Gold Rush! dropped in 1988 as one of Sierra On-Line’s classic adventure games, throwing you into 1849 with one mission—get to California and strike it rich. It ran on the AGI engine (same as early King’s Quest) and stood out because you had three different ways to reach the goldfields: overland, by ship via Cape Horn, or through the Panama shortcut. Every path had its own risks, from disease to straight-up dying if you timed it wrong. For anyone who grew up swapping 5.25” floppies and scribbling down copy-protection codes, Gold Rush! was peak “figure it out or start over” gaming.