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Top 10 · 1980s

The 10 best DOS games of the 1980s

The 10 best DOS games of the 1980s, as the players of dos.games rate them. Dig Dug leads the list, ahead of Pole Position and Zork I: The Great Underground Empire.

Every game on the list plays in your browser, with nothing to install. The order comes from players' ratings and real play time, so it moves as people play.

Updated How the lists are ranked

  • 96DOS games of the 1980s in the archive
  • 10 of 10Play in your browser
  • 3.5Score of #1, out of 5

  4. 4. SimCity

    1989 · Maxis Software Inc. · Simulation

    3.3No ratings yet

    SimCity sets you as the mayor of a new municipality, with the responsibility of building and maintaining a place where citizens can move to and work and be happy.

    Play now: SimCityAbout the game

  8. 8. Rogue

    1984 · A.I. Design · Role-playing (RPG)

    3.3No ratings yet

    This classic dungeon-crawl uses ASCII characters (letters and some symbols) and basic colors to depict a rogue's epic adventure through the infamous Dungeon of Doom.

    Play now: RogueAbout the game
Ranks 11–20

More great DOS games of the 1980s

  1. Montezuma's Revenge (1984) — playable in the browserParker Brothers · Action · 1984Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · 2m · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open Montezuma's Revenge (1984)
  2. King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella — playable in the browserSierra On-Line, Inc. · Adventure · 1988Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · 1m · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella
  3. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game — playable in the browserU.S. Gold Ltd. · Action · 1989Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · 1m · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game
  4. Ghosts 'N Goblins — playable in the browserCapcom U.S.A., Inc. · Action · 1987Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · 1m · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open Ghosts 'N Goblins
  5. Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World — playable in the browserNew World Computing, Inc. · Role-playing (RPG) · 1988Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World
  6. King's Quest III: To Heir is Human — playable in the browserSierra On-Line, Inc. · Adventure · 1986Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open King's Quest III: To Heir is Human
  7. Street Fighter — playable in the browserCapcom U.S.A., Inc. · Action · 1988Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open Street Fighter
  8. 4 Soccer Simulators — playable in the browserCodemasters · Sports · 1988Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open 4 Soccer Simulators
  9. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — playable in the browserAtari, Inc. · Action · 1988Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
  10. Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards — playable in the browserSierra On-Line, Inc. · Adventure · 1987Most played
    3.3
    How this score is built
    SignalAdds
    Player ratings0% · no ratings yet0.00
    Archive default3.20 × 100% · never scored by the catalogue · stands in for 8 ratings3.20
    Blended rating3.20
    Play activity1 player · capped at +0.50+0.08
    Score3.3

    Recomputed from the database as ratings and sessions land. Every title in the archive goes through this same arithmetic — there is no manual adjustment step.

    Open Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
Keep exploring

More top lists by decade

Questions

Frequently asked

How Best DOS Games are ranked
What is the best DOS game of the 1980s?

Dig Dug (1983, Namco Limited) is the best DOS game of the 1980s by our players' ratings, ahead of Pole Position and Zork I: The Great Underground Empire. The ranking follows players' ratings and real play time, so it changes as people play.

Can I play these DOS games of the 1980s online?

Yes. 10 of the games on this list play free in your browser on dos.games, with no download and no emulator to set up. Press Play on any of them; your progress can be saved.

How many DOS games of the 1980s are there on dos.games?

96. This list ranks the best 10 in full and the next ones below them; the catalogue has every one, with filters for year, studio and more.

How is this list ranked?

With the same score as our Best DOS Games ranking: players' ratings, pulled toward the archive's own rating while a game has few of them, plus a small bonus for the games people actually keep playing. No editor and no sponsor decides a place.