In the old days back when computers and servers were bigger, things worked a little differently.

I realize today that, much like phased-out technology like tapes, VHS and Walkmans, there are many other little things that will be entirely lost on the next, younger generation.

We’ll tell the next generation that the internet used to have a sound, which was horrible and comforting all at the same time. That printing used to be something we did in two dimensions only. That we used to use things called screensavers to halt an image from being burned into our screens forever.

The next generation will probably find today’s state-of-the-art technology old fashioned in another ten or twenty years. What we think is revolutionary today will be regular, everyday stuff in a decade – with new technologies taking the place.

It’s just the way it works.

Games. They Were Different.

Allow me a moment to be nostalgic – and if you’re old enough to remember this yourself, why not join along in the journey? (Get in touch and let me know what elements – or games – you might remember from the same period.)

PC games used to be different way back when.

Games: They Came in Boxes

First, they used to come in boxes instead of being up for download through any type of Steam, Cloud or other ethereal space.

This meant that you had to really think about how you organized your gaming collection. Section by section, letter by letter, genre by genre, or by most-played. (Maybe not everyone thought about it like this, but I used to.)

This also meant that games were traditionally heavier. Some games had several disks, and you had to change them around during the install phase.

But the best thing about the boxes, at least to me, was the fact that they came with art. Flip them around, and you’d see screen captures from the game – and you’d either be impressed and want the game, or not think much of it and pass.

Thankfully, I’m glad to see that games today still put a lot of work into the cover art: I hope that never stops.

Buying Games Felt Like A Whole Event

Games were A Tangible Physical Product that you could Save Up For and – if you were lucky – Buy For Yourself. New games that had just been opened had A Specific Smell that you couldn’t deny, together with rising excitement.

Buying a game felt like a big event: It took hype, preparation, sometimes planning on how you were going to get a ride to the store to do it – and sometimes people had to club together to get something in time for the release date.

Games Were Advertised in Ways You Can’t Imagine Today

In the 80s and 90s, game advertising was on a level that is almost unimaginable today. If you remember weekend-morning cartoons, you’ll remember all of the advertising hype that could surround a toy or game – and, well, how much it could drive you nuts.

If you don’t remember (and even if you do), browse over to YouTube and look up ads for some old games. Ones like Crash Bandicoot.

Games were better than cereal. This game was exciting, it would make your screen light up and swallow you – and it was the very best thing ever right now.

While I don’t condone advertising (and don’t endorse the effect it can have on consumers and children), I do remember the excitement of seeing a game advertised on TV or seeing an ad in a comic book and being absolutely captivated by the idea of the game.

Simple advertising magic? Sure, but it’s still magical – and the ads were pretty creative.

Games Were Bought, Sold, Borrowed and Traded

Games were passed around, usually in person instead of through link-sharing, or played at a friend’s house. Both these gaming aspects are likely on the way to dead today – at least when we’re talking about PC games.

Games Had Extras and Manuals, Too

Being in boxes also meant that games came with a few extra things. (The strangest I ever remember was a glass-made puzzle from an obscure and very incorrect game called Dementia.) Sometimes there were other extras – but the standard was The Gaming Manual.

Within The Gaming Manual, you would find the basic rules of the game, but you would also sometimes find walkthroughs, activation codes, special features – and access to other Easter Eggs that you wouldn’t see if you didn’t have the manual in your hands.

Some games contained additional Strategy Guides – paper ones, ones that you had to leaf through and couldn’t download. These weren’t always included, and they gave you just a little bit more of a reference for the game. These days, gaming manuals are online.

The Height of Card Games for PC

During more or less the same time as the era when games still came in large boxes, I think we experienced a huge height in the amount of casino, gambling and card games available for PC – and I’ve played my way through plenty of them through decades.

I loved the fact that you could go out and buy a card game in a box, sometimes one with a famous bridge players’ face on it just the same way you could buy Professional Snooker games sporting a champion’s face. It was a lot of fun, and I look at today’s spike in bridge platforms and technology and remember – very, very fondly – where it started.

Do you remember the days when games still came in boxes? What were your games of choice – and did you have any card favorites?