Games released in 1991

Ah, 3D-Maze. If you used Windows 3.x, you probably saw this lurking in the corner of your screen savers like a digital minotaur. Released in 1991, it’s not quite a game, but everyone played it anyway. You walk endlessly through a tiled labyrinth while a floating smiley face pops up to say hello or possibly curse your ancestors. There’s ...

Welcome to the squared circle of wireframe pain. Released in 1991 for DOS, this game puts you in the gloves of a boxer rendered entirely out of jagged geometry. The animation was revolutionary at the time, even if it now resembles two mannequins fighting in zero gravity. Customizable fighters and a career mode add a surprising level of depth, but l...

7 Colors is one of those puzzle games that sounds simple on paper but ends up consuming your entire afternoon before you even realize it. Released in 1991 for DOS, it throws you into a digital turf war where the weapon of choice is… color. You pick a hue, spread it across the board like a rapidly multiplying fungus, and try to outmaneuver yo...

A Night with Troi (1991) sounds like a fan fiction gone too far - and, well, that’s pretty much what it is. It’s a DOS-based “adventure” in the loosest sense, where you find yourself on the Enterprise with one goal: seduce Counselor Deanna Troi. Classy, right? The graphics are crude, the writing even cruder, and the whole ex...

Ah, Advantage Tennis—where the graphics are flat, the physics are questionable, and the grunts are blessedly absent. This DOS-era sports sim serves up matches that somehow feel like both a relaxing afternoon and a fierce Wimbledon final. Timing your shots is half the game; the other half is praying your opponent glitches into the net. A charm...

Think of Aldo's Assault as what happens when Mario forgets his plumber license and joins a bootleg army. This 1991 DOS gem throws you into a side-scrolling frenzy of ladders, barrels, and the kind of platforming logic that predates physics. Aldo, a man of questionable fashion sense and unclear motives, must survive wave after wave of hazards that s...

In Ancients 1: Deathwatch, you gather your pixelated party and set off to cleanse a city of evil, or at least try not to get mugged by slimes. It's a dungeon crawler in classic DOS fashion — grid movement, turn-based battles, and interface menus with all the elegance of a fax machine. Released in 1991, it’s as old-school as they come, r...

Another World (1991) is a cinematic platformer with big ideas, minimal UI, and a shocking willingness to let you die within five seconds of starting. You play as a scientist who gets teleported to an alien planet where everything wants to kill you — from tentacle monsters to prison guards to your own poor timing. It’s beautiful in a sta...

You don’t need to hate spiders to fear Arachnophobia (1991), but it helps. Based on the movie of the same name, it tasks you with exterminating wave after wave of creepy crawlies in a town that’s clearly being punished for its sins. Armed with bug spray, you’ll squish, spray, and scream your way through rooms infested with more pi...

Arctic Adventure is the sequel nobody asked for to Pharaoh's Tomb, except this time you’re freezing your butt off. As Nevada Smith (not a typo, it’s his real name), you platform-hop through icy ruins in search of... something valuable. Probably gold. Or penguins. It’s classic Apogee: blocky graphics, deadly spikes, and more trial-...

Armada 2525 is what happens when a spreadsheet decides it wants to conquer the galaxy. This is classic 4X strategy with all the bells, whistles, and menus your early '90s heart could desire. You’ll build colonies, research tech, and expand across star systems while trying to remember which of your 300 planets is building what. The AI is about...

In Armor Alley, you command a helicopter in a warzone that looks like a side-scrolling office meeting gone wrong. It’s strategy meets action: you must manage resources, deploy units, and not crash into the ground every five seconds. It’s chaotic, a little clunky, and far too fun. The game shines in its mix of arcade shooting and light t...

In Atomino (1991), you’re not blowing things up — you’re building atoms. That’s right: this puzzle game puts you in charge of creating molecular structures under pressure, which is exactly as stressful and addictive as it sounds. Pieces fall, atoms form, and your brain slowly melts in the best way. It’s science-meets-T...

In 1991, DOS gamers were treated to the weirdest parenting simulator ever: Baby Joe in: Going Home. You play as Baby Joe, an infant inexplicably left to crawl through caves, forests, and other extremely child-unfriendly terrain. Why is a baby traversing spike pits and lava flows? No one knows. Maybe his babysitter was the final boss. With floaty co...

Is it Breakout? Is it Arkanoid? No — it’s Bananoid, the fruitiest bat-and-ball clone you never asked for. With bananas, monkeys, and psychedelic colors, it feels like someone laced Pong with banana peels and Saturday morning cartoons. It’s not original, but it sure is bananas.

Turns out war is a lot tidier when it’s turn-based. Battle Isle (1991) gives you neat little hexagons to move your units on, like a very angry board game. It’s got strategy, sci-fi flair, and just enough AI ruthlessness to make you question your life choices. The graphics are basic, the pacing slow, but when you finally flank that enemy...

In Battle Master (1991), you play as a heavily armored murder-hobo leading an army across a fantasy world that really doesn’t want you there. It’s part action-RPG, part tactical slog, with clunky pathfinding and surprisingly fun chaos. The graphics are gritty, the music growls, and the gameplay feels like someone fed an RTS through a me...

If your idea of excitement is waiting... and waiting... and maybe catching a giant digital tuna, Big Game Fishing is your dream come true. Simulate the thrill of casting a line without ever leaving your ergonomic office chair. Just don’t expect action; this is a patience simulator cleverly disguised as a sport. Bonus points for fish puns in t...

Blade Warrior (1991) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up that looks like it was illustrated entirely in heavy metal album covers. You’re a silhouette of rage, cutting through demonic hordes in a world where nobody believes in color. It’s stylish, moody, and borderline impossible at times. The controls are a bit stiff, but that’s just ...

Bomb Run (1991, DOS) sounds like an action-packed thriller—and then you play it and realize you’re just trying to drop bombs in the right spots while flying what feels like a pixelated paper airplane. The game has that cold-war-paranoia-meets-math-homework feel to it. You plan your altitude, aim carefully, and hope your bomb hits someth...

Boston Bomb Club (1991, DOS) is a Rube Goldberg fever dream disguised as a puzzle game. Your mission: guide bombs (yes, bombs) along increasingly elaborate tracks using contraptions like rotating tiles, steam pipes, and sheer chaos. It’s like you’re managing the worst tea party in Victorian England—except everything explodes. The ...

Chip's Challenge is an abandoned top-down puzzle game designed by Chuck Sommerville, developed and released by Epyx in 1991. Chip's Challenge was released on DOS, Windows 3.x and many other home computers such as Atari ST, Amiga, C64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC.