I grew up with a rattly 486 and a stack of floppies. That hum? The CRT sang me to sleep. I’ve played these games for real—after school, on snow days, and way past bedtime. I still boot them through DOSBox now and then, and the magic still pops. If you want an even broader look beyond my memories, swing by this roundup of the best DOS games of all time; it comes from someone else’s beige box and feels like chatting with a neighbor over the fence.
So here’s my short list and my stories—warts, wins, and little moments you can almost smell. (Yes, warm plastic counts.)
My quick “no-brainer” list
- Doom + Doom II — pure speed, pure grin
- X-COM: UFO Defense — panic, pride, ashes
- Sid Meier’s Civilization — one more turn, then ten
- Monkey Island 2 — goofy, sharp, a little mean
- Prince of Persia — timing is everything
- Wing Commander — space opera in your lap
- SimCity 2000 — pipes, taxes, arcologies
- Dune II — the seed of every RTS
- Lemmings — tiny workers, big heart
- Star Control II — funny aliens, huge map
- Warcraft: Orcs & Humans — peons, roads, “zug zug”
- Jazz Jackrabbit — shareware lightning
For another quick-hit top-ten that overlaps but still surprises, check out My Top 10 Old DOS Games I Still Think About.
Fast shooters that still sing
Doom and Doom II
First time I heard that shotgun thump in E1M1, I grinned so hard my cheeks hurt. I used arrow keys and Ctrl to fire, because that’s how we did it. No mouselook. Didn’t matter. It was smooth and loud and fast. For an MS-DOS deep dive that covers why these shooters still matter, browse The Best MS-DOS Games of All Time—From My Desk, My Disks, My Heart.
What I love: the punch, the secrets, the flow of good maps. What I don’t: keycard hunts can drag, and some maze-y bits feel like office hallways with demons. We lugged a beige tower to a friend’s place once and ran a null modem cable for co-op. It worked. It also melted my brain in the best way.
Wolfenstein 3D
Flats walls, loud dogs, lean maps. It’s like black coffee. Hits quick. But it repeats a lot, so I’d play in short bursts between homework and fruit snacks. If you want another nostalgia trip told from the seat of a squeaky desk chair, this list of the best DOS games ever hits the same caffeine-powered notes.
Duke Nukem 3D
Big levels, silly one-liners, jetpack fun. I had a blast sprinting across rooftops. The humor hasn’t aged great. But the level design still feels clever.
Big-brain weekends: strategy and tactics
X-COM: UFO Defense
This one took my heart and stomped it. I named my squad after friends, which was cute until a night mission went sideways and my best sniper panicked. I still remember the hiss of a door and that little death screen. The UI is clunky. The tone is perfect. Save often, or don’t—both ways feel fair.
Sid Meier’s Civilization
“Just one more turn.” Then the sun came up, and my mom said, “Breakfast.” I love tweaking the map, making roads, nudging cities along. Diplomacy gets weird (Gandhi can get spicy), and combat math can feel swingy. But it’s cozy and huge at once—like planning a town picnic and a moon landing on the same to-do list.
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty
Spice, harvesters, sandworms—I could hear the wind in my head. It’s the grandparent of modern RTS games. No box select, which hurts today, and pathfinding is messy. Still, placing turrets in a neat line felt like stacking bricks on a fresh site.
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
Peons say “zug zug,” and it never gets old. Roads matter here, which adds charm and fuss. The pace is slower than the sequels, but I liked that—less spam, more small plans. The UI is a bit stiff. The vibe is warm.
Master of Orion
Ship design plus galaxy sprawl. It’s clean and deep without shouting about it. The AI can be goofy. But building a beam boat that just works? Chef’s kiss.
Story, jokes, and brain-twisters
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge
I laughed hard at the spitting contest puzzle. The writing is sharp without being mean, which is rare. Some puzzles are moon logic. But the world has bounce, and Guybrush feels like a friend who tries, messes up, and tries again. Same as all of us.
Day of the Tentacle
Time travel toilets. A purple tentacle who wants it all. The art pops off the screen even on old hardware. I got stuck on the cherry tree bit and felt silly after. Fair game—the clues were there.
King’s Quest VI
Pretty, dreamy, many ways to fail. I kept a notebook by the keyboard like I was planning a project sprint. When it clicks, it’s magic. When it doesn’t, you reload and sigh.
Jump, fall, try again
Prince of Persia
Smooth moves, sharp blades, and a ticking clock. When you nail a jump, your whole body relaxes. When you miss, you learn. Controls can feel floaty, but it’s part of the charm. I can still picture the dust on the floor.
Commander Keen 4
Bright colors, a pogo stick, and the Dopefish (who will eat you; it’s his thing). It’s light and slippery in a good way. Shareware days in one file folder.
Jazz Jackrabbit
Too fast? Maybe. But I like fast. The levels zoom, the music slaps, and the green rabbit sells it. I used to race myself just to feel the rush.
Build stuff, fix stuff, let tiny folks march
SimCity 2000
Isometric bliss. Water pipes turned my brain inside out, and I loved it. Taxes felt like a real job (I know, I know). On our old PC, it chugged on big maps. Still worth it for that first arcology skyline.
Lemmings
Give them umbrellas. Give them ladders. Try not to squish them. With a mouse, it’s sweet. Without one, it’s a finger workout. Either way, when they all make it, you feel like a good boss.
The Oregon Trail
Yes, someone gets dysentery. Yes, you shoot too much buffalo. We played it on a rainy day at school and learned more about money and risk than any worksheet taught me.
Space combat that actually feels like space
Wing Commander (I and II)
Joystick in my lap, cat aliens on my tail. The briefings made my hands sweat. It’s hard, but fair. With a mouse, not great. With a stick, chef-level feel. My desk had little half-moons from gripping too tight.
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Flying for the Empire felt sneaky in a fun way. The mission briefings had this spooky vibe, and the scoring made me chase perfect runs. I still hum the music when I do chores.
Star Control II
Talkative aliens with real personality. Hyperspace had this red sea look that stuck in my head. I mapped star routes on graph paper because I was that kid. Combat’s twitchy, but the story glow is the thing.
Tiny, weird, but dear
- Alley Cat — one-button joy, pure snack game
- Jill of the Jungle — crunchy jumps and throw-y knives, great shareware vibes
How I play them now (and a tiny tech note)
These days I run them through DOSBox on a plain laptop. You can grab the latest version straight from the official DOSBox website with step-by-step setup notes.
Need copies of the games themselves? You can often find legitimate shareware and demo downloads at DOS Games Online. Another treasure trove is DOSGames.com, which hosts hundreds of classics legally and for free.
I tweak cycles so they feel right and pick Sound Blaster in the setup screens. I used to mess with autoexec.bat and config.sys—IRQ stuff that felt like plumbing. Now it’s a two-minute setup and you’re in. Keep saves in a folder you’ll remember. Trust me.
Quick picks by mood
- Need a 10-minute blast: Doom or Jazz Jackrabbit
- Want a long think: X-COM or Civilization
- Crave warm laughs: Monkey Island 2 or Day of the Tentacle
- Short, sharp platforming: Prince of Persia or Keen 4