Abandonware DOS title

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.

8088othello-splash

8088 Othello

DOS1985
legend-of-the-red-dragon-04

Legend of the Red Dragon

DOS1989 Robinson Technologies
castleelsinore-splash

Castle Elsinore

DOS1992 Temple Software
moraffrevenge-2

Moraff's Revenge

DOS1988 Moraffware
aspetra-jrpg-02

Aspetra

DOS1996
bolo-ball-03

Bolo Ball

DOS1992 Soleau Software
Bolo Ball is a DOS game from the mid-1990s. It features a physics-based gameplay where the objective is to knock opponent balls out of an arena. When you start the game, you find yourself in a 2D arena set against a starry, space-like background. You control a colorful ball, which, despite being a 2D sprite, appears somewhat three-dimensional due t...
clyde-adventure-03

Clyde's Adventure

DOS1992freeware Moonlite Software
hugo2-02

Hugo 2: Whodunit?

DOS1991protecteddemo Gray Design Associates
Hugo 2: Whodunit? is an old school graphic adventure game designed by David P. Gray, developed by Gray Design Associates and released in 1991 for MS-DOS only. Hugo 2: Whodunit? is the second installment of the Hugo game series.
kens-labyrinth-05

Ken's Labyrinth

DOS1993freeware
moraff-world-03

Moraff's World

DOS1991 Moraffware
squarez-deluxe-04

Squarez Deluxe!

DOS1993freeware Adept Software
super-zzt-05

Super ZZT

DOS1992 Epic MegaGames
the-big-three-03

The Big Three

DOS1989 SDJ Enterprises
tubular-worlds-04

Tubular Worlds

DOS1994
meteor-mission-1

Meteor Mission

DOS1995
space-miner-03

Space Miner

DOS1983
flying-tigers-2-04

Flying Tigers 2

DOS1994
skyroads-xmas-03

Skyroads: Xmas Special

DOS1994freeware Bluemoon Interactive
castlekroz-3

Return to Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
arcticadventure-splash

Arctic Adventure

DOS1991 Apogee Software
lost-adventures-kroz-splash

Lost Adventures of Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
egatrek-03

EGA Trek

DOS1988remake
redhook-revenge-03

Redhook's Revenge

DOS1993 ImagiSoft
clyde-revenge-04

Clyde's Revenge

DOS1995freeware Moonlite Software