r/gamecollecting • u/Smart-Strawberry-356 • 14h ago
Help Flooding, Collection Ruined - How do you Cope?
Hey everyone, I’m just looking for some support from like minded people I guess.
Recently my house flooded and virtually my entire game collection was ruined. My wife saw it first and told me it was bad but it wasn’t until I made it home that I realized how bad it was. Complete devastation.
I honestly didn’t think it would hit me as hard as it has. I mean games are just material possessions to most people. I guess to me though my collection represented much more. It was so many memories from growing up. My collection began in the ps1 era and I’ve been collecting for every PlayStation since. Primarily jrpgs and so many of them are way too expensive to buy back.
I don’t know, I just feel silly that I’m sorta depressed by losing pieces of plastic. Most people would call me overly dramatic but to me those games represented a childhood and some really great memories.
Has anyone else experienced losing their collection? How did you handle it? Any support you can lend?
Thanks everyone!
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u/ImSureYoullRemember 14h ago
Ouch, that's so unfortunate. I've a decent collection as well. However I also lost my PS1 collection a long time ago to a flood when I was in college. It sucks even now looking back. However, I still collected and have built up another large collection over time. The itch never leaves, but the memories collecting and playing are still there. Happy hunting and playing.
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u/ObfuscatedCheese 14h ago edited 14h ago
Lost 90% of my collection (and 90% of literally everything my wife and I owned, for that matter) due to smoke and water damage after the condo above us went up in flames. There were some one-of-a-kinds I lost back in '08 when that happened. $30,000 worth of a collection I'd built since 1993. Shit that took me months of hunting, writing old video game developers to buy out their own personal prototype collections in some cases, and a generally massive effort to find for the more rare released stuff I had.
I built back from the money the insurance company paid out, using RCV (Replacement Cost Value) insurance which pays out at the market rate to replace *each* item. It pays to catalogue everything you have and ensure you have recent prices available for the insurance adjuster to take into account to make the insurance company pay out.
(Note: Do not do ACV insurance if you can help it. You'll get fucked in that case. Get an RCV rider if it isn't the default with your insurance company.)
As for how I felt; well, I was working from home at the time and that fire started literally right above me. Like, 10 feet above me, raging inferno. I watched everything go away, standing 100' away from the street after I managed to get out. I was able to save our pets, grab my laptop and assorted important (for what was happening) things I knew I'd need now that we'd be technically homeless for a while. As for possessions, to me they were still _possessions_. Possessions can go away at any time, so while a lot of them were important to me, they were a lot less important than our lives. Watching my Neo Geo (among other things) get chucked down a tube into a dumpster 3 floors below still did have an effect, but not as much as I thought it would. That thought alone centered me for the months to come thereafter as we started rebuilding our lives again--still does.
My collection is much larger than it ever was back in 2008 now. Don't give up.
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u/Competitive_Help8485 13h ago
I'm going to look into doing the same with my collection. My father always tells me to take photos of everything you own, along with cataloging it all. I'm glad to hear insurance had you covered.
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u/thewaste-lander 14h ago
I lost a massive, decades long collection in the LA fires of 2025. DM me if you help coping!
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u/black-volcano 10h ago
Tell us all
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u/thewaste-lander 9h ago
It’s stuff, you move on. It just sucks that I lost my physical collection right before they announced discontinuing physical games lol
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u/Azores26 14h ago
Hey mate, I can’t really give you any advice as I didn’t experience something like that, but just wanted to tell you that what you’re feeling is not silly at all. They’re not simply plastic, you had a real connection to those games. I’m very sorry man, hope you and your wife are ok!
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u/RocketChris87 12h ago
I went through the same thing. I was actually out of town, the city was doing major road and sewer work under the roads and it just so happened we got 8+ inches of rain overnight.
My wife discovered 2+ feet of water in our basement the next morning. I lost a majority of my 360, PS3, and GameCube cases and manuals. I also lost a PS5, Series X, PS3 slim and 360.
It sucks. I know how you feel.
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u/basement-gameshop 12h ago
Lost all of my ps3 collection, ps1 xenogears black. Shadow hearts 1 ps2 . And ton of other extremely sentimental items. All I can say is that time does heal the wounds. I displayed them anyway so that I could prioritize what I wanted to re-collect. I also found that just like in the games themselves - even if you loose an entire save / significant time - the character / party always comes back stronger somehow.
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u/Negative-Ad291 12h ago
Same as selling them and wanting them back, they are gone. How big was the collection?
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u/PassiveIllustration 10h ago
My PS3 collection and a rare halo 360 got destroyed during a massive hurricane in Florida, it fucking sucked. But what I did was rebuy a ps3 and just start slowly building it back up but being more prudent with my choices. I would have loved to have had my copy of blitz the league 2 but it was fun when it was $25 not when its $75. So i made more conscious decisions to really only buy games I know I would play
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u/EncryptedVolt 14h ago
It's normal to feel sad over such things. You seem to be handling it quite well. I can imagine some users in this group would be committed to an asylum by now. If it's a total loss, you can always just jump on the pc & emulation route going forward.
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u/VicarDespair 14h ago
Yeah a few years ago hurricane Irma flooded my house and ruined a lot of my things. My death stranding collectors edition box with tons of my games was under water.
I picked up my soaking wet persona 3ds and it was still on just closed and I watched it die right in front of me.
I'm sorry that happened to you man. It's sad now and will still be sad later. Keep the things that are salvageable. One day you'll have way more & better things but yeah it does really suck right now.
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u/LeBritto 14h ago
I lost a big chunk of my collection through different circumstances, but yes it hurts. And I cope by admitting I'm allowed to be sad about it, that mere pieces of plastic can have an emotional value. Even decluttering experts like Marie Kondo ask the question "does it bring joy".
The more you try to rationalize that it's ridiculous, the less you'll cope. When you'll be done crying about it (not mocking you, you're allowed to do that), think about how those games brought you joy. Was it simply seeing them or playing them?
If it was for the look, try to spin your collection around. I started collecting small merch of my favorite lost games, like cups, poster, t-shirts, plush toys. Sometimes, even a wallpaper on my PC brings a certain joy.
If it's gaming, emulation is the solution. Or depending on the games, those compilations of games, like Cowabunga Collection, Megaman Collection, etc, allows to replay your favorite titles on new consoles.
And I thought that staying on this sub would hurt, but on the contrary, I have a lot of pleasure admiring other collections, I don't feel too much envy, not anymore. It helps that I am at a point in my life where I can say that if I wanted, I could easily rebuy what I lost, but I choose not to do it. I feel less powerless than if I lost something I could never have back.
Sorry for your loss. Do you still have pictures of it? You wanna talk about the pieces you miss the most and how you acquired them?
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u/Pretend_Education_86 14h ago
Sorry dude and listen I understand what you're going through but you don't need to over explain how it may seem silly to feel this way. It isn't silly and anything you feel is valid.
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u/Competitive_Help8485 13h ago
I am sorry to hear that happened to you. I would be devastated to lose my collections like that. I hope you can recover some of it, and here's hoping insurance can replace some of it for you too.
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u/Haunting_Birthday719 13h ago
I never lost my collections in that manner. But, I had been robbed and lost big chunks of my collection during moves (I've moved a LOT). For me, it was going through the loss and then buying a console to get me started again. It does feel like a colossal undertaking. But, when you make that first step you'll get the spark again.
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u/Tarrenshaw 12h ago
I’m truly sorry that happened to you. I would be devastated. I have insurance which covers my media collection. Plus I take pictures of all the items I have in case of natural disaster or theft. If you have insurance and a list of what you owned, you may be able to re-buy some. It won’t be the same, but you’ll get some games to start a new collection. Good luck with everything..
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u/SillySpook 10h ago
Feeling your pain. This happened to me around 2010, with my game collection and card collection in the basement. Upstairs flood absolutely obliterated everything, including a pair of 1st edition Charizards that were sleeved, mint. Also lost a few games I'd consider previous, including CIB doom64, which was the only gift I still had from my grandmother.
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u/Majadamus 8h ago
If you decide to rebuild check out Facebook Marketplace, conventions, and retro games stores. Those where the deals usually are.
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u/Syndicalex 7h ago
Maybe not helpful at this point but all disc-based games will still work once you dry them out and clean them, and consoles are the easier part of the equation to get hold of. Jewel cases will also be fine after a wash so it's the paperwork that's irretrievably damaged. I don't know if you will take any solace in that. Sorry this has happened to you.
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u/SelTheDon 6h ago
I lost the majority of my collection to flooding around twenty years ago. Around four thousand games at the time, a lot of what would now be classed as rarities. I saved what I could and slowly built a collection back up, but it's nowhere near what it was before.
It still hurts a bit thinking about it, but they're just things at the end of the day.
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u/DuckSwimmer 6h ago
I’m so terribly sorry. I know they’re just objects, but I would be fucking devastated if I lost my entire collection. It’s not just about what you have, it’s also about the journey and the memories you had when obtaining every piece. That’s what gives collections so much life and personality. I’m just here to give my condolences. I’m so terribly sorry. 😞
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u/HunterWesley 2h ago
Um, forgive me for asking, but speaking of plastic, the games themselves are still good, aren't they? Only the boxes and inserts are ruined by water. I'm sure you know what is ruined. I guess what I'm saying is the collection may be ruined but the games remain? Or something.
My little story is I moved away and left my life's possessions with my father. He stuck them in a wet little shed in the tropics. Everything rusted, or got eaten or shat on by insects, everything from my degree, to my childhood pictures, to books, to souvenirs, to vintage computers, and the games. The games were cleverly stored by myself in several plastic totes. Well, they weren't airtight or whatever - there was still some damage from silverfish and roaches, that's mostly what the eating and shit are from, except the part from the geckos and a random mouse or something. Like a whole fucking zoo came in there to fuck shit up. Dad just didn't care. Lots of sealed computer hardware - for some reason roaches love to get in there and shit in gear grease, all over circuit boards, on labels, you know. The thing still works but stinks like hell and you know it's vile, it's tainted. What do you do with things that you grew up with but are filthy inside out and uncleanable? It's very hard to know what to do.
So, back to the games. Most of them were sealed up. One box the fool put some computers on top of, stacked them up, which bent and distended the lid of this box over a few years. Then the vermin had good access to that box to feed. I actually sold some damaged copies out of that box eventually. But it's TRAUMATIC. It's traumatic to think about it. I could have replaced a lot of it for not too much money, just a whole lot of misery on eBay, but the ones I bought off the shelf personally with my birthday money or whatever - I just started to cry whenever I looked through that stuff. So I tried to not think about it. It was a betrayal, of course. He actually put his own stuff in there too. He put books he had from many years back. They were confetti when I looked in there. Fucking disgusting.
I had one game not in a box (it's a complete boxed copy I bought off the shelf but it wasn't stored in a tote). Reason being I was playing it when I happened to move overseas. Well that copy of Age of Mythology never did get back in a box; Dad moved while I was overseas and it was still out. Got it back water damaged and, you know, shat on and eaten somewhat. One of the challenges for me is deciding if something is fucked up enough to want to replace (if possible) when it may be expensive or sentimental to exchange.
For you it really all depends. You might be able to sell some of the damaged ones if you desire to replace some of it. But in my case the pain never went away. I just don't dwell on it deliberately. I long ago understood how destructive that grief is and how you kinda have to grow up and function. Or at least that's just for the best. Maybe the real "mature" people are the ones that tell you to throw everything away or would themselves. But, uh, fuck them, it's your loss, your grief, and your collection. Please feel better.
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u/cojack16 13h ago
FYI I’ve felt much better about potentially losing stuff, ever since I got my steam deck and now have access to every game under the sun from ps2 gen and under. It’s amazing. Plus you can play current generation games that aren’t graphics heavy. All on the couch. It’s very expensive now but for what you can have on one device , it’s still amazing. You can also look into other devices that might give you more bang for your Buck
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u/Ambitious-Still6811 13h ago
Lost or damaged? I mean once it dries out, any chance they're still functional? Like others have said there are other ways to keep playing but it doesn't undo what happened.
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u/PROPHETx02 13h ago
I coped through a claim on my house insurance. I was made completely whole and rebuilt what I lost.
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u/Cat_Impossible_0 9h ago
That definitely sucks. I think you should always leave the bottom shelf empty or be prepared in the future. You can either start all over or give up
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u/Smart-Strawberry-356 2h ago
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone. It is tough, but your kind words are helping. As some of you have said it probably will be one of those things that you think about for a long time, but I’ll try and rebuild (sadly no insurance) and comeback better than ever.
Again, thank you all.
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u/TheTrenity 1h ago edited 43m ago
I've never lost my games to a natural disaster, but I do understand and sympathize. You are right. It is just plastic, but the world's you traveled, the late nights you spent playing, the feelings you had when the game came to an end were very much real. Those feelings make the collection more than just a collection.
Like you, I'd go broke trying to rebuild my collection and could not realistically get everythingback that I would lose. If you're able to replace some of the fondest pieces, the sting may not feel as bad. I'm very sorry for your loss.
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u/SilentFebreze 13h ago
Do you happen to have photos or a video? Just curious how bad the damage was and how did they all get ruined?
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