101 games

Here goes! This list was compiled from multiple "best-of" lists, the most commonly mentioned examples in books like Fullerton's Game Design Workshop and Salen & Zimmerman's Rules of Play, and conversations with gamer friends. Some of these games I'd already played, but plenty I hadn't (and plenty of my favorites aren't on here). The goal here is to go for breadth and basic understanding of mechanics, plot, cultural relevance, and the personal experience of playing, not spend 100 hours trying to stay alive in Bloodborne. I tell myself this is because I'm trying to get through a lot of material quickly, but it's largely because I *cannot* stay alive in Bloodborne.

1. Spacewar! (1961)

2. Pong (1972)

3. Space Invaders (1978)

4. Zork (1980)

5. Pac-Man (1980)

6. Rogue (1980)

7. Q*bert (80’s arcade game)

8. Galaga (1981)

9. Donkey Kong (1981)

10. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

11. Ms. Pac-Man (1982)

12. Tetris (1984)

13. Duck Hunt (1984)

14. The Oregon Trail (1980’s)

15. Super Mario Bros (1985)

16. King’s Quest III: To Heir is Human (1986)

17. The Legend of Zelda (1986)

18. Metroid (1986)

19. Castlevania (1987)

20. SimCity (1989)

21. Street Fighter II (1991)

22. Sid Meier's Civilization (1991)

23. Super Mario Kart (1992)

24. Wolfenstein 3D (1992)

25. Mortal Kombat (1992)

26. Virtua Racing (1992)

27. Myst (1993)

28. Doom (1993)

29. SimCity 2000 (1994)

30. Final Fantasy VI (1994)

31. Command & Conquer (1995)

32. Quake (1996)

33. Super Mario 64 (1996)

34. Resident Evil (1996)

35. Diablo (1996)

36. Tomb Raider (1996)

37. Final Fantasy VII (1997)

38. Goldeneye 007 (1997)

39. Gran Turismo (1997)

40. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

41. Pokemon Red and Blue (1998)

42. Half-Life (1998)

43. Metal Gear Solid (1998)

44. Dance Dance Revolution (1998)

45. Starsiege: Tribes (1998)

46. EverQuest (1999)

47. Super Smash Bros. (1999)

48. Shenmue (1999)

49. Counter-Strike (1999)

50. Paper Mario (2000)

51. Diablo II (2000)

52. The Sims (2000) – PLAY AT STANFORD

53. Deus Ex (2000)

54. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001)

55. GTA III (2001)

56. Halo (2001)

57. RuneScape (2001)

58. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002)

59. Animal Crossing (2003)

60. ESPN NFL 2K5 (2004)

61. Half-Life 2 (2004)

62. World of Warcraft (2004)

63. Halo 2 (2004)

64. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV (2005)

65. Call of Duty (2005)

66. Guitar Hero (2005)

67. Resident Evil 4 (2005)

68. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

69. Flight Simulator X (2006)

70. Wii Sports (2006)

71. Gears of War (2006)

72. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

73. Flow (2007)

74. BioShock (2007)

75. Braid (2008)

76. Angry Birds (2009)

77. FarmVille (2009)

78. League of Legends (2009)

79. Starcraft II (2010)

80. Super Meat Boy (2010)

81. Red Dead Redemption (2010)

82. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montreal, 2011)

83. Rayman Origins (2011)

84. Portal 2 (2011)

85. Minecraft (2011)

86. The Stanley Parable (2011)

87. Binding of Isaac (2011)

88. Journey (2012)

89. Fez (2012)

90. Dear Esther (2012)

91. Dota 2 (2013)

92. Gone Home (2013)

93. Dark Souls II (From Software, 2014)

94. Shovel Knight (2014)

95. Tomb Raider (2015)

96. Bloodborne (From Software, 2015)

97. Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment, 2015)

98. Undertale (Toby Fox, 2015)

99. The Beginner’s Guide (Davey Wredon, 2015)

100. Fallout 4 (2015)

101. That Dragon, Cancer (2016)

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