The most popular 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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Exile III: Ruined World
Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1997freeware3.9/5 Spiderweb Software
Legend of the Silver Talisman
DOS1996freeware3.9/5 Inter-Active Arts
Kingdom of Kroz
DOS1988freeware3.7/5 Apogee Software
Yendorian Tales: Book I - Chapter 2
DOS19963.8/5 SW Games
Jumpman Lives!
DOS1991remake4/5 Apogee Software
Traffic department 2192
DOS1994freeware3.7/5 P Squared
Gateworld
DOS19933.1/5 HomeBrew Software
Radix: Beyond the Void
DOS19954.1/5
Flying Tigers 2
DOS19943.3/5
Battlestar
Windows 3.x1996freeware3.8/5
Escape from delirium
DOS19953.9/5 Virtual X-Perience
Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare
DOS1994protected3.9/5 Epic MegaGames
Exile: Escape from the Pit
Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1995freeware3.9/5 Spiderweb Software
Moraff's Dungeon of the Unforgiven
DOS19933.9/5 Moraffware
Cap Man
Windows XP/98/9519993.9/5
Realms of Chaos
DOSMac OSLinux1995protected4/5 Apogee Software
Rockstar!
DOS19894/5 Wizard Games
Robotron 2084
DOS19833.9/5 Williams Entertainment
Moraff's Revenge
DOS19883.7/5 Moraffware
Moraff's World
DOS19913.5/5 Moraffware
Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom
DOS19953.8/5 Pop Software
Aspetra
DOS19963/5
The Adventures of Maddog Williams in the Dungeons of Duridian
DOS1992freeware3.2/5 Game Crafters
Ken's Labyrinth
DOS1993freeware3.5/5
In Search of Dr. Riptide
DOS19943.7/5 MindStorm Software
In the Dead of Night
DOS19953.8/5 Trecision
Capture the Flag
DOS19933/5
Dark Designs 2: Closing the Gate
DOS19904/5 Softdisk Publishing
Azalta: Cult of the Raven
DOS19963.9/5
Major Stryker
DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware4/5 Apogee Software