Games set during the cold war
There was a time when the two major political superpowers on Earth were at war, but it was a strange kind of war. U.S.A. and the former U.S.S.R. used spies, subterfuge, blockades, political and military influence all over the world to gain power on a global scale. The so called "Cold War" era lasted decades and ended in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin wall. Games set in the cold war often include espionage and strategy elements.
Most popular cold war games
Sort by:
688 Attack Sub
DOS1989 Electronic Arts
Dive, dive! This 1989 DOS simulator puts you in control of a nuclear submarine, though most of the action involves pushing buttons and waiting very patiently. Think of it as the “Microsoft Excel of naval warfare,” only with more torpedoes. The tension builds as you track enemy ships, sneak through sonar nets, and try not to surface into...
A-10 Tank Killer
DOS1989 Dynamix
Explosions? Check. Missiles? Check. Graphics that look like someone spilled gray soup on your monitor? Double check. A-10 Tank Killer lets you pilot a flying war machine and rain chaos upon tiny pixel tanks that may or may not be enemy vehicles. Missions include dramatic objectives like "blow stuff up" and "don't crash," which is harder than it sou...
B-1 Nuclear Bomber
DOS1981 Avalon Hill
Ever wanted to be responsible for ending the world in fewer than ten keypresses? B-1 Nuclear Bomber (1981) gives you that chance, wrapping global annihilation in glorious monochrome and a user interface that feels like it was designed during a lunch break. You're the pilot of a strategic bomber, flying missions that are less Top Gun and more Cold W...
Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition
Windows 3.x1989freeware Mindscape
Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition is a geopolitical strategy game developed by Chris Crawford and released in 1985. It is considered a classic in the genre of political and strategic simulation games. The game is set during the height of the Cold War, specifically in 1986, and it allows players to step into the shoes of either the United Stat...
Berlin 1948
DOS1989 Time Warp Software
Berlin 1948 throws you into post-war Germany as a secret agent on a noir-flavored mission through a city drenched in trench coats and suspicion. It’s one part spy thriller, one part historical fiction, and three parts trying to find the right verb in a text parser. You’ll interrogate shady characters, sift through Cold War paranoia, and...
Border Zone
DOS1987 Infocom
Welcome to Border Zone (1987, DOS), where the Cold War is hot and your only weapon is your brain (and maybe a good map). This text-based espionage thriller from Infocom combines spy drama with multiple protagonists and a real-time twist—yes, time passes even while you’re thinking. Which is terrifying. You’ll sneak past guards, dod...
Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space
DOS1993 Strategic Visions
Chuck Yeager's Air Combat
DOS1991 Electronic Arts
Chuck Yeager's Air Combat is a combat flight simulation video game released in 1991 by Electronic Arts. The game is named after and endorsed by the real-life aviation legend, Chuck Yeager, who was the first pilot to break the sound barrier. In Chuck Yeager's Air Combat players take on the role of a World War II fighter pilot, flying various ai...
Code-Name: Iceman
DOS1989 Sierra On-Line
Code-Name: Iceman is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1989. Designed by Jim Walls, known for his work on the "Police Quest" series, "Code-Name: Iceman" blends elements of adventure, puzzle-solving, and espionage in a Cold War-era setting.In the game, players assume the role of John Westland, a United States Navy...
Command HQ
DOSMac OS1990 Ozark Softscape
Command HQ was developed by Microplay Software. It was one of the early real-time strategy (RTS) games and focused on global warfare, allowing players to control armies, fleets, and economies in various historical and futuristic scenarios.
Conflict: Korea
DOS1992protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Crisis in the Kremlin
DOS1991protected Spectrum HoloByte
Global Thermo War
DOS1985
Hacker 2: The Doomsday Papers
DOS1986 Activision
Hacker II: The Doomsday Papers is a video computer game developed by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision. It was released in 1986 and is a sequel to the original Hacker game. The game was available for various home computer systems of the time, including the Apple II, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS.In Hacker II: The Doomsday Papers, players take...
Mech Brigade
DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Megafortress
DOS1991protected Artech Studios
MiG-29M Super Fulcrum
DOS1989 Simbiosis Interactive
Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter
DOS1991protected MicroProse Software
Nuclear War
DOS1989 New World Computing
Nuclear War is an abandoned turn-based strategy game designed by Eric Hyman and Jon Van Caneghem. Nuclear War was developed and released by New World Computing in 1989 for Amiga and, later, for DOS, and it's loosely based on a card game of the same name. Nuclear War took a satirical approach to the grim possibility of a global nuclear war and succe...
Power Struggle
DOS1988 Personal Software Services
Red sky at morning
DOS1993 Simulations Canada
Red Storm Rising
DOS1989 MicroProse Software
Red Storm Rising is a submarine simulation video game developed and published by MicroProse in 1988, based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond. The game is set during a hypothetical World War III scenario, focusing on naval combat between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. Players command a modern nuclear submarine from a first-per...
Rush'n Attack
DOS1989 Konami
S.D.I.
DOS1989 Cinemaware
Shadow President
DOS1993 DC true
Shadow President is a geopolitical simulation video game developed by DC True in 1993 for MS-DOS. In Shadow President, players take on the role of the President of the United States, tasked with managing both domestic and international affairs. The game provides a realistic simulation of the challenges faced by a world leader during the Cold War er...
Solidarnosc
DOS1991 P. Z. Karen Co. Development Group
Strike Fleet
DOS1989 LucasArts
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
DOS1990 Capstone Software
The Cardinal of the Kremlin is an abandoned simulation game involving espionage, politics and govern management set in the cold war years. It was designed by Kenneth Rothschild, developed by Capstone and released by IntraCorp in 1990 for DOS and Amiga. The Cardinal of the Kremlin was based on the Tom Clancy novel of the same name.
The Fourth Protocol
DOS1987 The Electronic Pencil Co.
The Fourth Protocol is a 1985 interactive fiction video game inspired by Frederick Forsyth's 1984 Cold War spy novel of the same name. Developed by the Electronic Pencil Company and published by Hutchinson Computer Publishing, the game was released on platforms such as the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and IBM PC (in 1997). Designed as a ...
The Grandest Fleet
DOS1994 Quantum quality productions
- 1
- 2