The best shareware games
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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Legend of the Silver Talisman
DOS1996freeware3.9/5 Inter-Active Arts
Robotron 2084
DOS19833.9/5 Williams Entertainment
One-Nil Soccer Manager
DOS19923.9/5 New Era Software
One-Nil Soccer Manager is a text-based soccer management simulation game that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was developed for various home computer systems, including DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga. In One-Nil Soccer Manager, players take on the role of a soccer team manager, making strategic decisions to guide their team to s...
Moraff's Dungeon of the Unforgiven
DOS19933.9/5 Moraffware
Solar Winds 2: Galaxy
DOS19933.9/5 Stone Interactive Media
Monopoly
DOS19853.9/5
Yendorian Tales: The Tyrants of Thaine
DOS19973.9/5 SW Games
Mario Bros VGA
DOS1990remake3.9/5
Mario Bros VGA is a fan made remake of the original Mario Bros by Nintendo, the game that popularized the character of Mario, the Italian plumber that first appeared in Donkey Kong. Mario Bros VGA is a fixed-screen platform arcade game that truly shines when played in co-op with a friend.
Exile III: Ruined World
Windows XP/98/95MacWindows 3.x1997freeware3.9/5 Spiderweb Software
Mission: Mainframe
DOS19873.9/5
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...
Hugo 3: Jungle of Doom
DOS1992protected3.8/5 Gray Design Associates
Aldo Again
DOS1989remake3.8/5
Beyond the Titanic
DOS19863.8/5 Apogee Software
Yendorian Tales: Book I - Chapter 2
DOS19963.8/5 SW Games
Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom
DOS19953.8/5 Pop Software
Aldo's Adventure
DOS1987remake3.8/5
Aleshar World of Ice
DOS19973.8/5
Jill of the Jungle 3: Jill Saves the Prince
DOS19923.8/5 Epic MegaGames
Borderworld
DOS19963.8/5 Midlothian Software
Captain Comic, The Adventures of
DOS1988freeware3.8/5
Epic Baseball
DOS19953.8/5 MicroLeague Multimedia
Aquanoid
DOS1992remake3.8/5
Dark Designs 1: Grelminar's Staff
DOS19903.8/5 Softdisk Publishing
Tetris (Academysoft)
DOS19963.8/5 AcademySoft
Ancients 1: Deathwatch
DOS19913.8/5 Farr-Ware Software
In the Dead of Night
DOS19953.8/5 Trecision
Astro Fire
DOS1994freewareremake3.8/5 ORT Software
Night Raid
DOS1992remake3.8/5 Argo Games
Secret Agent: The Escape
DOS19963.8/5 PhreAk Software