Turn-based games sorted by release date

In Annals of Rome, you don’t just play history — you command it, badly. This 1988 strategy title lets you take control of the Roman Empire and try to keep it from falling apart, which it will, probably because you let Gaul get too uppity. It’s part turn-based strategy, part “HR simulator,” as you shuffle around senator...

Arnhem is the kind of wargame where you spend more time reading hex maps than shooting anything. It’s all about recreating Operation Market Garden — you know, that WWII battle where everything went spectacularly sideways. The graphics are what you’d call “functional,” the sound is silent, and your troops have the survi...

You’ve never really lived until you’ve watched a rook pick up a pawn and slam dunk it into the floor. Battle Chess (1988) turns the world’s most intellectual board game into a medieval cage match. The pieces don’t just move; they duel, they decapitate, they turn into dragons. Sure, the AI might still wipe the floor with you,...

Released in 1988, BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception is part RPG, part strategy, part “did I just die in the tutorial again?” You’re a young MechWarrior on the run, assembling allies and blowing stuff up with your giant robot. It’s a slow burn, but the lore is rich and the permadeath unforgiving. You’ll learn to...

Ever wanted to be on a game show without leaving your CRT-lit basement? The $100,000 Pyramid brings you that chance. You guess words. Your partner gives clues. Sometimes you wonder if your partner is helping or having a keyboard-related meltdown. The graphics scream "business presentation" and the host seems to have gone missing, but hey, you are h...