Abandonware DOS title

The most popular text-based games

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 These text-only video games may seem primitive and outdated and, in fact, the genre almost died with the fast evolving graphics of modern games.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.
egatrek-03

EGA Trek

DOS1988remake3.3/5
armchair-quarterback-01

Armchair Quarterback

DOS19854.1/5
business-simulator-03

Business Simulator

DOS19873.9/5 Reality Development
Business Simulator is an abandoned business simulation game developed and released by Reality Development in 1987 for DOS only. Business Simulator is a text-based management simulation designed by an university professor.
skthemist-1

The mist

DOS19854/5 Angelsoft
1893-world-fair-04

1893: A World's Fair Mystery

Windows XP/98/95Mac OS20033.6/5
1893: A World's Fair Mystery is an interactive fiction game developed by the American studio Illuminated Lantern and released in 2002. Set during the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the game combines historical fiction with mystery-solving gameplay.In 1893: A World's Fair Mystery, players take on the role of a detective investigating ...
demon-tomb-02

Demon's Tomb: The Awakening

DOS19893.3/5 Silhouette Software
startrek1stcontact-1

Star Trek: First Contact

DOS19883.6/5 Simon & Schuster Interactive
myth-ms-02

Myth

DOS19894.1/5 Magnetic Scrolls
amuletyendor-4

Amulet of Yendor

DOS19853.6/5 Keypunch Software
jamesbondview2kill-1

James Bond 007: A View to a Kill

DOS19853.9/5 Angelsoft
classic-hangman-05

Classic Hangman

DOS19833.6/5 Norland Software
kingdomkroz-1

Kingdom of Kroz

DOS1988freeware3.7/5 Apogee Software
questprobe-hulk-01

Questprobe featuring The Hulk

DOS19843.9/5 Adventure International
moonmist-1

Moonmist

DOS19863.8/5 Infocom
rules-of-engagement-2-01

Rules of Engagement 2

DOS19933.9/5 Omnitrend Software
time-and-magik-03

Time and Magik: The Trilogy

DOS19884.1/5 Level 9 Computing
mind-mirror-04

Mind Mirror

DOS19863.6/5
football-fanatic-05

Football Fanatic

DOS1998freeware4/5
larn-5

Larn

DOS1986freeware3.9/5
plunderedhearts-1

Plundered Hearts

DOSMac OS19873.9/5 Infocom
championship-manager-1-01

Championship Manager

DOS19924.1/5 Domark Software
Championship Manager is the first chapter in one of the most successful football manager games series. The first Championship Manager was a text-based British football/soccer simulation and included teams from four English divisions, European cups and domestic cups as well. Championship Manager was designed by Paul and Oliver Collyer and ...
bureaucracy-02

Bureaucracy

DOSMac OS19873.9/5 Infocom
Bureaucracy is an abandoned text-adventure game designed by Douglas Adams (yes, the writer of The Hitchhiker Guide of the Galaxy), developed and published by Infocom in 1987. Bureaucracy is a peculiar interactive fiction; the game challenges you to solve frustrating bureaucratic problems in a world populated by strange characters.
moria-5

Moria

DOS1992freeware3.9/5
newsmaster-01

NewsMaster

DOS19863.6/5
wishbringer-1

Wishbringer

DOS19853.7/5 Infocom
tomenet-04

TomeNET

Windows XP/98/95Linux2003freeware4.3/5
borland-reflex-2-01

Borland Reflex 2.0

DOS19863.7/5 Borland Software Corporation
Borland Reflex was a relational database management system (RDBMS) developed by Borland International, a software company that was prominent in the 1980s and 1990s. Reflex was released in the mid-1980s as a graphical database software primarily targeted at business and professional users.