The best turn based games
In direct contrast with real-time games, turn-based games gameplay is based on the players taking turns to do what needs to be done: move in a dungeon, play cards, attack enemy units.
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Reach for the Stars
DOS1988 SSG Strategic Studies Group
Scrabble
DOS1989
Strip Poker 2 plus
DOS1988NSFW Anco Software
Battle Isle
DOS1991protected Blue Byte Software
Turns out war is a lot tidier when it’s turn-based. Battle Isle (1991) gives you neat little hexagons to move your units on, like a very angry board game. It’s got strategy, sci-fi flair, and just enough AI ruthlessnes...
Battle Chess 2: Chinese Chess
DOS1990protected Interplay Productions
In Battle Chess 2: Chinese Chess (1990), the classic formula gets an eastern makeover—complete with new rules, a new board, and a fresh batch of animated fatalities. If you thought regular chess was confusing, welcome to xia...
Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess
DOS1989protected ERE Informatique
Santa Paravia en Fiumaccio
DOS1988 Starsoft Development
President Elect: 1988 Edition
DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
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 ca...
Imperium
DOS1990 Electronic Arts
Nobunaga's Ambition
DOS1988 KOEI
Archon Ultra
DOS1994protected Free Fall Associates
Archon Ultra is what happens when you smash chess into an arcade cabinet and call it a day. This updated version of the original Archon throws in jazzed-up graphics and faster gameplay, but keeps the core idea: when pieces meet, t...
TV Sports: Boxing
DOS1991freeware ACME Interactive
Blitz Draughts
DOS1992 PC Solutions
Don’t let the title fool you — Blitz Draughts isn’t a military simulation but rather a gloriously intense checkers game from 1992. This DOS brain-bender turns the classic board game into a high-speed duel of wits...
Caesars Palace
DOS1989 Virgin Interactive
More smoke-filled backrooms than a noir film and enough slot machines to trigger déjà vu—Caesars Palace is your low-res Vegas getaway. You're given a pile of chips and left to your vices: blackjack, poker, roul...
Exile II: Crystal Souls
Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1996freeware Spiderweb Software
Trump Castle: The Ultimate Casino Gambling Simulation
DOS1988 Capstone Software
Gengis Khan 2: Clan of the Gray Wolf
DOS1992 KOEI
Azalta: Cult of the Raven
DOS1996
Azalta: Cult of the Raven is what happens when a lone developer says, “I can make an RPG better than Ultima!” and sort of does. Released in 1996, this DOS dungeon crawler features deep customization, open-ended quests,...
Jimmy White Whirlwind Snooker
DOS1991
Hard Nova
DOS1990 Malibu Interactive
Hard Nova is a sci-fi role-playing game (RPG) developed by Malibu Interactive and published by Electronic Arts. Released in 1990, it is available on platforms such as the DOS, Amiga, Atari ST. Hard Nova is set in a distant future ...
Family Feud
DOS1987 Softie
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
DOS1989 KOEI
Decision in the Desert
DOS1985 MicroProse Software
Dragon Wars
DOS1990protected Interplay Productions
Gengis Khan
DOS1989 KOEI
Classic Hangman
DOS1983 Norland Software
Mines of Titan
DOS1989 Westwood Studios
Mines of Titan (also known as Mars Saga for other platforms) is an abandoned single-player RPG with a sci-fi setting (you're going to Mars!). Mines of Titan was developed by Westwood Studios and released by Infocom in 1989 for DOS...
AlphaMan
DOS1995
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 p...
Ancients 1: Deathwatch
DOS1991 Farr-Ware Software
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...
Battle of Antietam
DOS1985protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Civil War buffs, rejoice. Battle of Antietam (1985) lets you relive one of the bloodiest days in American history... via pixelated dots and turn-based tension. There’s no flash here—just raw, old-school strategy where ...