Shareware: a business model
Shareware is a type of software distribution model that allows users to try a program before purchasing it. It's a marketing strategy and distribution method that was particularly popular in the early days of personal computing, primarily during the 1980s and 1990s.
Shareware games were released for free with limited functionality (for example: no saving, missing levels, time limit), often via a BBS (Bulletin Board System), a floppy disc or a CD included in a printed magazine or by direct download (when internet was in its infancy). If the user liked the shareware product, they could pay to obtain an upgrade and unlock the full game. When digital distribution started to become popular, shareware games slowly faded into oblivion.
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Heretic
DOS1994protecteddemo4.2/5 Raven Software
Hexxagon
DOS19934.1/5 Argo Games
Hexxagon 2
DOS19934/5 Argo Games
Hocus Pocus
DOS1994protected4.2/5 Apogee Software
Hugo 2: Whodunit?
DOS1991protecteddemo3.5/5 Gray Design Associates
Hugo 2: Whodunit? is an old school graphic adventure game designed by David P. Gray, developed by Gray Design Associates and released in 1991 for MS-DOS only. Hugo 2: Whodunit? is the second installment of the Hugo game series.
Hugo 3: Jungle of Doom
DOS1992protected3.9/5 Gray Design Associates
Hugo's House of Horrors
DOS19903.9/5 Gray Design Associates
Hugo's House of Horrors is an adventure game developed by David P. Gray and released in the early 1990s. The game is a text-based adventure with simple graphics, and it gained popularity for its witty and often tongue-in-cheek approach to the horror genre.The story of the game revolves around the main character, Hugo, who receives a letter from his...
In Search of Dr. Riptide
DOS19943.7/5 MindStorm Software
In the Dead of Night
DOS19953.8/5 Trecision
Inner Worlds
DOSLinux19963.7/5 Sleepless Software
Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom
DOS19953.8/5 Pop Software
Jazz Jackrabbit
DOS1994protected3.8/5 Epic MegaGames
Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare
DOS1994protected3.9/5 Epic MegaGames
Jill of the Jungle
DOS19924.2/5 Epic MegaGames
Jill of the Jungle 2: Jill Goes Underground
DOS19924.1/5 Epic MegaGames
Jill of the Jungle 3: Jill Saves the Prince
DOS19923.8/5 Epic MegaGames
Joust VGA
DOS1990remake4.4/5
Joyous Rebel
DOS1996freeware4.1/5
Jumpman Lives!
DOS1991remake4/5 Apogee Software
Ken's Labyrinth
DOS1993freeware3.5/5
King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table
DOS19943.5/5 MVP Software
Kingdom of Kroz
DOS1988freeware3.7/5 Apogee Software
Kingdom of Kroz 2
DOS19903.2/5 Apogee Software
Last Half of Darkness
DOS19893.9/5 SoftLab Laboratories
Legend of the Red Dragon
DOS19893.5/5 Robinson Technologies
Legend of the Silver Talisman
DOS1996freeware3.9/5 Inter-Active Arts
LineWars
DOS19904/5 Safari Software
LineWars 2
DOS19944/5 Safari Software
Lost Adventures of Kroz
DOS1990freeware3.3/5 Apogee Software
Major Stryker
DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware4/5 Apogee Software