Gold Rush!

The game opens in Brooklyn Heights, New York, in 1848, before the California Gold Rush. The player controls Jerrod Wilson, a newspaperman who receives a mysterious letter from his estranged brother Jake in California. Jerrod decides to head west, but has only 14 minutes of gameplay to quit his job, liquidate his assets, and gather supplies before news of the Gold Rush drives prices beyond reach.

Three routes lead to California, each with distinct dangers. The stagecoach is an option that remains available regardless of how long Jerrod stays in Brooklyn. This overland route provides a valid option but still requires careful timing and preparation to survive Native Americans, unruly oxen, parching deserts, steep mountain passages, and potential winter storms in the Sierra Nevada.

In 1989, Dragon gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars. Computer Gaming World gave the game a positive review, noting it mixes historical simulation with Sierra's traditional adventure gameplay. 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.

In 2011, Adventure Gamers named Gold Rush! the 96th-best adventure game ever released.

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

German game developer Sunlight Games secured the rights and re-released the original version in July 2014. A remake with the name Gold Rush! Anniversary was released in November of the same year for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux. The ports for iOS and Android were released in March 2015.