Your local book fair is a great place to find used games

I am a huge fan of book fairs. In their hallowed halls you can find all sorts of good things, from out-of-print film guides to a forgotten children’s book. If you look hard enough, you can almost always find a copy of Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Actually, possibly three or four copies.

Most book fairs have recently added video games to their offerings, and there are plenty of fantastic finds in those sections. In my experience, the video game section of a book fair is usually hidden somewhere between the cheap Blu-Rays and DVDs, almost like an afterthought. I’ve been to several Lifeline Giant Book Fairs recently, and there was always a small box of video games tucked between the more “important” boxes.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations often appears in these boxes, as does the original Assassin’s Creed. Often older FIFA Games, Just Dance, Wii Sportsand the like. Some of the donations make sense. If you upgrade to a new FIFAyou will consider donating last year’s edition. The same goes for Just dance.

But there are deeper patterns in donations that stand out and suggest commonalities in human behavior. When a game is outdated, it gets donated. The same goes for when a game gets an HD remake. When older consoles are discontinued, it’s more common for large quantities of those games to find their way to the book market or your local thrift store.

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And when that happens, you can find real gems: like Tamagotchi: Let the party begin! for Nintendo Wii, which I recently purchased in mint condition for the princely sum of 1 AUD.

There was also a cover edition of Prototype 2 at a book fair I recently attended, although the cover was shabby and covered in dirt. Nevertheless, it was a great find – and made me realize the value of attending book fairs.

With the advent of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S generation, the consoles of ten years ago are losing their place in the culture. Games purchased for over AUD$60 are donated for free and resold for AUD$1 or AUD$2 each, with little or no memory of their former value.

Games are usually sold at book fairs at the usual prices, similar to DVDs, for convenience. And with PS3 game prices currently skyrocketing, you can get great titles for far less than they’re worth. If you know where to look and what to look for, you can find games at an absolute bargain.

A piece of history

Aside from the financial value, game donation boxes are also worth considering as a piece of gaming history. Seeing someone’s hand-picked collection is great, and it’s always fun to find out what games you have in common. But looking at the less popular games is an equally valuable snapshot.

Floating over a box full of Assassin’s Creed Revelationsyou may be wondering how each of them found their way to Lifeline. Copies of Assassin’s Creed 2 tends to be less as it is a much more popular game. brotherhood seems to be even rarer. Is it just that Revelations is a smaller-scale game? Is it a spin-off that is less memorable than its companions? Maybe enough people have The Ezio Collection for PS4.

Looking at donated games out of context gives little clues – but it is still fascinating to see the same donation patterns at multiple book fairs. No matter how many donated video games there are, you almost always see RevelationsIt is truly a phenomenon worth investigating.

All of this is just to say that a book fair is a very good place to find any gaming gems you might be after. With the golden era of the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii finally over, many of this generation’s best games are now finding their way onto charity shelves – and there are plenty of goodies to be mined. Of course, the best part about each purchase is that it goes straight to charity, so while you’re treating yourself to the leftovers of a stranger’s games collection, your donation is going to those who need it most.

Next time there’s a book fair near you, take a look at the multimedia offerings. You’ll be surprised what you find in a donation box – even if it’s just seven copies. Assassin’s Creed Revelations.