Abandonware DOS title

Shareware: a business model sorted by release date

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.

Most popular shareware games

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Softporn Adventure

DOS1981freewareNSFW Sierra On-Line
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Amazing Maze

DOS1983
Don’t be fooled by the name—Amazing Maze is more of a slightly-better-than-average maze. But hey, in 1983, navigating a screen full of walls and hoping you guessed right was enough to set hearts racing. It’s just...
crazy-digger-1

Digger

DOS1983 Windmill Software
Digger is an abandoned action game developed and released by Windmill Software back in 1983 for PC only. Gameplay is a mix of two classics: Dig Dug and Mr. Do!: dig down, get gems, avoid death, reach the next level and so on.
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Robotron 2084

DOS1983 Williams Entertainment
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Space Miner

DOS1983
dnd_text-01

DND

DOS1984
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Flightmare

DOS1984freeware
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8088 Othello

DOS1985
There’s something oddly poetic about 8088 Othello, a 1985 take on the classic board game that feels like it was programmed by someone who had a personal vendetta against flashy graphics. The visuals are almost nonexistent, t...
air-traffic-controller-02

Air Traffic Controller

DOS1985 Cascoly Software
Welcome to the most stressful job in the world - rendered in glorious 1985 DOS graphics! Air Traffic Controller lets you experience the thrill of herding aircraft without the luxury of coffee breaks or radar resolution. It’s...
armchair-quarterback-01

Armchair Quarterback

DOS1985
Armchair Quarterback lets you live the dream of yelling at your TV — but on your DOS machine, and with even less control. It’s part simulator, part quiz show, and all weird. You make play calls, analyze stats, and pray...
monopoly-04

Monopoly

DOS1985
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Spacewar

DOS1985
Spacewar is one of the earliest digital computer games and is often considered the first interactive video game. It was created in 1962 by Steve Russell, Martin Graetz, and Wayne Wiitanen at the MIT. The game was developed on the ...
batalia-splash

Batalia

DOS1986 The Right Brothers
Batalia (1986) is what happens when war games and spreadsheet programs fall in love. This early DOS strategy title throws you into tactical battles with graphics that would struggle to impress a calculator. But don’t be fool...
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Beyond the Titanic

DOS1986 Apogee Software
Before Titanic was a movie with a lot of weeping, there was Beyond the Titanic, a text adventure where surviving the iceberg is just the beginning. The game takes the historic disaster and then says, “What if we added a secr...
egaroids-2

EGA-Roids

DOS1986freewareremake Designer Software
othello-03

Othello

DOS1986
round-42-03

Round 42

DOS1986
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Aldo's Adventure

DOS1987remake
Aldo’s Adventure is what you get when someone squints at Donkey Kong and decides to remake it after four cups of coffee and a long nap. You play Aldo, a brave little guy whose hobbies include climbing platforms, dodging haza...
captain-comic-02

Captain Comic, The Adventures of

DOS1988freeware
Before space marines were gritty and everything exploded in brown and grey, there was The Adventures of Captain Comic. This is early PC platforming in all its clunky, jumpy, 4-color glory. You collect treasures, shoot baddies with...
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EGA Trek

DOS1988remake
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Kingdom of Kroz

DOS1988freeware Apogee Software
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Moraff's Revenge

DOS1988 Moraffware
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Aldo Again

DOS1989remake
Aldo Again (1989) is the platformer that dares to say, “Hey, what if Donkey Kong but with 100% more confusion?” You play as Aldo, a mustachioed man of mystery (and questionable balance) who’s trying to climb plat...
alice-wonderland-if-01

Alice in Wonderland

DOS1989
Step into the rabbit hole - no, really, step carefully, or you’ll glitch right through the floor. Alice in Wonderland (1989, DOS) is a surreal, side-scrolling adventure that loosely follows the Lewis Carroll classic, if Lewi...
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Caverns of Kroz

DOS1989freeware Apogee Software
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Dungeons of Kroz

DOS1989freeware Apogee Software
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Grand Prix

DOS1989 Wizard Games