Thrift Treasure: Greed Dice Game
We try our best not to purchase games at thrift which we already own. Every once in a while we’ll make the decision to do so on purpose. When we find a valuable hobby game and we already own it, if the price is right, we’ll lay down a couple bucks for a second copy. Usually these end up in the hands of friends or donated to an auction at a game convention. I’ve lost count of how many copies and versions of Ticket to Ride we’ve rescued.
The reason for purchasing this week’s Thrift Treasure was a little different. We’ve owned a copy of Greed for some time. For some reason, this one stuck out as different. The game is the same, but the box looked amateur. It was nothing more than a standard white cardboard box with paper labels applied to each side with custom clear packing tape.
Surprisingly, the original purchase receipt was still inside of the game. Back in 1987, someone here in Davenport, Iowa, purchased two copies of Greed for a grand total of $30.00 shipped. This 1986 edition was an early example of the game offered by the original publisher, The Great American Greed Co. We couldn’t find a website, but according to several business filings, as of 2020 they are still in business and operated by the game’s two original designers.
The game of Greed is simple and a variation of Yahtzee. There are six identical dice with six different faces. Five of the faces include the individual letters in the word “Greed” with two different colored “E’s”. The sixth face is a dollar sign ($). The included large felt playing board is spread out in the middle of the play area and the first player is chosen. They begin the game by rolling all six dice onto the board.
The object of Greed is to earn points by rolling scoring combinations and pushing your luck to earn more. After rolling, the active player must set aside at least one scoring die. These are listed on the board and include things as simple as one “G” all the way to six of a kind. The player must have at least one valid score per roll to continue. If not, they lose all their points for the round and the next player gets a turn.
After a successful roll, the active player must decide whether to stop rolling and record their earned points or roll again hoping to improve on their total. Your first scoring attempt must be at least 500 points, so there’s no reason to be conservative at the start of the game. Once you begin scoring, you may bank any point total, even if only fifty for a single “G”.
If you manage to score all six dice, keep track of your running total, and start over with all six in your hand! When any player elects to stop after reaching or surpassing a total of 5,000 points, all other players get one turn to try to exceed that person’s amount. The person with the highest score at the end of the final round wins Greed!
As I mentioned before, the publisher behind Greed is still active and you can find new copies on Amazon for only $8.99. Quite a discount from the original price, but it comes at a cost. No longer do they include the felt mat – only dice, a pencil and some score sheets. The comments section is full of people looking for original versions with the felt mat, so if you find one of these at thrift for a couple bucks, it is certainly worth splurging for.
What game do you feel is better in its original version rather than the newer example?
