The best shareware games

Shareware is a type of software distribution model that allows users to try a program before purchasing it. It's a marketing strategy and distribution method that was particularly popular in the early days of personal computing, primarily during the 1980s and 1990s.
Shareware games were released for free with limited functionality (for example: no saving, missing levels, time limit), often via a BBS (Bulletin Board System), a floppy disc or a CD included in a printed magazine or by direct download (when internet was in its infancy). If the user liked the shareware product, they could pay to obtain an upgrade and unlock the full game. When digital distribution started to become popular, shareware games slowly faded into oblivion.

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Battlestar

Windows 3.x1996freeware3.8/5

In the Dead of Night

DOS19953.8/5 Trecision

Shooting Gallery

DOS19903.8/5 Arcanum Computing

Bubble Pop

DOS19973.8/5 Software of Sweden

Bubble Pop by Software of Sweden is a platform game that follows the classic bubble-popping mechanics similar to other popular games in the genre (Bubble Bobble...). Bubble Pop was published in 1997 by Webfoot Technologies for DOS only.

Exile III: Ruined World

Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1997freeware3.8/5 Spiderweb Software

Temple of Kroz

DOS1990freeware3.8/5 Apogee Software

Epic Pinball

DOSMac OS1993protected3.7/5 Digital Extremes

Traffic department 2192

DOS1994freeware3.7/5 P Squared

Tetris (Academysoft)

DOS19963.7/5 AcademySoft

Ant Attack!

DOS1994freeware3.7/5 Dataware

EGA-Roids

DOS1986freewareremake3.7/5 Designer Software

In Search of Dr. Riptide

DOS19943.7/5 MindStorm Software

Inner Worlds

DOSLinux19963.7/5 Sleepless Software

The Final Crusade of Kroz

DOS1990freeware3.7/5 Apogee Software

CHAMP Centipede

DOS1993remake3.7/5 ChamProgramming corp.

Kingdom of Kroz

DOS1988freeware3.7/5 Apogee Software

Moraff's Morejongg

Windows XP/98/9519923.7/5 Moraffware

Paganitzu

DOS1991protected3.7/5 Apogee Software

Paganitzu is a classic puzzle-adventure game released in 1991 by Apogee Software. Set in an ancient pyramid, the game follows the exploits of its protagonist, Alabama Smith, who must navigate through a series of increasingly complex rooms filled with traps, puzzles, and enemies. The game is divided into three episodes, each one unraveling more of t...