The most popular turn based games

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...

With Battle Isle 2200 (1994), the series goes full 3D cinematic—with cutscenes so dramatic you’d think they were auditioning for a soap opera in space. The gameplay is classic hex strategy, but now with upgraded visuals and FMV actors who clearly missed their calling in daytime TV. It’s grand, slow-burning, and surprisingly tense....

Ever wondered what would happen if a roguelike and a B-movie had a radioactive baby? AlphaMan is the answer. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where mutant banana slugs might be your best friend—or your worst enemy—you play a survivor with a bad attitude and worse fashion sense. The goal? Stop the evil Doomsday Bomb. The method? Whatever ...

In Ancients 1: Deathwatch, you gather your pixelated party and set off to cleanse a city of evil, or at least try not to get mugged by slimes. It's a dungeon crawler in classic DOS fashion — grid movement, turn-based battles, and interface menus with all the elegance of a fax machine. Released in 1991, it’s as old-school as they come, r...

Ah, 3D-Maze. If you used Windows 3.x, you probably saw this lurking in the corner of your screen savers like a digital minotaur. Released in 1991, it’s not quite a game, but everyone played it anyway. You walk endlessly through a tiled labyrinth while a floating smiley face pops up to say hello or possibly curse your ancestors. There’s ...

Star General is a turn-based strategy game developed by Catware and published by SSI (Strategic Simulations, Inc.). It was released in 1996 for MS-DOS and later for Windows. The game is set in a science fiction universe where players take command of one of five different factions, each vying for control of the galaxy.In Star General, players comman...

The Perfect General is a turn-based strategy military game developed by White Wolf Productions and released in 1991 by Quantun Quality Production. The Perfect General gameplay is quite simple compared to other wargames, but it's based on a solid set of rules and let the players progress at their own pace through missions and scenarios. The Perfect ...

There’s something oddly poetic about 8088 Othello, a 1985 take on the classic board game that feels like it was programmed by someone who had a personal vendetta against flashy graphics. The visuals are almost nonexistent, the sound is silent protest, and yet - somehow - it works. This is Othello in its purest form: black versus white, brain ...

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 book, the game patiently walks you through strategies, tactics, and the kind of mental warfare that made Bobby a legend—and probably a very intense dinner guest. It&rs...

Black Monday (1987) combines economic panic with the thrill of—wait for it—spreadsheet navigation. It's like Wolf of Wall Street without the fun, drugs, or DiCaprio. You’re managing a business during a financial collapse, and everything is falling apart faster than your patience. Charts, graphs, bad decisions—it’s all ...

Caution: subtlety not included. Blue Angel 69, released in 1989 for DOS, is basically what happens when a programmer tries to mix erotic art with a tile-based puzzle game and ends up somewhere between genius and “please don’t open this at work.” You match symbols, unlock pictures, and get rewarded with increasingly risqué p...

You are Sherlock Holmes, and someone has committed a crime, possibly because they couldn’t handle the game’s UI. 221B Baker Street is a detective board game where your mind is your only weapon. And also a notepad, because keeping track of clues is half the game. You wander through foggy London, asking yourself how such elegant mystery-s...