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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Grand Prix

DOS19894/5 Wizard Games

Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle

DOS1991protected4/5 id software

Catacomb Abyss

DOS1992protected3.6/5 Softdisk Publishing

Capture the Flag

DOS19933.3/5

Aldo's Adventure

DOS1987remake3.8/5

EGA-Roids

DOS1986freewareremake3.7/5 Designer Software

LineWars

DOS19904/5 Safari Software

Kingdom of Kroz 2

DOS19903.2/5 Apogee Software

Dungeons of Kroz

DOS1989freeware3.6/5 Apogee Software

Ant Attack!

DOS1994freeware3.7/5 Dataware

Snood

DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1996freeware4.1/5

Clyde's Adventure

DOS1992freeware3.5/5 Moonlite Software

Bubble Pop

DOS19973.8/5 Software of Sweden

Bubble Pop by Software of Sweden is a platform game that follows the classic bubble-popping mechanics similar to other popular games in the genre (Bubble Bobble...). Bubble Pop was published in 1997 by Webfoot Technologies for DOS only.

Aleshar World of Ice

DOS19973.8/5

Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine

DOS1991protected4/5 id software

Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine is a science fiction action oriented platform game designed by Tom Hall, developed by id Software and released by Apogee Software in 1991 for DOS only. Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine is part of the Commander Keen game series, specifically it's the second episode of Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy.

Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare

DOS1994protected3.9/5 Epic MegaGames

Legend of the Red Dragon

DOS19893.5/5 Robinson Technologies

Dungeons of Kairn

DOS19893.6/5

Skyroads

DOS1993freeware4.1/5 Bluemoon Interactive

Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate my Baby Sitter!

DOS19914.1/5 id software

Traffic department 2192

DOS1994freeware3.7/5 P Squared

Slicks 'n' Slide

DOS19934.2/5

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...

Blades of Exile

Windows 3.xMac OSWindows XP/98/951997freeware4/5 Spiderweb Software

Blades of Exile is a classic role-playing video game developed by Spiderweb Software. It's the third installment in the "Exile" series. The game was released in 1997 for Mac OS, and later for Windows in 1998.In Blades of Exile, players control a party of adventurers who explore the underground world of Exile/Avernum, a vast network of caves and dun...