Update: the contents are far less interesting than the label

famous for their curry-pan!

I think the stuff will come off easily with alcohol or something similar.

I think the holes in this foam are slightly larger because they were cut to hold cassette tapes as well as carts. I think this is real. I think Ken Williams cut the holes himself at the kitchen table (ok not really)

So it seems like the natural state of this release was a cartridge packaged in a folder, and somebody folded the folder into a box and stuck pieces of foam inside to hold the cartridge. For reasons.

Note that while there are multiple versions of Crossfire that have the "On-Line Systems" logo on the package, and multiple that have the "Sierra Vision" logo, only ONE has the "Sierra On-Line" logo like mine does - and it's a cartridge release sold in a FOLDER, not a box.

Fortunately, I had just come into possession of this giant-ass book compiled by obsessive Sierra nuts that supposedly listed every single version of every single Sierra game.

Looking inside the "sleeve" you could see not only the printed game instructions but also handwriting, meaning that at some point this was openable. Clearly someone had hand-altered this box but how did it begin its life?

I found this copy of Sierra's Crossfire at PRGE and was like... what the hell is this release? It was in a taped together sleeve containing pieces of foam to hold the game.

I did! It was really a maze this year.

Finally - this might be the rarest thing I found?! Girl Game Trio, a big box with three games (Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Spellbound, Personal Makeover, Dr. Brain Puzzleopolis). Actually a Sierra game through the Knowledge Adventure brand. Practically zero info about this release online.

A good friend was offloading his entire decades-long collection (there were actually at least three guys there who were doing that) and sold me his Double Dragon Advance and SF EX2 which will replace my horrible copy (far right)

Bootlegs! I am excited about the Hong Kong version of Thexder - that's Square's first Famicom game so it's cool to have a 72-pin unauthorized version (with box!).

I think that's the earliest version of Sierra's Learning With Leeper, and yes it was five dollars. Crash N Burn was a pack-in game for the 3DO and is thus very common, but this is the rare cardboard box retail release.

Various computer games! I had never seen a copy of Dondra's Adventure before - it has lenticular box art!

Let's look at some games I got at PRGE before I put them away and forget I have them! Some English-language Neo Geo CD games. Harder to find than the Japanese versions.

whoa nelly

Forgot to post this but I had one last Portland dinner last night at my favorite place, Hat Yai! Thai fried chicken served with unbelievably good curry and roti.

I am going home in an electric Cadillac, which would be a good name for an 80's band imo