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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Blitz Draughts
DOS1992 board game
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...
Blitzkrieg: Battle at the Ardennes
DOS1990 wargame, turn-based tactics
In Blitzkrieg: Battle at the Ardennes, you’re not just playing a wargame — you’re being handed a clipboard, a stack of orders, and a freezing cold battlefield in 1944. This 1990 DOS title lets you relive one of W...
Blood & Magic
DOS1996 real-time strategy
From the people who brought you Dungeons & Dragons, here's Blood & Magic (1996), the RTS that nobody remembers but definitely deserves a second glance. You summon golems from magical “blood forges” because appa...
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 book, the game patiently walks you through strategies...
Bridge 7.0
DOS1992 cards
Finally, a game for people who think solitaire is just too wild. Bridge 7.0 is the digital equivalent of sipping tea with your grandparents while arguing about trumps and bidding strategies. Released in 1992, it simulates the clas...
Burntime
DOS1993 action RPG, real-time strategy
Post-apocalyptic survival meets real estate management in Burntime, where the world is ruined, but you still need to hire employees and secure water rights. It’s like Mad Max if Max decided to open a franchise of fortified r...
Bush Buck: Global Treasure Hunter
DOS1991 board game
If Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego had a caffeinated younger cousin, it would be Bush Buck: Global Treasure Hunter. You race around the globe chasing clues, dodging rivals, and learning just enough geography to impress your ...
Caesars Palace
DOS1989 cards
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...
Cannon Fodder
DOS1994protected real-time tactics
War never changes—but it does get oddly cute in Cannon Fodder. Guide your tiny commandos through missions filled with explosions, carnage, and dark humor. The game mixes arcade action with light strategy, and the body count ...
Capture the Flag
DOS1993 turn-based tactics
No guns. No glory. Just two invisible players navigating a weird Tron-like maze to steal each other’s flag. Capture the Flag is what you get when someone says “let’s make Pac-Man multiplayer and add a dash of par...
Carrier Strike: South Pacific 1942-44
DOS1992protected wargame, turn-based tactics
If you ever wanted to command the Pacific fleet without getting wet, Carrier Strike is your game. Set during WWII, it’s a turn-based wargame where numbers, radar, and weather reports matter more than reflexes. You’ll p...
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. Between building bricks and issuing royal edicts, yo...
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’re plotting political marriages and assassinating r...
Cave Wars
DOS1996 real-time tactics
If you’ve ever looked at a cave and thought, “Yes, this is where I’ll build my empire,” then Cave Wars is your jam. Released in 1996, this strategy game throws you into a subterranean slugfest of factional ...
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, conquer rival territories, and avoid being hexed...
Centurion: Defender of Rome
DOS1990 4x
Rome wasn’t built in a day—but you’ll conquer it in one afternoon. Centurion (1990) lets you play as a Roman commander with delusions of grandeur and a thing for elephants. From Senate politics to gladiator games...
Champion of the Raj
DOS1991 kingdom simulation
Colonialism meets turn-based strategy in Champion of the Raj, where you attempt to conquer India with charm, cunning, and the occasional elephant race. It’s part political simulator, part RPG, and part historical fever dream...
Chaos Overlords
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS1996protected board game
Chaos Overlords is a cyberpunk-themed strategy game developed by Stick Man Games and published by New World Computing in 1996. Set in a dystopian future, the game focuses on controlling the underworld of a city dominated by corrup...
Checkers for Windows
Windows 3.x1997 board game
Checkers for Windows is exactly what it says on the tin—checkers. But somehow, it turns this rainy-afternoon classic into a digital duel of patience and spite. No explosions, no cutscenes, no orchestral score—just pure...
Chess
DOS1981 chess
If you’ve ever wanted to feel intellectually inferior to a few hundred lines of 1981 code, Chess is your game. This digital board doesn’t bother with graphics flair or friendly tutorials—it’s just you, the ...
Chess88
DOS1984 chess
With Chess88, you’re entering the elite club of DOS chess nerds who appreciate ASCII art and precision time controls. Compared to its 1981 predecessor, it’s a leap forward—kind of like going from a stone tablet t...
Chessmaster 3000
DOS1991 chess
Ah, Chessmaster 3000. The title alone sounds like it should have lasers and robot arms, but what you get is a thoughtful, elegant chess sim that finally brings charisma to the game. With clean VGA graphics, soothing commentary fro...
Chessmaster 9000
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2002 chess
Chessmaster 9000 is a chess game developed by Ubisoft and released in 2002. It's part of the Chessmaster series, which has been around since the 1980s. Chessmaster 9000 was known for its strong chess engine and comprehensive tutor...
Civilization
DOSWindows 3.xMac OS1991 4x
Sid Meier’s Civilization is the game that tricked an entire generation into loving history, city planning, and the occasional world domination. Starting with a tribe of stick-wielding settlers, you gradually evolve into a nu...
Civilization 2
Windows XP/98/951996 4x
Civilization II is a turn-based strategy game developed by MicroProse and released in 1996. It's the second installment in the "Civilization" series, created by Sid Meier. The game builds upon the concept of its predecessor, Civil...
Civilization II: Test of Time
Windows XP/98/951999remake 4x
Test of Time is what happens when Civilization II meets a Star Trek convention. This version takes the classic formula and adds space colonization, fantasy realms, and weird alien races. It’s like someone spiked the dev team...
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—usually by rewriting it with tanks. It’s not flas...
Clue Master Detective
DOS1989 board game
It’s Colonel Mustard in the Study with the Lead Pipe—but on DOS. Clue Master Detective takes the classic board game and wraps it in moody music, pixelated crime scenes, and computerized suspects with alibis weaker than...
Colonization
DOSWindows 3.xLinuxMac OS1994protected 4x
Sid Meier's Colonization is Civilization’s scrappy, historically charged cousin. You start with a tiny ship and a dream: exploit the New World before the other European powers do. Grow crops, trade with natives, rebel agains...
Combat Chess
Windows XP/98/951997protected chess
Combat Chess (1997, Windows XP) takes the cerebral game of kings and adds swords, screams, and shameless violence. Every piece battle-animates into Mortal Kombat-lite fights when you capture another. It's like regular chess, but w...