Abandonware DOS title

Text-based games: ASCII, etc. sorted by year, newest first

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 These text-only video games may seem primitive and outdated and, in fact, the genre almost died with the fast evolving graphics of modern games.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.
a-night-with-troi-01

A Night with Troi

DOS1991NSFW
A Night with Troi (1991) sounds like a fan fiction gone too far - and, well, that’s pretty much what it is. It’s a DOS-based “adventure” in the loosest sense, where you find yourself on the Enterprise with ...
dos-navigator-1-01

DOS Navigator v 1.5

DOS1991freeware
druglord-01

Druglord

DOS1991
magnetic-scrolls-collection-02

Magnetic Scrolls Collection

DOS1991 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 Gu...
qbasic71-01

QBASIC

DOS1991 Microsoft
QBasic, or QuickBASIC, was an interpreted version of the BASIC programming language developed by Microsoft. It was designed to be easy to learn and use, making it accessible to beginners and hobbyist programmers. QBasic was part o...
borland-quattro-pro-03

Quattro Pro v4

DOS1991 Borland Software Corporation
rules-of-engagement-02

Rules of Engagement

DOS1991 Omnitrend Software
spellcasting201-splash

Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance

DOS1991protectedNSFW Legend Entertainment
Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance is an adventure game released in 1991, developed by Steve Meretzky and published by Legend Entertainment. It’s the second installment in the "Spellcasting" series. In Spellcast...
xtrek91-02

Xtrek

DOS1991freewareNSFW
zzt-splash

ZZT

DOS1991freeware Epic MegaGames
ZZT (1991, DOS) looks like it was drawn by an enthusiastic ASCII artist with too much time and not enough colors. And yet, it’s brilliant. Part action game, part puzzle adventure, part game creation tool, ZZT is the reason s...
arj-1

Arj

DOS1990
ARJ is a file compression utility and file format created by Robert K. Jung. The name "ARJ" stands for "Archived by Robert Jung." It was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a compression tool for MS-DOS and other systems....
at-the-carnival-06

At the Carnival

DOS1990freeware
Step right up to At the Carnival (1990), a puzzle game that mixes traditional brain-teasers with the kind of carnival theming that makes you question whether the developers had ever actually been to one. Brought to you by Cliff Jo...
boggle-01

Boggle

DOS1990 HVB Software
It’s Boggle (1990, DOS), the digital version of everyone’s favorite game where you try to spell long words while your friend keeps shouting “DOG” over and over. The game board is a 4x4 grid of letters, and ...
cascade-01

Cascade

DOS1990 PC Solutions
checkit-3-02

CheckIt 3

DOS1990
gumboots-australia-02

Gumboots Australia

DOS1990 Reckon Software
hockey-league-simulator-03

Hockey League Simulator

DOS1990 Bethesda Softworks
kingdom-of-kroz-2-splash

Kingdom of Kroz 2

DOS1990 Apogee Software
lost-adventures-kroz-splash

Lost Adventures of Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
msword5-5-02

Microsoft Word 5.5 for DOS

DOS1990 Microsoft
moslodeluxe-1

Mo'Slo

DOS1990protected 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&...
norton-editor2-01

Norton Editor 2

DOS1990 Peter Norton Computing
castlekroz-3

Return to Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
nextgen-trivia-01

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Trivia

DOS1990 Micro F/X Software
templeofkroz-4

Temple of Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
finalcrusadekroz-2

The Final Crusade of Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
amaze-01

A-Maze

DOS1989 New Era Software
If you’ve ever thought, “What if Pac-Man got lost in a modernist art gallery?”, then A-Maze is your oddly specific dream come true. Released in 1989 for DOS, this game is a labyrinthine puzzle fest where the grap...
acquire-splash

Acquire

DOS1989 IBM
Acquire (1989, DOS) brings boardroom drama to your DOS screen, turning you into a hotel tycoon in a game where the real enemy is... math. It's a faithful adaptation of the classic board game, complete with mergers, hostile takeove...
alice-wonderland-if-01

Alice in Wonderland

DOS1989
Step into the rabbit hole - no, really, step carefully, or you’ll glitch right through the floor. Alice in Wonderland (1989, DOS) is a surreal, side-scrolling adventure that loosely follows the Lewis Carroll classic, if Lewi...
arthur-excalibur-02

Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur

DOS1989 Infocom
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur is a text adventure with occasional graphics, in which you, the not-yet-king, bumble your way through Camelot trying to prove you’re not just some kid with a weird haircut. The writing is witt...