Acquire was one in a series of business board games created by Sid Sackson and released by 3M in the 1960s. Later, most of these games were released by Avalon Hill in the 1970s and 80s and are now the property of Hasbro. Acquire is probably the most exciting of this lot of games. It requires good thinking, great foresight, a little bit of luck and lots of attention. The computer version of the game can last only ten minutes, but these ten minutes will require your full attention. Due to the fact it is a board game, the replay value is extremely high.
Story: You are the supreme god of the universe. Normally, that's rather a good position to be in, but now the demon Tanzra has stolen your powers and infested the whole world with monsters. One last angel is all you have left...
Airline is a nice German business simulation where you try to build up and expand your airline worldwide. At the start you can either decide if you want to start a new company, expand an existing one or wish to bring an unprofitable airline back on the winning track.
In 1991, the EU wasn't nearly as prominent as it is now. In fact, it didn't even exist back then, because the treaties of Maastricht would only be signed a year later. However, there was the 'European Community' which was pretty much a predecessor of the EU. And it was obvious that the political and economic integration would continue, so there was a 'need' for political propaganda to soften the nationalist feelings of the population. Which part of the population is most easily influenced? Right, the children. Enter Auf dem Weg nach Europa.
Battle Isle - the game which got two different groups of games into public focus: wargames and German games. Both had had their loyal fan-base before, but both had been small. Tactical wargames turned into a very popular genre following this game. German games stayed a niche market in spite of this game's success.
Coal mining: an industry living 100% from subsidies. Here in Germany, they only stopped training new miners quite recently, i.e. until then, they let people go to their doom job-wise by pretending this still has a future. Unbelievable! Obviously, there were different times, too. 100 years ago, coal mining became the backbone of the industrial revolution. And that's the time this game is about.
When a game takes more than two years after the announcement to be released, it usually means something. Gamers who are waiting for the game to come out get pissed off. And the publisher almost certainly has a good reason to hold the game back. What this reason was in the case of Blade Warrior is unknown.
If you want to become Dr Brain's new helper (and you want if you are playing this) you have to solve all the puzzles that wait on his castle, placed to test your skills resolving problems of all kinds.
India, year 1800: The formerly dominant Mogul empire has been on a downwards spiral for a long time already. A new British Viceroy arrives to cement British supremacy once and for all. However, the French and the other Indian realms should not be underestimated. Somewhere in between, there are the Thugs wreaking havoc.
Without any doubt, Civilization is the greatest and most addictive game that ever graced a computer screen. Designed by Sid Meier, who at that time was already a household name among gamers, the game introduced the world to a new level of empire management: from settling whole continents, through researching new technologies, to building military units, city improvements and even wonders of the world. The game has spawned several sequels and copies, out of which only a single one (Alpha Centauri) comes close in the terms of gameplay and overall fun. Civilization has never left my hard drive, and probably never will, remaining the main reason why I still keep MS-DOS on a separate partition.