Dope Wars

About Dope Wars

Dope Wars is a legendary text-based game that first appeared in the early 1980s and became a cult classic during the MS-DOS era. Originally inspired by the 1984 game "Drug Wars" by John E. Dell, this underground hit spread across bulletin board systems (BBS) and early internet communities throughout the 1990s.

The game puts you in the role of a drug dealer hustling on the streets of New York City. Starting in the Bronx with $2,000 cash and a $5,500 debt to the loan shark, you have exactly 30 days to turn your life around. Travel between six different boroughs—the Bronx, Brooklyn, Central Park, Coney Island, Ghetto, and Manhattan—where drug prices fluctuate wildly based on supply and demand.

What makes Dope Wars addictively replayable is its simple but compelling economic simulation. Prices for cocaine, heroin, acid, weed, speed, ludes, ecstasy, peyote, shrooms, and ice change dramatically from day to day and location to location. You'll encounter random events like police busts that crash prices, or shortages that send them soaring. The challenge is reading the market, taking calculated risks, and maximizing profit while avoiding the cops.

This browser version brings the classic DOS game to modern devices with no downloads required. Whether you played it on your school computer in the 90s or you're discovering it for the first time, Dope Wars remains one of the most engaging economic strategy games ever created—proof that great gameplay doesn't need fancy graphics.

How to Play Dope Wars

• Use number keys (1-9) or arrow keys to select menu options
• Start each game with $2,000 cash and $5,500 debt to the loan shark
• Travel between 6 NYC boroughs: Bronx, Brooklyn, Central Park, Coney Island, Ghetto, Manhattan
• Buy drugs when prices are LOW (watch for "Cops made a big bust!" events)
• Sell drugs when prices are HIGH (look for shortage messages)
• Visit the bank to deposit money (safe from cops) or borrow more cash
• Visit the loan shark to pay down your debt (goal: pay it all off!)
• You have 30 days (turns) to make as much profit as possible
• Random events: police encounters, muggings, dealer offers, and market crashes
• Expand your coat capacity to carry more product
• End goal: pay off your debt and maximize your final score

Tips & Strategies

• Day 1-3: Focus on high-volume, low-risk drugs like weed. Build capital slowly.
• Watch for market signals: "Cops made a big bust" means BUY, "shortage" means SELL.
• Manhattan typically has higher base prices—good for selling, not buying.
• The Ghetto and Bronx often have lower prices—stock up here.
• Deposit excess cash in the bank early—if cops bust you, they take your cash but not your bank account.
• Don't carry too much product when traveling to Manhattan—higher police presence.
• Upgrade your coat capacity whenever possible to maximize per-trip profits.
• Pay down loan shark debt early—the daily interest adds up fast.
• Mid-game (days 10-20): Take bigger risks with expensive drugs like cocaine and heroin.
• Late game (days 20-30): If you've paid off debt, focus purely on score maximization.
• The best players can turn $2,000 into over $1,000,000 by day 30.

Game History

Dope Wars has a fascinating history as one of gaming's most controversial and widely-cloned titles. The original "Drug Wars" was created by John E. Dell in 1984, programmed in BASIC for the TRS-80 computer. The concept was inspired by board games and simple economic simulations popular in the early computer era.

During the 1990s, countless programmers created their own versions, adding features like multiple drugs, more locations, random events, and combat systems. The game spread virally through BBS networks, school computer labs, and early internet shareware sites—often distributed on floppy disks passed between friends.

The name "Dope Wars" became the most popular variant, with dozens of implementations across MS-DOS, Windows, Palm Pilot, early mobile phones, and even graphing calculators (notably the TI-83). Its simple premise and addictive gameplay made it perfect for quick sessions during computer class.

This Linux version (dopewars) is based on the open-source implementation that has been maintained and refined by the community since the late 1990s. It preserves the classic gameplay that made the original so compelling while adding quality-of-life improvements and running on modern systems.

Despite—or perhaps because of—its controversial subject matter, Dope Wars became a touchstone of retro gaming culture and remains one of the most recognizable text-based games ever created.