bsdgames

bsdgames is a collection of classic text-based games originating from BSD Unix systems. These games represent decades of Unix gaming history, ranging from the earliest text adventures to terminal-based arcade games.The collection includes puzzle games, card games, board games, text adventures, and action games - all playable in a terminal. Many influenced later games: Adventure pioneered interactive fiction, Hack led to NetHack and roguelikes, and Worm was an early snake game.Games typically use keyboard controls and ASCII graphics. Most include built-in help accessible via ? or man pages. Configuration and high scores are often stored in the user's home directory.

bsdgames-adventure

Classic Colossal Cave text adventure (renamed from adventure to avoid clashes).

Terminal-based Tetris clone.

Classic snake games.

Word guessing game.

Precursor to NetHack roguelike.

Classic board game.

Space-themed text adventure.

Word search puzzle game.

Card games.

Five-in-a-row strategy game.

Card-based racing game.

Multiplayer fantasy game.

Educational trivia game.

Strategy game escaping from robots.

Age of sail naval combat.

Star Trek themed strategy game.

Look up common internet abbreviations.

Nod to the 1983 film; prints a classic prompt on launch.

Classic tiny Unix utilities shipped alongside the games.

Some games require a capable terminal emulator. Multiplayer games may not work without additional configuration. The exact games included vary by distribution packaging. Some games have different names on different systems (tetris vs tetris-bsd).

The BSD games collection evolved alongside Unix at UC Berkeley from the 1970s onward. Many games were contributed by students and staff, becoming part of BSD Unix distributions. The collection represents a snapshot of early computer gaming when terminals were the primary interface. These games were open source before the term existed and have been preserved by the Linux community.

nethack(6), angband(6), cowsay(1)