When StarCraft was first released in 1998, I could not afford it. My friends and I spent most of our time playing Command and Conquer: Red Alert anyways and I was almost sure that StarCraft was just going to be a re-skinned WarCraft II, which it was to an extent. Long story short I never owned it and I never really cared much about owning it. But by 1999, it did seem like I was missing out on something and before I knew it, people where making money off a game that I was sure was ruining most of my friend’s ability to finish college.
But I did not know what I was missing at the time and I think that very few people at all ever thought StarCraft would turn into what could easily be the granddaddy of e-sports gaming, with one of the most devoted fan bases that ever congregated around a single game. Now that it is free, (Thank you Blizzard), We will play it from beginning to the end, if for no other reason than to say we did.
If you want to download your own copy of the original game and its Brood War expansion you can get them from here: https://starcraft.com/en-us/articles/20674424
The download comes as a single setup.exe file witch contains the original game and the BroodWars Expansion patch for compatibility with modern systems. This is now version 1.18.1 fully patched and ready for your Windows 10 or Mac OS system.
The best part of it: this is a game that just about anyone with a working computer can run and enjoy. I’m not sure the same could be said for the upcoming remastered edition. But who knows at this point. StarCraft Remastered will be released sometime this summer of 2017.