Text-based games: ASCII, etc. sorted by release date

In the past, lots of games used ASCII characters (text) to represent the game world. These text-only video games may seem primitive and outdated and, in fact, the genre almost died with the fast evolving graphics of modern games.
A few genres traditionally linked to the beautiful world of ascii characters still survives: roguelikes (nethack, angband, etc.) and interactive fiction, for example.

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Borland Turbo Basic 1.0

DOS1987 Borland Software Corporation

Borland Turbo Basic was a programming language developed by Borland, a software company that was prominent in the 1980s and 1990s. Turbo Basic was part of the Turbo series of programming languages and development tools that Borland created during that time.Turbo Basic was designed as a fast and efficient version of the BASIC programming language. B...

Borland Turbo C v1

DOS1987 Borland Software Corporation

Bureaucracy

DOSMac OS1987 Infocom

Bureaucracy is an abandoned text-adventure game designed by Douglas Adams (yes, the writer of The Hitchhiker Guide of the Galaxy), developed and published by Infocom in 1987. Bureaucracy is a peculiar interactive fiction; the game challenges you to solve frustrating bureaucratic problems in a world populated by strange characters.

Business Simulator

DOS1987 Reality Development

Business Simulator is an abandoned business simulation game developed and released by Reality Development in 1987 for DOS only. Business Simulator is a text-based management simulation designed by an university professor.

Dragonriders of Pern

DOS1987 Everlasting

Empire: Wargame of the Century

DOS1987 Northwest Software

Indiana Jones: Revenge of the Ancients

DOS1987 Angelsoft

Inside Trader

DOS1987 Cosmi Corporation

Kingdom of Hamil

DOS1987 Topologika Software

Lawn Mower

DOS1987

Mission: Mainframe

DOS1987

NetHack

DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OSLinux1987freeware

NetHack is an open-source roguelike game that's been around since the early 1980s. It's a single-player dungeon exploration game where you navigate your character through a randomly generated dungeon filled with monsters, traps, treasures, and various items. The goal is to retrieve the Amulet of Yendor, located deep within the dungeon's lowest leve...

Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It

DOS1987 Infocom

Plundered Hearts

DOSMac OS1987 Infocom

President Elect: 1988 Edition

DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

President Elect: 1988 Edition is a political simulation game developed by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and released in the mid-1980s. The game simulates U.S. presidential elections and allows players to take on the role of campaign managers in an effort to help their candidate win the election. Players can simulate U.S. presidential elect...

SRAM

DOS1987 ERE Informatique

Star Saga: One - Beyond the Boundary

DOS1987 Masterplay Publishing Corporation

Stationfall

DOS1987 Infocom

Supernova

DOS1987freeware Apogee Software

The Lurking Horror

DOS1987 Infocom

The Three Musketeers

DOS1987 Greve Graphics

A Dudley Dilemma

DOS1988

A Dudley Dilemma (1988) sounds like the title of a children’s book, but it’s actually a very British text adventure for DOS where the stakes are politely quirky and mildly confusing. You play as Dudley, a man with problems that range from the mundane to the absurd, depending on your choices and sense of direction - both literal and narr...