Abandonware DOS title

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

  1. abandonware
  2. text-based
  3. 236 games found
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 These text-only video games may seem primitive and outdated and, in fact, the genre almost died with the fast evolving graphics of modern games.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.

Most popular text-based games

Norton Commander 5.5
Norton Commander 5.5
applicationDOS
Borland Turbo Basic 1.0
Borland Turbo Basic 1.0
applicationDOS
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire
adventureDOS

Text-based games

Sort by:
  • cascade-01
    Cascade
    DOS19904.2/5 PC Solutions
  • gumboots-australia-02
    Gumboots Australia
    DOS19903.7/5 Reckon Software
  • hockey-league-simulator-03
    Hockey League Simulator
    DOS19903.2/5 Bethesda Softworks
  • kingdom-of-kroz-2-1
    Kingdom of Kroz 2
    DOS19903.2/5 Apogee Software
  • lost-adventures-kroz-1
    Lost Adventures of Kroz
    DOS1990freeware3.3/5 Apogee Software
  • moslodeluxe-1
    Mo'Slo
    DOS1990protected4.1/5 Dr.David's Super Crispy Software

    The previous file hosted here was put online by mistake (it was the deluxe version, not the basic one). Copyright holders kindly allowed Abandonware DOS to link directly to their website where you can buy the deluxe version of Mo'Slo.

  • norton-editor2-01
    Norton Editor 2
    DOS19904.3/5 Peter Norton Computing
  • castlekroz-3
    Return to Kroz
    DOS1990freeware3.1/5 Apogee Software
  • templeofkroz-4
    Temple of Kroz
    DOS1990freeware3.8/5 Apogee Software
  • finalcrusadekroz-2
    The Final Crusade of Kroz
    DOS1990freeware3.7/5 Apogee Software
  • a-night-with-troi-01
    A Night with Troi
    DOS1991NSFW4.2/5
  • dos-navigator-1-01
    DOS Navigator v 1.5
    DOS1991freeware4.3/5
  • magnetic-scrolls-collection-02
    Magnetic Scrolls Collection
    DOS19914/5 Magnetic Scrolls

    Magnetic Scrolls was one of the finest developer companies dedicated to Interactive Fiction. The Magnetic Scrolls Collection is a trilogy of Magnenic Scrolls adventures remade using the Wonderland engine: Fish!, Corruption, The Guild of Thieves. The new window-based interface made text-adventuring easy even for gamers not used to a text-only interf...

  • qbasic71-01
    QBASIC
    DOS19914.5/5 Microsoft
  • borland-quattro-pro-03
    Quattro Pro v4
    DOS19914.1/5 Borland Software Corporation
  • rules-of-engagement-02
    Rules of Engagement
    DOS19913.6/5 Omnitrend Software
  • xtrek91-02
    X Trek
    DOS1991NSFW3.9/5
  • zzt-2
    ZZT
    DOS1991freeware4.2/5 Epic MegaGames
  • angband-03
    Angband
    Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1992freeware4/5
  • bible-builder-02
    Bible Builder
    DOS19923.3/5
  • castleelsinore-1
    Castle Elsinore
    DOS19923.5/5 Temple Software
  • championship-manager-1-01
    Championship Manager
    DOS19924/5 Domark Software

    Championship Manager is the first chapter in one of the most successful football manager games series. The first Championship Manager was a text-based British football/soccer simulation and included teams from four English divisions, European cups and domestic cups as well. Championship Manager was designed by Paul and Oliver Collyer and ...

  • moria-5
    Moria
    DOS1992freeware3.9/5
  • norton-desktop1-02
    Norton Desktop
    DOS19923.9/5 Peter Norton Computing
  • onenil-3
    One-Nil Soccer Manager
    DOS19923.8/5 New Era Software
  • rawcopy-01
    Rawcopy
    DOS19924.5/5
  • super-zzt-05
    Super ZZT
    DOS19923.3/5 Epic MegaGames
  • champ-manager-93-01
    Championship Manager 93
    DOS19934/5 Domark Software
  • championship-manager-italia-02
    Championship Manager Italia
    DOS19934.2/5 Sports Interactive Limited
  • guns-r-us-02
    Guns 'R' Us
    DOS19933.8/5 Future Vision
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