The most popular abandonware strategy games
Games based on strategy allow for reasoning and planning of one’s moves and actions. The gameplay may be based on player’s turns (Turn-based Strategy) or it may be in real time (Real-Time Strategy, RTS). These games focus on strategy and tactics rather than action, sometimes with the addition of financial or logistic features.
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Powermonger
DOS1992 god game, real-time strategy
Powermonger is a real-time strategy game where the player must defeat opponents by conquering towns and tipping the balance of power in their favor. Success requires giving orders to soldiers and captains, as well as accumulating ...
Empire: Wargame of the Century
DOS1987 wargame
Advanced Civilization
DOS1995 board game
Think you’re good at making tough decisions under pressure? Advanced Civilization dares you to prove it by turning diplomacy into passive-aggressive warfare. Based on the classic board game, this DOS gem lets you take your a...
Monopoly
DOS1985 board game
Star General
Windows XP/98/95DOS1996protected turn-based tactics, wargame
Star General is a turn-based strategy game developed by Catware and published by SSI (Strategic Simulations, Inc.). It was released in 1996 for MS-DOS and later for Windows. The game is set in a science fiction universe where play...
Galaxy
DOS1981 board game
Strip Poker: A Sizzling Game of Chance
DOS1985NSFW cards
Master of Magic
DOSWindows XP/98/951994protected kingdom simulation, 4x
Master of Magic is a turn based 4x strategy game developed by SimTex and published by the well know Microprose, very similar to Civilization, with a fantasy twist. You play as a wizard and your objective is to evolve your race fro...
Colonization
DOSWindows 3.xLinuxMac OS1994protected 4x
Colonization is a turn-based strategy 4x game developed and published by MicroProse in 1994 for DOS, Windows 3.1, Linux and Mac. The setting is the European Colonization of the New World. Colonization gameplay and interface are si...
Myth: The Fallen Lords
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS1997 real-time tactics, real-time strategy
Playhouse Strip Poker
DOS1988NSFW cards
Dark Legions
DOS1994protected board game
American Conquest
Windows XP/98/952002protected real-time strategy
American Conquest is the kind of game that throws hundreds of little soldiers at you and says, "Good luck, General!" Set during the early colonization of the Americas, this RTS blends history with chaos in a way that’s both ...
QBasic Gorillas
DOS1991freeware artillery
Gorillas, also known as "Gorillas.bas," is a turn-based artillery game that was included as a sample program with Microsoft QBasic, an IDE and interpreter for a variant of the BASIC programming language. QBasic was commo...
Chessmaster 9000
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2002 chess
Chessmaster 9000 is a chess game developed by Ubisoft and released in 2002. It's part of the Chessmaster series, which has been around since the 1980s. Chessmaster 9000 was known for its strong chess engine and comprehensive tutor...
High Command: Europe 1939-45
DOS1992 wargame, turn-based tactics
The Grandest Fleet
DOS1994 wargame
Alien Legacy
DOS1994 4x
Alien Legacy (1994) is like SimCity crashed into Star Trek and nobody called the insurance company. It’s a real-time strategy/simulation game that has you managing a colony in deep space while solving the mystery of what hap...
Stellar Crusade
DOS1988protected 4x
Castles 2: Siege and Conquest
DOSMac OS1992protected real-time strategy
Castles 2 took everything the first game did and cranked it up with actual diplomacy, espionage, and conquest mechanics. Now you’re not just stacking bricks—you’re plotting political marriages and assassinating r...
WinRisk
Windows 3.x1992 board game
UMS: The Universal Military Simulator
DOSMac OS1988 turn-based tactics, wargame
UMS, short for Universal Military Simulator, is a computer-based wargame simulation developed by Rainbird Software in 1988. It was designed with the intention of providing players with a comprehensive and realistic military simula...
Ground Control
Windows XP/98/952000protected real-time tactics
Ground Control is a strategy game developed by Massive Entertainment and released by Sierra On-Line in 2000. More precisely Ground Control is a real time tactical game with a sci-fi setting.
Heroes of Might and Magic II
DOSWindows XP/98/951996protected turn-based tactics
Sargon V: World Class Chess
DOS1991 chess
Defender of the Crown
DOS1991protected
Defender of the crown is a strategy game set in the middle ages, in England. You control a Saxon and must fight Normans to control the country. The player can conquest territories, lay siege to castles, join tournaments, rescue da...
Alpha Centauri
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS1999protected 4x
Sid Meier took one look at Earth and said, “Let’s leave this dump.” Thus, Alpha Centauri (1999, Windows XP) was born - a 4X strategy game that takes Civilization to space, then adds philosophy, moral dilemmas, an...
Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance
Windows XP/98/951996 board game, kingdom simulation
Ever wanted to manage a kingdom, lead armies, go dungeon-crawling, and attend budget meetings? Birthright: The Gorgon’s Alliance makes all your fantasy micromanagement dreams come true. Released in 1996 for Windows XP (yes, ...
Jagged Alliance
DOS1994protected turn-based tactics
Total Annihilation
Windows XP/98/951997protected real-time strategy