Gold Rush!

The game is set in 1848, just before the California Gold Rush. The player is Brooklyn newspaperman Jerrod Wilson, who soon receives word that he must go to Sacramento to meet his long-lost brother. After a few minutes of gameplay, word arrives that gold has been found in California, and it becomes much more difficult for Jerrod to settle his affairs in Brooklyn and find a way to Sacramento.

There are multiple paths which Jerrod can take to get to his brother. He can travel on a stagecoach, which is the cheapest path, and the only path that is always available to Jerrod, no matter how long he spends in Brooklyn. This path brings Jerrod into contact with Native Americans, unruly oxen, parching deserts, and the likelihood of a winter storm in the Sierra Nevada. He can also travel by ship to Panama, cross through treacherous swamps and jungles on foot, and then catch another ship to Sacramento. This route is more expensive than the others and also requires Jerrod to prepare carefully for many hazards of the tropical climate of Panama, from malaria to jungle ants to crocodiles. The third and most time-consuming path is to journey all the way around Cape Horn on a ship. This choice has its own perils, from storms to scurvy. On each route, Jerrod can perish at random by a disease for which there is not yet any cure, such as cholera, making it prudent for players to save their game whenever possible and in multiple slots. Once Jerrod arrives in Sacramento, the three routes converge and all of the puzzles are the same. In California, Jerrod must try to prospect for gold, avoid bandits, and locate his mysterious brother.

Gold Rush! uses words from the book California Gold: Story of the Rush to Riches by Lou and Phyllis Zauner, which came with the game as a form of copy protection. If the player fails to enter the correct word at a certain point during the game, their character is immediately arrested for claim jumping and hanged on the gallows, which is the same as the regular in-game punishment for claim jumping, being caught in someone's hotel room, or stealing.

In 1989, Dragon gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars.{{cite journal | title=The Role of Computers | last1=Lesser | last2=Lesser | last3=Lesser | first1=Hartley | first2=Patricia | first3=Kirk | journal = Dragon | issue=145 | date=May 1989 | pages=44–53}} Computer Gaming World gave the game a positive review, noting it mixes historical simulation with Sierra's traditional adventure gameplay.{{citation | first = Michael | last = Chaut | date = April 1989 | magazine = Computer Gaming World | title = 'Californy' or Bust | pages = 59–60 | issue=58}} Compute! called Gold Rush "entertaining, somewhat educational, and a terrific escapade for first-time adventure game players", but warned that its simplicity might disappoint veteran gamers and that the graphics were inferior to that of some other Sierra adventures.{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-08-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_111_1989_Aug#page/n73/mode/2up | title=Gold Rush | work=Compute! | date=August 1989 | access-date=November 11, 2013 | last=Guerra | first=Bob | pages=73 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316211940/https://archive.org/stream/1989-08-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_111_1989_Aug | archive-date=16 March 2014}}

In 2011, Adventure Gamers named Gold Rush! the 96th-best adventure game ever released.{{cite web | author=AG Staff | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604021011/http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18643 | url=https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18643 | title=Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games | date=December 30, 2011 | archive-date=June 4, 2012 | work=Adventure Gamers | url-status=live | access-date=December 31, 2019}}

• The Games Machine (July 1989){{cite web | url=http://amr.abime.net/review_23570 | title=Gold Rush review from the Games Machine 20 (Jul 1989) - Amiga Magazine Rack}}
• ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) (March 1989){{Cite web|url=https://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=1189|title=Kultboy.com - DIE Kult-Seite über die alten Spiele-Magazine und Retro-Games!|website=www.kultboy.com|accessdate=September 21, 2023}}
• ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) (May 1989){{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/asm_magazine-1989-67/page/n73/mode/2up | title=Aktueller Software Markt (ASM) Magazine (67 1989)}}
• Power Play (March 1989){{cite web | url=http://www.kultpower.de/archiv/heft_powerplay_1989-04_seite52 | title=Kultpower Archiv: Komplettscan Powerplay 4/1989}}
• Zzap! (July 1989){{cite web | url=http://amr.abime.net/review_11079 | title=Gold Rush review from Zzap 51 (Jul 1989) - Amiga Magazine Rack}}
• Commodore User (July 1989){{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/commodore-user-magazine-70/page/n64/mode/2up | title=Commodore User Magazine Issue 70 | date=July 1989}}
• Amiga Computing (September 1989){{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/amiga-computing-magazine-016/page/n24/mode/2up | title=Amiga Computing Magazine Issue 016 | date=September 1989}}
• Amiga Format (October 1989){{cite web|title=Amiga Format|website=archive.org|url=https://archive.org/stream/amigaformatmagazine-003/Amiga_Format_Issue_003_1989_10_Future_Publishing_GB#page/n86/mode/2up}} {{dead link|date=September 2023}}
• Australian Commodore and Amiga Review (October 1989){{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/Australian_Commodore_and_Amiga_Review_The_Volume_6_Issue_10_1989-10_Saturday_Magazine_AU/page/n69/mode/2up | title=Australian Commodore and Amiga Review, the - Volume 6 Issue 10 (1989-10) (Saturday Magazine) (AU) | date=October 1989}}

The Software Farm released a collector's edition of California: Gold Rush! in a wooden box in 2000. They also released an economy pack with just the game in an envelope.

German game developer Sunlight Games secured the rights and re-released the original version in July 2014.{{cite web|url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/308000/?l=english |title=Gold Rush! Classic |access-date=July 30, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808045230/http://store.steampowered.com/app/308000/?l=english |archive-date=August 8, 2014}} A remake with the name Gold Rush! Anniversary was released in November of the same year for Microsoft Windows,{{cite web |url=http://www.gamezone.de/Indie-Games-Thema-239276/News/Gold-Rush-Der-Sierra-Klassiker-bekommt-ein-Remake-1101338/ |title=Gold Rush: Der Sierra-Klassiker bekommt ein Remake |language=de |date=12 December 2013 |access-date=12 December 2013}} OS X and Linux. The ports for iOS and Android were released in March 2015. All graphics are pre-rendered, but all animations and characters are displayed in real-time 3D. The game's graphics are in high definition and the music was remade. All text from the original game was optimized with newly recorded voiceovers. The game can be controlled by a point-and-click control or with a parser (only Windows, Linux and Mac), which is similar to the old Sierra games which use the AGI interface. Gold Rush! 2 was released in April 2017 as a sequel to Gold Rush! Anniversary.{{cite web|url=http://www.goldrush-game.com/en/ver2/ |title=Gold Rush! |access-date=2017-04-30}}

Sunlight Games has also released a Special Edition which is limited to 350 copies. The Special Edition comes in a box with a banderole, and the content of the box is similar to the old Sierra boxes is: a copy of the game on a DRM-free DVD, a poster, a card with the serial number, a printed making-of booklet, a printed booklet with concept drawings, and a golden-colored coin. Gold Rush! The Special Edition can only be ordered at Sunlight Games' online shop.

Adventure Gamers gave the remake 1½ stars out of 5.{{cite web|last1=Ehrenhofler |first1=Courtney |title=Gold Rush! Anniversary review |url=https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/27820 |publisher=Adventure Gamers |access-date=31 January 2015 |date=16 January 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205182234/http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/27820 |archive-date=5 February 2015}} Just Adventure gave the game a rating of B−.{{cite web|url=http://www.justadventure.com/index.php/2013-05-20-21-09-14/2419-gold-rush-anniversary-review |publisher=Just Adventure |title=Gold Rush! Anniversary Review |first=Jeffry|last=Houser |date=November 18, 2014 |access-date=January 21, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122071354/http://www.justadventure.com/index.php/2013-05-20-21-09-14/2419-gold-rush-anniversary-review |archive-date=January 22, 2015}} 3rd-strike gave the game a 7.0.{{cite web | url=http://3rd-strike.com/gold-rush-anniversary-review/ | publisher=3D strike | title=Gold Rush Anniversary – Review | author=Bart | date=December 13, 2014 | access-date=5 February 2015}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.softwarefarm.com/Product_info.htm}}
• [http://www.goldrush-game.com/ Official website for the remake] by [http://www.sunlight-games.com/ Sunlight Games]
• {{MobyGames|id=/gold-rush |name=Gold Rush!}}
• {{IMDb title|id=428584}}
• [https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/17835 Gold Rush! review] at Adventure Gamers
• [http://store.steampowered.com/app/308000/ Gold Rush Classic Remake on Steam Store]

{{Sierra Adventure Games|Stand-alone}}

Category:1988 video games

Category:Adventure games

Category:Amiga games

Category:Apple II games

Category:Apple IIGS games

Category:Atari ST games

Category:California Gold Rush in fiction

Category:DOS games

Category:Classic Mac OS games

Category:ScummVM-supported games

Category:Sierra Entertainment games

Category:Video games set in Panama

Category:Video games set in the 19th century

Category:Video games set in the United States

Category:Video games developed in the United States

Category:Western (genre) video games

Category:Single-player video games

Category:Fiction set in 1848