Yesterday I took a road trip to Kitchener to meet up with some good friends and a few of my favorite game collector’s at CGCC’s annual videogame swap meet. I’m fairly certain that checking out stacks of classic videogames and shooting the shit for hours about collecting and playing them is what “good times” is all about.

It’s also earnestly refreshing to escape the new release cycle for an afternoon and remember where so many of us came from – there really aren’t that many places to soak in the nostalgia of the games that ruled my childhood and also talk with people about the titles that stood out for them. Every game has a story for someone, and picking up a copy of Megaman X or Castlevania IV and hearing how it came into someone’s collection is the kind of bonus you’ll just never get at a store. We even got to meet two very young kids that were collecting classic Mortal Kombat titles even though they had the newest consoles.

It’s also a great chance to catch up on filling some holes in one’s collection.

I can remember when my own collecting habits were guided almost entirely by the rarity of titles, grabbing them up to sit like fine jewels on the shelf. Lately however, I’m every bit as content finding a few common games that simply bring back good memories or offer a chance to play a game I missed altogether when it originally released. From the title picture it’s clear I have plenty to keep my thumbs busy today, but I did want to share two finds from yesterday that make me ridiculously happy, which is pretty much the guiding principle for any classic game I pick up these days.

From the category of Happiness Is – I knew I was grabbing this box before I even knew for sure there was a game inside of it. Admittedly I have a weakness for Japanese game packaging, but I think this one is pretty universal in spreading joy to anyone that catches sight of it.

Yoshi just looks so damn happy eating those cookies!



Throughout the day there were door prizes being raffled off, and near the end of the day my eyes locked on to this custom glass etching of a logo I’m a very familiar worshipper of. Imagine my head exploding when they called my ticket for it!

I didn’t have a chance to take a picture of it with the light plugged in yet, but this custom creation came to the show with one of the coolest collectors I’ve ever had the chance to meet, and I am absolutely floored to have it hanging in my living room right now.

Obviously I have quite a few games to get back to, so maybe we’ll cut this short for today.

Unless some of you want to share a few finds that have meant a lot to you of course.

Bonus Picture – I can’t remember what I was looking at here, but it appears to have been taking a lot of concentration…