# Free RPG/Strategy pc games? Online or otherwise... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104 "2005-04-06T22:19:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Unkempt\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Unkempt\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Unkempt_One)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/1 "2005-04-06T22:19:15Z")
Are there any free RPGs or strategy PC games that can be downloaded or played online that are any good? It doesn’t need to have fancy graphics and sound, I am just looking for something entertaining to pass the time while things are slow at work. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/2 "2005-04-06T23:25:20Z")
There’s always Progress Quest, which doesn’t have anything in the way of graphics and sound\* but will certainly pass the time. - or roleplaying or strategy or, in fact, actual playing. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/3 "2005-04-06T23:25:22Z")
Since fancy graphics aren’t a requirement: [Nethack](http://www.nethack.org/)! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/4 "2005-04-06T23:26:48Z")
I prefer the [Slash’Em variant](http://slashem.sourceforge.net/) though. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/5 "2005-04-07T01:34:23Z")
[Runescape](http://www.runescape.com) is an online RPG that is free, except you need a membership for some advanced functions, spells, levels, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Iacob\_Matthew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Iacob\_Matthew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iacob_Matthew)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/6 "2005-04-07T02:20:20Z")
**Only follow the first link if you believe in the concept of "abandonware."** If you’ve got the time to find and set up some BIOs files, [Dark Wizard](http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=3919) for the Sega CD is one of my long-time favorites. If you want something where all you need to run it is DOS, then[the Starfleet series](http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?name=Star+Fleet+1%3A+The+War+Begins) is a fun little ASCII-classic. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/7 "2005-04-07T02:59:55Z")
Rich “Zdim” Carlson maintains a good listing of various free games on his site. Here’s his listing of freeward dungeon crawl games: [http://www.digital-eel.com/deep.htm](http://www.digital-eel.com/deep.htm) Another one from Zdim: Lost Labyrinth is a “roguelike” – aka Nethack variant. [http://laby.toybox.de/index.php3?sprache=1](http://laby.toybox.de/index.php3?sprache=1) - relatively short gameplay (about 10-20 minutes) - very high replayability; nearly everything in the game is randomly generated - a lot of options during the character generation; each character type requires another strategy to survive - game focus on exploration; killing monsters does not give an experience bonus (but makes fun nonetheless) - Multiplayer games on the same machine (up to 3 players with keyboard, mouse and joystick) - “Zelda”-like graphics, sound and animation; smooth scrolling of game screen - FreeWare I’ve only played it a bit, but it’s fun. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/8 "2005-04-07T03:04:46Z")
And how could I forget Strange Adventures in Infinite Space! [http://www.digital-eel.com/sais/files.htm](http://www.digital-eel.com/sais/files.htm) The demo is free and fully playable. It doesn’t have as much cool stuff as the full game, but that’s why it’s a demo. 🙂 The Digital Eel team is working on a sequel to Strange Adventures. It looks freaking awesome. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-rpg-strategy-pc-games-online-or-otherwise/298104/9 "2005-04-07T03:20:38Z")
The Kingdom of Loathing is great if you have a sense of humor. An Adventurer is You!