Abandonware puzzle games

Puzzle games are about solving logical or strategic puzzles, jigsaws, mathematical brain teasers, and quizzes. The player can control one or more characters (as in Lemmings) or interact with static or moving objects (as in Tetris).

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Bumpy's Arcade Fantasy

DOS1992 platform

Imagine Marble Madness had a caffeine overdose and fell into a platformer. That’s Bumpy’s Arcade Fantasy. You control a perpetually bouncing ball named Bumpy (creative, I know), who must navigate tricky levels full of ...

Bust-A-Move

DOS1997freeware tile-matching, action puzzle

Also known as Puzzle Bobble, this bubble-popping classic stars those cute dragons from Bubble Bobble, now in competitive puzzle mode. Match three colors, clear the screen, panic as the ceiling drops—repeat until addicted. Bu...

Cascade

DOS1990 word puzzle

Remember those endless, hypnotic tile-matching games before Candy Crush hijacked your aunt’s phone? Cascade was already there, dropping blocks and breaking combos like it invented the genre. The visuals are neon, the gamepla...

Centerfold Squares

DOS1988NSFW tile-matching

Let’s be honest—Centerfold Squares (1988) is what happened when someone asked, “What if Qix but hornier?” You draw squares to reveal pixelated images of... let’s say, confident women. It’s surpr...

Chagunitzu

DOS1990 action puzzle, sokoban

Before Indiana Jones had a whip, Chagunitzu had block puzzles. Released in 1990 by Softdisk (and developed by a young John Romero), this game is a precursor to God of Thunder and part of the Kroz lineage. You navigate tombs, avoid...

Chain Reaction

DOS1996 falling blocks

Imagine a game where minesweeper meets viral chaos—Chain Reaction (1996) isn’t quite that, but it is a fast-paced puzzle-action hybrid where things blow up in neat little patterns. The chain reactions are satisfying, t...

Chip's Challenge

DOSWindows 3.x1991 sokoban

Don’t let the pixelated graphics and cheerful music fool you—Chip’s Challenge is a gauntlet of logical torment. You play as Chip, a nerdy teen who agrees to navigate deadly mazes filled with monsters, traps, and ...

Classic Concentration

DOS1988 board game

Classic Concentration brings the Alex Trebek game show to DOS, complete with low-res puzzles and that addictive memory card-flipping mechanic. Match two elephants, and boom—you get a piece of a rebus puzzle that looks like i...

Classic Hangman

DOS1983 word puzzle

ASCII art has never been so morbid. Classic Hangman is exactly what it says on the tin: guess the word or watch your little stick figure meet a tragic end. Letters become lifelines, and vowels are your best friends. It’s edu...

Cloud Kingdoms

DOS1990 action puzzle

Imagine being a bouncing ball in a series of floating sky islands full of monsters, traps, and puzzles. Welcome to Cloud Kingdoms, where the laws of physics politely take a backseat. The graphics are whimsical, the gameplay is wei...

Codebreaker

DOS1994freeware trivia / quiz, board game

Put on your mental trench coat, because Codebreaker is here to make you feel smart—or incredibly foolish. It’s a brain-teasing logic game where you deduce secret number codes through trial, error, and a lot of second-g...