Word-based puzzle games

Word puzzle games were fairly common when internet wasn't "worldwide", back in the 80s and, to some extent, even in the 90s. Word games weren't that popular, but were easy to develop and a kids loved them. Some word games were inspired by tv shows: Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are two examples.

Most popular word puzzle games

The Typing of the Dead

Mario Teaches Typing

All Dogs Go to Heaven

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All Dogs Go to Heaven

DOS1989 Polarware

This 1989 game is based on the animated movie where dogs die, go to heaven, then come back for revenge (sort of). The DOS adaptation? Well, it’s more like All Pixels Go Nowhere Fast. You jump, you dodge, you squint at the sc...

At the Carnival

DOS1990freeware

Step right up to At the Carnival (1990), a puzzle game that mixes traditional brain-teasers with the kind of carnival theming that makes you question whether the developers had ever actually been to one. Brought to you by Cliff Jo...

Boggle

DOS1990 HVB Software

It’s Boggle (1990, DOS), the digital version of everyone’s favorite game where you try to spell long words while your friend keeps shouting “DOG” over and over. The game board is a 4x4 grid of letters, and ...

Cascade

DOS1990 PC Solutions

Remember those endless, hypnotic tile-matching games before Candy Crush hijacked your aunt’s phone? Cascade was already there, dropping blocks and breaking combos like it invented the genre. The visuals are neon, the gamepla...

Classic Hangman

DOS1983 Norland Software

Daffy Duck PI: The Case of the Missing Letters

DOS1991 Riedel Software Productions

Jeopardy!

DOS1987 Sharedata

Jeopardy! Junior Edition

DOS1989 Sharedata

Jeopardy! Second Edition

DOS1988 Sharedata

Learn The Alphabet

DOS1993 Compedia Software & Hardware

Lexi-Cross

DOS1991 Platinumware

Lexi-Cross is an abandoned science fiction tv show-styled puzzle game. Lexi-Cross was developed by Platinumware and released for DOS by Interplay Productions in 1991. The gameplay is a turn-based mix between Scrabble and Wheel of ...

Mario Teaches Typing

DOSMac OS1992 Interplay Productions

Super Solvers: Spellbound!

DOS1991 The Learning Company

Super Solvers: Treasure Mountain!

DOS1990 The Learning Company

The all new Family Feud

DOS1989 Softie

The Fool's Errand

DOS1989freeware Synergistic Software

The Fool's Errand is a puzzle-adventure computer game created by Cliff Johnson and released in 1987 for Macintosh and later for MS-DOS. The game follows the journey of a nameless fool through a magical land inspired by Tarot ...

The Typing of the Dead

Windows XP/98/951999 Smilebit

The Typing of the Dead is a distinctive video game, essentially a typing adaptation of the classic rail shooter arcade game, The House of the Dead. Initially debuting in 1999 as an arcade machine, it later became available on othe...