bsdgames
TLDR
Play text adventure game
DESCRIPTION
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.
INCLUDED GAMES
adventure
Classic Colossal Cave text adventure.tetris-bsd
Terminal-based Tetris clone.snake / worm
Classic snake games.hangman
Word guessing game.hack
Precursor to NetHack roguelike.backgammon
Classic board game.battlestar
Space-themed text adventure.boggle
Word search puzzle game.canfield / cribbage
Card games.gomoku
Five-in-a-row strategy game.mille
Card-based racing game.phantasia
Multiplayer fantasy game.quiz
Educational trivia game.robots
Strategy game escaping from robots.sail
Age of sail naval combat.trek
Star Trek themed strategy game.
CAVEATS
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).
HISTORY
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.
