if I didn't like them/couldn't run them, I could sell them with ease. This is just not true.Indeed it is not.

[Flack]

I've been waiting for a thread like this, mainly so I know what to look for when I visit my local Goodwill. They always have so many different types of pc games(boxed, jewel case, etc.) but I never know what to pick up. Someone needs to make a definitive list of 20-50 PC titles you should always pick up when you come across them.

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I don't know of any PC games that only came in a jewel case that are worth anything.

[Gameguy]

There's a couple of other three-figure games here:
http://store.purplus.net/vinsof.html
Is the Interplay 15th Anniversary really worth that much? I know I have the 10th Anniversary collection but I never spent anything near that much. Some of those prices have to be way off.

[NayusDante]

The box for Enigma Pinball is a spectacularly amusing failure; it would probably be discussed more often if it wasn't more obscure.

Could you elaborate on that? I'm looking at mine and the oddest thing I can see is that the alien has a funny shaped hole in his forehead. What, do people mistake it for a three-pointed swastika?

http://www.oldsoftware.com/softimg2/PnbEnigma.jpg

[Jorpho]

No, no, I'm thinking of the back.

[roushimsx]

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I don't know of any PC games that only came in a jewel case that are worth anything.
The jewel case rerelease of Planescape Torment w/ Soulbringer would like to have a word with you! :)
(it was available on the bargain rack at Walmart for $10 back in '02 and now it moves for $60+)

[Sonicwolf]

Will retro computer video games ever be added to the rarity guide? Thats what I am wondering

[Daria]

The jewel case rerelease of Planescape Torment w/ Soulbringer would like to have a word with you! :)
(it was available on the bargain rack at Walmart for $10 back in '02 and now it moves for $60+)

Heh. I have that. Problem is my PC games tend to end up disc only so I wonder if the jewel case is kicking around my parent's house.

[BetaWolf47]

A lot of collectors don't seem to go for PC games. People from my area find great console games at the same stores I go to and never mention any PC games... but when I go there, I see stuff like:
-Need for Speed games
-Tomb Raider
-Earthworm Jim
-Myst (Mac)
-3D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night
-Some Sierra games

All for PC

[Sonicwolf]

-3D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night

Wow. Got that game years ago, one of my families first PC games. It was awesome! "Charge the dynamo!"

[The 1 2 P]

The jewel case rerelease of Planescape Torment w/ Soulbringer would like to have a word with you! :)
(it was available on the bargain rack at Walmart for $10 back in '02 and now it moves for $60+)

Looks like we have our first game for the list of "20-50 definitive pc titles you should pick up whenever you come across them". Now we just need another 19-49 titles to complete the list.

[Push Upstairs]

I paid $100 for my CIB Daggerfall and $60 for my CIB Duke3d Atomic Edition.

The original release of Duke3D had the good extra, the Duke3D mousepad!

I bought Duke Atomic circa 1999 for like $10.

[Nikademus1969]

The jewel case rerelease of Planescape Torment w/ Soulbringer would like to have a word with you! :)
(it was available on the bargain rack at Walmart for $10 back in '02 and now it moves for $60+)

Yep, out of all the Black Isle D&D games, that's the only one to never get a re-release (other than the bargain-bin jewelcase)

[Sonicwolf]

I wonder how rare the original release of SimCity is in complete back with 3 and 5 inch floppy disks' for IBM compatibles.

[Cornelius]

This isn't complete, nor is it a list of 'OMG rare' games. Rather, it is a list of games worth picking up for all of us craphounds (thanks for that term K.S.). This is compiled from personal experience and games mentioned in this thread. A bunch of them listed in this thread are not listed because I couldn't verify, which probably means they are so rare you aren't likely to come across them anyway. Such a list of ultra rarities could be made, and would be cool, but it wouldn't be helpful a vast majority of the time.

If CIB or original is noted, it really needs to be in that condition to definitely be worthwhile, though it might still be if it is loose.

<<<list removed since it was out of date, pm me your email if you'd like my xcel file>>>


p.s. I'm happy to add to and tweak this list based on input if people are interested.

[Diatribal Deity]

I would add:

-Most if not all Avalon Hill strategy games especially if CIB
-The residents Bad Day on the Midway and Freakshow (value on these flctuate)
-Relentless: Twinsen's Odyssey
-Riana Rouge (one of the few comercially released AO games)
-Queen: The Eye

I'm trying to stick to more commercially available games that have not been mentioned although some of the older Avalon Hill games are probably not too common. These games tend to have decent value regardless of just in a jewel as well. I'll add more as they come to mind...

[Cornelius]

I would add:

-Most if not all Avalon Hill strategy games especially if CIB
-The residents Bad Day on the Midway and Freakshow (value on these flctuate)
-Relentless: Twinsen's Odyssey
-Riana Rouge (one of the few comercially released AO games)
-Queen: The Eye

I'm trying to stick to more commercially available games that have not been mentioned although some of the older Avalon Hill games are probably not too common. These games tend to have decent value regardless of just in a jewel as well. I'll add more as they come to mind...
Thanks for the suggestions. I've got a couple loose requirements for my list for additions:
-It has to be a specific game. 'Avalon Hill' games may be useful generally, but it just isn't the kind of list I'm making. And a quick search of Avalon Hill on eBay isn't too impressive (maybe I've got something wrong?)... which leads to...

-It has to be common enough to show up on eBay from time to time. This is a loose rule, but makes the list more useful to craphounds and beginner collectors. Yeah, this means I should take a few things off my list, but I like having a couple of the more 'grail-like' games around a la Akalabeth.

-Some of the games on the list are there because of personal affinity, not necessarily a lot of value (e.g. some of the monkey island games). I may remedy this as I go.

-If the game is for Mac only (or even C64, etc) that's fine, but please note that for me. Also if it is only the Mac version that is worth much, and not the PC version (or vice-versa) that'd be good to know, too.

Applying that to the above suggestions, and Bad Day on the Midway might make it (Freakshow doesn't appear to be worth much), but 'Avalon Hill' is too vague and I couldn't find the rest (and haven't otherwise heard of them in order to add them anyway).

Hope that doesn't sound harsh or anything, that's not my intent. Its just every list has to have some criteria. I threw up those 41 titles without even trying: obviously any 'PC' game list will get too big very fast. I'll limit this one to 50 at the most, and may pare down to 40.

[Griking]

Add Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga to that list as well.

[koster]

You can add Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (Premiere Edition) to the list, as well.

[Jorpho]

So we're making a list now? These would be your ultra-rares:
http://justadventure.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1242493506/0
http://www.adventuregamers.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-955.html

[Diatribal Deity]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've got a couple loose requirements for my list for additions:
-It has to be a specific game. 'Avalon Hill' games may be useful generally, but it just isn't the kind of list I'm making. And a quick search of Avalon Hill on eBay isn't too impressive (maybe I've got something wrong?)... which leads to...

-It has to be common enough to show up on eBay from time to time. This is a loose rule, but makes the list more useful to craphounds and beginner collectors. Yeah, this means I should take a few things off my list, but I like having a couple of the more 'grail-like' games around a la Akalabeth.

-Some of the games on the list are there because of personal affinity, not necessarily a lot of value (e.g. some of the monkey island games). I may remedy this as I go.

-If the game is for Mac only (or even C64, etc) that's fine, but please note that for me. Also if it is only the Mac, and not the PC version (or vice-versa) that'd be good to know, too.

Applying that to the above suggestions, and Bad Day on the Midway might make it (Freakshow doesn't appear to be worth much), but 'Avalon Hill' is too vague and I couldn't find the rest (and haven't otherwise heard of them in order to add them anyway).

Hope that doesn't sound harsh or anything, that's not my intent. Its just every list has to have some criteria. I threw up those 41 titles without even trying: obviously any 'PC' game list will get too big very fast. I'll limit this one to 50 at the most, and may pare down to 40.

Absolutely. I see where you are coming from. I collect and play many adventure games so I am aware of all the valuable and more obscure titles. As a result of my research into these I also have become aware of various other genres and values. So how about a couple that fit your criteria better like:

- Loom (PC and MAC)
- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (PC and MAC)
- Sam and Max Hit the Road (PC and MAC)
- Cival War Generals 2 (For PC by Sierra)
- Emperor: Battle for Dune (PC)


Also just for general info for those interested, I have been noticing an in increase over time in the value of Star Trek games. Here is a sampling of titles (the academy and command games tend to have the most value - the others maybe down the road):

STAR TREK JUDGEMENT RITES
STAR TREK ACADEMY
STAR TREK STARFLEET COMMAND
STAR TREK: SEEP SPACE NINE DOMINION WARS
STAR TREK STARFLEET COMMAND III
STAR TREK 25TH ANNIVERSARY
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION BIRTH OF THE FEDERATION
STAR TREK STARFLEET ACADEMY
STAR TREK STARFLEET COMMAND VOLUME II EMPIRES AT WAR
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION A FINAL UNITY
STAR TREK KLINGON ACADEMY

[Cornelius]

So we're making a list now? These would be your ultra-rares:
http://justadventure.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1242493506/0
http://www.adventuregamers.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-955.html
Pay attention! :smash: (that's not the type of list I'm making)

Some good ones there DD. I even added Emperor to my collection not long ago, so shame on me for missing it. Same with the Starfleet command games, at least #III, which I think is one of the higher Star Trek games. Seems like there was a particularly valuable expansion to a ST game, but I can't recall it atm. Anyone know what I'm thinking of?

[Jorpho]

Pay attention! :smash: (that's not the type of list I'm making)Well, yeah, those can be for the next list. ;) By the way, that should be Ultima IX in your list there, not XI - and I don't think anyone's ever going to encounter Akalabeth or Mystery House.

Starfleet Command III is indeed much harder to find than either of its prequels. I think Captain's Chair is also in demand and very hard to find. Purplus.net is also probably right about its pricing for the Interactive Technical Manual.

Final Unity, at least, you can get right here:
http://www.cdaccess.com/html/quick/totalinspr.htm

[Nikademus1969]

I'd think nearly any Infocom game with all "feelies" intact would be rare.

[Blanka789]

Jazz Jackrabbit CIB needs to be added to that list.

[The 1 2 P]

This isn't complete, nor is it a list of 'OMG rare' games. Rather, it is a list of games worth picking up for all of us craphounds (thanks for that term K.S.). This is compiled from personal experience and games mentioned in this thread. A bunch of them listed in this thread are not listed because I couldn't verify, which probably means they are so rare you aren't likely to come across them anyway. Such a list of ultra rarities could be made, and would be cool, but it wouldn't be helpful a vast majority of the time.

If CIB or original is noted, it really needs to be in that condition to definitely be worthwhile, though it might still be if it is loose.

1 Akalabeth: World of Doom
2 American McGee's Alice (CIB, esp the butcher knife version)
3 Civil War Generals 2
4 Commander Keen (any? Boxed full versions)
5 Curse of Monkey Island
6 Day of the Tentacle
7 Diablo Hellfire expansion (CIB)
8 Duke Nukem: Nuclear Winter
9 Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
10 Elder Scrolls: Arena
11 Emperor: Battle for Dune
12 Escape from Monkey Island (CIB)
13 Fallout (original releases CIB)
14 Final Fantasy VII
15 Final Fantasy VIII (CIB)
16 Grim Fandango
17 id Anthology
18 Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
19 Knights of Xentar (?)
20 Leisure Suit Larry Collections (CIB)
21 Leisure Suit Larry: Land of the Lounge Lizards (original CIB)
22 Loom
23 Magic the Gathering Duels of Planeswalkers (CIB ?)
24 Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (CIB)
25 Monkey Island Madness (compilation disc; may come sleeve w/ single sheet inst., but loose is fine)
26 MVP 2005 Baseball
27 Mystery House
28 NASCAR 2003
29 One Unit Whole Blood
30 Pacific General (CIB)
31 Planescape: Torment
32 Quarterstaff: the Tomb of Setmoth (Mac)
33 Quest for Glory Anthology
34 Secret of Monkey Island (CIB)
35 Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire Alpha Centauri Expansion (original CIB)
36 SimHealth (?)
37 Star Saga (any?)
38 Star Saga: Two - The Clathran Menace
39 Star Trek: Birth of the Federation
40 Star Trek: Starfleet Command III
41 Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
42 The Neverhood
43 Ultima ??? (any original CIB?)
44 Ultima IX Ascension: Dragon Edition
45 Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga
46 Wizardry VIII
47 X-Com Collector's Edition
48 Zork (original CIB)


You are the man Cornelius. Thank you so much for this list. It will now be an invaluable and indispensible tool during my Goodwill pilgrimages and I'm sure others will share my enthusiasm:)

[Jorpho]

The Journeyman Project Trilogy also springs to mind. I'm tempted to suggest Pegasus Prime, as well, but that was Mac (Power PC) only and likely falls into the obscure-but-not-pricey category.

[Battlehork]

Not really rare but the strangest ones I've seen are MVP 2005 Baseball and NASCAR 2003. Who would think 5 year old sports games would sell for $75+?

MVP 2005 Baseball was the last baseball game (other than management sims) made for PC before EA lost the license to 2K, until 2K put MLB 2K9 on the PC this season. NASCAR 2003 was the last Papyrus game before they lost the NASCAR license to EA, and EA's NASCAR games aren't as good.