Abandonware DOS title

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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Dark Reign 2

Windows XP/98/952000protected real-time strategy, real-time tactics
Released in 2000, Dark Reign 2 took the futuristic RTS series into full 3D territory. While other games were content with flashy visuals, this one focused on tactical depth and res...
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Master of Orion

DOS1993protected 4x
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Metal Marines

Windows 3.x1993 turn-based tactics
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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...
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Total Annihilation Kingdoms

Windows XP/98/951999protected real-time strategy
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Dungeon Keeper 2

Windows XP/98/95Mac OS1997protected sandbox strategy, god game, real-time strategy
Dungeon Keeper 2 took everything its predecessor did and gave it a demonic polish. Slicker graphics, full 3D environments, and imps that finally looked like they deserved a raise. ...
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Clash of Steel

DOS1993protected wargame, turn-based tactics
If Risk and Excel had a baby during WWII, it would be Clash of Steel. You command nations, move armies, manage production, and try to stop history from repeating itself—usual...
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Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne

Windows XP/98/952002protecteddemo turn-based tactics
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne is a turn-based strategy game developed by Triumph Studios and published by Gathering of Developers. It was released in 2002 as a sequel to t...
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Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye

DOS1995 kingdom simulation
Celtic Tales (1995) throws you into the misty, myth-soaked hills of ancient Ireland, where diplomacy is just war with more steps. You’re a clan leader trying to outwit druids...
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Castles

DOS1991protected real-time strategy
Castles is what happens when SimCity meets Game of Thrones. You design your own fortress, manage the budget, and tell unruly peasants why the walls are more important than food. Be...
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Warheads

Windows XP/98/951997 artillery
Warheads is a turn-based artillery game in the grand tradition of blowing your friends to pieces with ridiculous weapons. You control a team of tiny, heavily armed soldiers and tak...
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Dune Generations

Windows XP/98/952002canceled real-time strategy
Dune Generations was a canceled 3D MMO strategy game set in the Dune universe that was never published. Dune Generations was in development by Cryo Interactive ...
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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’r...
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Annals of Rome

DOS1988 kingdom simulation
In Annals of Rome, you don’t just play history — you command it, badly. This 1988 strategy title lets you take control of the Roman Empire and try to keep it from falli...
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Populous: The Beginning

Windows XP/98/951998protected god game, sandbox strategy, real-time strategy
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Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition)

DOSWindows XP/98/951996protected 4x
Conquest of the New World (Deluxe Edition) invites you to discover new lands, build colonies, and occasionally “accidentally” wipe out entire civilizations while smilin...
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Realms

DOS1991 real-time strategy
Part strategy, part fantasy empire builder, Realms gives you a continent to wrangle and a surprising number of ways to embarrass yourself. You recruit armies, juggle rebellious pop...
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Army Men 2

Windows XP/98/951998protected real-time tactics
Army Men 2 doubles down on everything from the first game - more weapons, more plastic carnage, more trips to “The Real World” where you fight in bathtubs and backyards...
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Bobby Fisher teaches chess

DOS1994 chess
Ever wanted to get chess lessons from a genius who could crush your soul with a bishop and a glare? Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess (1994, DOS) is your chance. Based on the classic boo...
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X-COM: Terror from the Deep

DOS1995protected turn-based tactics
X-COM: Terror from the Deep (also known as X-COM 2) is a DOS science fiction tactical strategy game and the sequel to one of the most popular DOS games in history, X-COM: UFO ...
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Rules of Engagement

DOS1991 real-time tactics
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Seal Team

DOS1993 real-time tactics
Seal Team (1993) drops you into the muddy waters of the Vietnam War as part of an elite Navy SEAL squad. It’s surprisingly realistic for its time—meticulously tactical,...
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Unnatural Selection

DOS1993 real-time tactics
Unnatural Selection is a quirky strategy game from 1993 that asks a simple question: what if evolution had a sense of humor? You’re tasked with guiding creatures through generati...
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Over the Reich

Windows XP/98/95Windows 3.x1996 wargame
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V for victory: Velikiye Luki

DOS1992protected wargame, turn-based tactics
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J.R.R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan

DOS1997 real-time tactics
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Lords of Midnight: The Citadel

DOS1995 first-person party-based RPG, real-time strategy
By the time Lords of Midnight: The Citadel arrived in 1995, it carried the weight of a classic on its shoulders. Rather than reinventing the original, it refines and reinterprets i...