A couple of days ago I found what must the the greatest computer game of all times: Master of Orion. It is a really old DOS game – released in 1993, produced by Simtex Studios and designed by Steve Barcia. It’s a 4X game – explore, expand, exploit, exterminate. It’s your job to achieve galaxy domination either with fire and sword or through diplomatic fortune. Here are a couple of screenshots from the game:
And because the game is very old and the publisher unfortunately doesn’t exist anymore you can download the game for free. Just google it. You probably will need a DOS emulator if you want to play it using Windows XP or Vista. I recommend DOSBox. The game has a copy protection though. After you’ve been playing for a while the game will ask you an odd question that you have to answer correctly to keep playing. This image right here will help you answer the question.
This game and others released at the time inspired a whole genre that unfortunately appears to be quite dead nowadays. Only browsergames seem to keep this ingenious kinds of games alive.