Triple Score At The Thrift Store! (And A Note On Thrift Store Shopping)

After quite a lull in my local thrift stores, the past week has seen a sudden resurgence in stock. An opportunity that I have taken full advantage of.

Maybe taken advantage of is the wrong turn of phrase to use though. Although it is true that when you pick something up in a thrift store, you only pay a fraction of what the item may cost you on say a site like E-Bay, the money does go to a good cause. Not that E-bay traders don't deserve your business but there is something about knowing that you are giving something back that really makes thrift store shopping worthwhile for me. It's ethical business, and I'm all for buying into that.

So what did I pick up?

Well the recent restock has seen a lot of vintage games coming to the market. Some really good games, some obscurities, and games that were well and truly a product of their time... I bought one of all three. There were and still are more for the taking but I think that when thrift store shopping it's very important not to let your greed get the better of you. Sure, you can take them all and the store will get their money just as if they had sold them to half a dozen customers. The problem with doing this is that those other five customers will miss out, may not return, and you hurt the store. So whilst I love a good deal made better, I have to weigh up my actions against the greater good when thrift store shopping. Completely off-topic for what I have found but I felt it well worth while sharing.

So what have I actually found?

The Good: Campaign (1971: Waddingtons)
This was a pretty impressive find that was sadly missing a piece and a few cards when I got it home, and some of the pieces included had definitely seen better days, being covered in some kind of aged glue. Still, a bargain is a bargain. The board is in good condition, the rules are all present and correct, the missing piece is easily replaced with a pawn from my spares box, and with the Internet at hand, I am more than sure I can find a PDF of the cards (or make my own).
Approximate Value: £5 (as spares).
I Paid: £1.

 
The Obscure: Air Charter (1970: Waddingtons)
Upon opening this game up in-store, I was amazed by just how, well, amazing, the game had aged. It evidently hadn't been kept in the best of conditions over the years, but remarkably it hadn't taken any damage! There was a few dents in the box but that was it. Again, a piece had gone missing but this was such a minor thing compared to the natural beauty of early games design that I just had to have it. Again, I only paid a pound. :0).
Approximate Value: £17.
I Paid: £1.

The Product Of The Time: Ulcers (1969: House Of Games / Waddingtons)
Outwardly this game seems nothing special. It's basically Monopoly but, with the goal being to hire a compliment of staff and survive a Fiscal Year (one trip around the board) with them all intact. Nothing too special there at all. It does deserve a questionably honorable mention however as it really was a product of it's time in it's political attitudes. Stuff that just wouldn't fly to day.

It's not something that many people would pay to much heed to I think but it should be noted that the only female characters you hire in the game are secretaries. Which is pretty sexist, and it's not like it went unnoticed, as latter editions used the same art but divided the female characters amongst the various professions.
Approximate Value: Not a clue to be honest.
I Paid: £1.

Arkham Yahtzee: The Seven Gates

Arkham Yahtzee?

Arkham Yahtzee is my pet name for Elder Sign, the dice game from Fantasy Flight Games that shares a setting with the Arkham Horror board game and mechanics, with, well, Yahtzee.

Don't get me wrong though, this isn't a criticism, just an observation.

Having sat down to a game of Arkham Horror once for what became a drawn out and frankly tedious exercise in losing but, not understanding how or why, I was more than happy to trade in my copy of the board game for a copy of Elder Sign.

All-in-all, I probably ended up £10 down on the deal but, I have to say that I have had far more fun with this game than I could ever imagine having with its predecessor.

But what are "The Seven Gates" you may ask?

That's a reference to material contained with the Necronomicon by Simon, where by a person must pass through seven gates in the stars in order to obtain a higher state of being. Not dissimilar to the premise of The Ninth Gate, just more Lovecraftian.

In this instance however, I just thought that it would make for a catchy title for campaign play within this simple dice game and, that's about as deep as it goes in this one.

So, with 16 Investigators and, 8 Elder Gods straight out of the box what I have in mind is a simple serious of two on one matches with, all of the victors going into either a pool to re-drawn or maybe a Slobber Knocker style match up at the end until either all of Elder Gods or, all of the Investigators are defeated (unless of course at any point Azathoth is victorious and the world is devoured, which I think pretty much constitutes an Elder God overall win).

So a quick shuffle and draw later and our match ups look like this:

Michael McGlen, The Gangster & Mandy Thompson, The Researcher

V.S

Hastur

Carolyn Fern, The Psychologist & Kate Winthrop, The Scientist

V.S

Shub-Niggurath

"Ashcan" Pete, The Drifter & Amanda Sharpe, The Student

V.S

Yig

Bob Jenkins, The Salesman & Harvey Walters, The Professor

V.S

Azathoth

Jenny Barnes, The Dilettante & Joe Diamond, The Private Eye

V.S

Nyarlathotep

Monterey Jack, The Archaeologist & Sister Mary, The Nun

V.S

Yog-Sothoth

Vincent Lee, The Doctor & Darrell Simmons, The Photographer

V.S

Ithaqua

Dexter Drake, The Magician & Gloria Goldberg, The Author

V.S

Cthulhu