Abandonware puzzle games sorted by release date
Puzzle games are about solving logical or strategic puzzles, jigsaws, mathematical brain teasers, and quizzes. The player can control one or more characters (as in Lemmings) or interact with static or moving objects (as in Tetris).
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Classic Hangman
DOS1983 word puzzle
Boulder Dash
DOS1984 action puzzle
Boulder Dash is a classic action-puzzle video game that was first released in 1984 by First Star Software. In Boulder Dash, players control a character named Rockford as he digs through caves to collect diamonds while avoidin...
Soko-Ban
DOS1984 sokoban
Sokoban is a classic puzzle game first released in 1982 by Hiroyuki Imabayashi for the NEC PC-8801 in Japan and later ported to a number of platforms, including DOS, as Soko-Ban. The name "Sokoban" translates to "warehouse keeper"...
Boulder Dash 2: Rockford's Revenge
DOS1985 action puzzle
Boulder Dash II is the sequel to the original Boulder Dash game. It was released in 1985 and follows the same basic gameplay mechanics as its predecessor while introducing new levels and features. In Boulder Dash II, players once ...
Dr. Ruth Computer Game of Good Sex
DOS1986 trivia / quiz
Gapper
DOS1986 action puzzle
Airball
DOS1987 action puzzle, platform
In Airball (1987), you don’t play a knight, a space marine, or a plumber - you play a literal ball of air. Trapped in an isometric nightmare of spikes, fans, and poison gas, your squishy self must navigate hazards that clear...
Boulder Dash Construction Kit
DOS1987 action puzzle
Boulder Dash Construction Kit is both a full game and a level editor, built around the gameplay mechanics of the original Boulder Dash (1984). You still play as Rockford, the pixelated, googly-eyed spelunker, digging through caves...
Family Feud
DOS1987 trivia / quiz
Jeopardy!
DOS1987 word puzzle
Mah Jongg Solitaire
DOS1987 board game, tile-matching
Rockford: The Arcade Game
DOS1987protected action puzzle
Tetris
DOS1987 falling blocks
Wheel of Fortune
DOS1987 word puzzle
Centerfold Squares
DOS1988NSFW tile-matching
Classic Concentration
DOS1988 board game
Donald's Alphabet Chase
DOS1988 action puzzle
Jeopardy! Second Edition
DOS1988 word puzzle
Nyet
DOS1988freeware falling blocks
The $100,000 pyramid
DOS1988 trivia / quiz
Ever wanted to be on a game show without leaving your CRT-lit basement? The $100,000 Pyramid brings you that chance. You guess words. Your partner gives clues. Sometimes you wonder if your partner is helping or having a keyboard-r...
The Astronomy Quiz
DOS1988 trivia / quiz
Weird Dreams
DOS1988 action puzzle
Weird Dreams is an abandoned action - puzzle game developed and released by Rainbird Software in 1988 for DOS, but also published for Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64. Weird Dreams is a surreal action game in which you have to take p...
Wheel of Fortune New Second Edition
DOS1988 word puzzle
Win, Lose or Draw
DOS1988 trivia / quiz
Zoom!
DOS1988 action puzzle
Zoom! is a puzzle game that desperately wants to be cool. You're a sunglasses-wearing smiley face cruising down psychedelic gridlines while dodging blobs and filling in tiles like Tron on a budget. It’s fast, weird, and occa...
Archipelagos
DOS1989 action puzzle
Archipelagos is like a fever dream after watching too much Myst. You’re dropped onto strange, floating islands inhabited by stone monoliths and evil terrain-infecting sludge. Your job? Purify the land by destroying said mono...
Beyond Columns
DOS1989remake falling blocks
Beyond Columns is what happens when someone looks at Tetris and says, “What if we made it... slightly fancier?” This match-three puzzle game involves dropping shiny columns of gems and aligning them for points, all whi...
Block O Mania
DOS1989 sokoban
Block O Mania is what happens when a Rubik’s Cube and a sliding puzzle fall in love during a rave. Released in 1989 for DOS, this game will twist your brain into shapes it wasn’t designed for. The goal? Push blocks. Lo...
Blockout
DOSMac OS1989 falling blocks
Imagine Tetris but in three dimensions and your brain slowly melting into a puddle of confusion. That is Blockout. You drop 3D shapes into a pit and try to line them up, but nothing fits the way you want it to. You rotate pieces o...
Blue Angel 69
DOS1989NSFW tile-matching, reveal the picture
Caution: subtlety not included. Blue Angel 69, released in 1989 for DOS, is basically what happens when a programmer tries to mix erotic art with a tile-based puzzle game and ends up somewhere between genius and “please don&...