Starcraft has used hours of my time, but probably the best deals were some of the final fantasy games, specifically X and XII. Luckily for me, sequels are coming out for both.
For computer games, definitely Master of Orion II. I shudder to think of the amount of time I’ve spent (or, less charitibly, wasted) playing that game. I certainly got my $10 worth.
Other than that, I bought the 1st edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide back when it was simply THE Dungeon Master’s Guide. I still use it, even though it’s falling apart and half the pages have notes scibbled in the margins. Worth every penny.
Good news.
The sequel to Final Fantasy XII came out a little while ago. Is another planned?
Baldur’s Gate II
Planescape
Europa Universalis (II with III catching up fast)
Used Dreamcast from Ebay with 20+ games.
Including Soul Calibur, Jet Grind Radio, Resident Evil Code Veronica, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Power Stone 2, Street Fighter III Third Strike, Virtua Tennis, Sonic Adventure, Space Channel 5, ChuChu Rocket, and Shenmue.
Later got Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue II, Grandia II, Ikaruga, Project Justice, MDK2, Bomberman, Guilty Gear, Space Channel 5 Part 2, Rez, and just recently Sword of the Berserk.
All in all, the best and cheapest console I’ve ever had.
<Thinks about the best computer games for a second.>
You’re wrong.
Let’s see, EQ cost me ~$50 for the original game, plus ~$30 per expansion, plus $9.89/mo IIRC, plus thousands of hours of my life.
It definitely wasn’t EQ.
By genre:
Sports: EA’s NHL '09 on the XBOX360 - the “Be A Pro” mode is just awesome.
Adventure: Tomb Raider on the PS1 - the first game to absolutely floor me. I played it at a friend’s house and the next day went out and bought a PS1 and the game.
Shooter: Call of Duty 2 on the XBOX - I used to love camping with a sniper rifle and pissing off foul mouthed teenagers on XBOX Live.
RPG: Mass Effect on XBOX360 - The best written story in gaming history, IMO. The voice acting was really good too. Cool weapons and magic (biotics) system. Hooked me immediately…
Simulation: Forza Motorsport 2 on XBOX360 - Incredibly fun and realistic auto racing game. This game was the first one that actually allowed me to make good friends on XBOX Live, including one guy that lives right down the street from me. I’ve been playing with him online for over a year and I’ve yet to meet him face to face. I know… I’m pathetic.
Puzzler: Riven: Myst II on the PS1 - I still, to this day, can’t believe I actually finished this game. The puzzles were incredibly tricky but the graphics and adventure kept me coming back. The only game I ever had to actually take notes on as I went in order to keep track of things. Actually, it was more like a diary. It took me close to 6 months.
RTS: Age of Empires II on the PC - Not a big fan of RTS games, but this one actually had me playing for quite a while. Definitely got my money’s worth out of it.
I’d say Diablo II would win this with me, closely followed by Ultima Online before Renaissance.
Final Fantasy VII might have won if I hadn’t bought 3 or 4 copies of it over the years.
Honourable mentions go to Age of Empires II, Starcraft, Total Annihilation and Star Wars Supremacy (Rebellion).
Ur doin’ it rong. He said BEST, not best.
Let’s see. Hours played / price?
Minesweeper and Solitaire… 
But the top of the list is a free text based dungeon game called Moria. If I’d put the hours I’ve spent on it doing classwork I’d be well on the way to a masters degree.
Paid for games gets you Call of Duty 4.
The sad thing is that that line actually used to make me fell BAD about quitting!!! :eek:
p
Which are you talking about? Are you talking the AD&D DM Guide, that came out in about 1980? Hardcover and we had to wait what seemed like an ETERNITY after the Monster Manual was out to get the DM Guide?
Because that wasn’t the first DM guide, if you count the third paperback book in the OLD boxed set (the ORIGINAL D&D) as a DM Guide, which was certainly its purpose. That thing is lucky it’s still readible! 
Front Office Football – PC. Across the various versions I’ve owned, I’ve simulated several thousand seasons.
P.T.O. (Pacific Theater of Operations) – SNES. It had this hyptonic sound track that I can still hear in my head.
Hearts of Iron II – PC. Basically it’s Europa Universalis during WW2.
Does anyone remember the Sega Channel? It was a 32X looking device that you plugged into your Genesis and was connected to your cable line. For $20 dollars a month it would stream about 50 games on demand; fairly little loading time too iirc. It was a wonderful service, without which I would have never discovered two of my all time favorite Sega games, Legend of Oasis and Shining Force II.
For me, it’s Civilization 2 without any contest. I have spent probably 80 dollars total on the original, the expansions, the re-release, and the collector’s edition. I have spent probably 2,500 hours on the game in the 10 years I’ve owned it.
The closest runner up would be Diablo 2, which has less than 10% of the money-per-hour value of civ2.
Zelda 1
Archon
Archon Ultra
The Quest For Glory series.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. My brother and I bought it on my 11th birthday. I still play it. It’s very worrying.
For D&D, I’m a 3rd Edition guy, but the $60ish I spent on the core books has been one of my wisest investments.
For video games, Dragon Warrior 7 and Dragon Quest 8 have sucked up countless hours of time. Final Fantasy Tactics has one save alone at 300hrs. Katamari Damacy and We <3 Katamari are both games I go back for an hour or so at least twice a month. Then, of course, are the SNES RPGs, particularly FFIV, Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound.
But, as for many others, the Civs take the cake. I’ve probably spent the most (800hrs or so) on Civ3, but I’m rapidly approaching that on Civ4, education be damned!
(Rogue-like games take up a chunk of time, especially Tales of Middle Earth,but since its a free download, I wont count it.)
Yes! The Sega Channel was awesome. I really got into the Jungle Strike and Desert Strike helicopter games because of it.