Dopewars

Dopewars is the classic Macintosh port of John E. Dell's notorious turn-based street economics simulator, repackaged for System 7 by Andrew Skinner of Likely Software. You play a small-time dealer with thirty days to turn a profit across six New York boroughs while staying ahead of cops, junkies, and a 15% daily loan-shark bill.

Gameplay

Each day you travel between cities, buying low and selling high across a fluctuating menu of substances. Random events spike or crater prices, while encounters with police force you to fight, flee, or ditch inventory.

The thirty-day clock

The whole arc is a thirty-turn race against compounding debt. Your opening loan from Louie the Fish grows by 15% per day, and any balance left at the end is clawed back from your final cash, sometimes leaving you in the hole.

Six-city circuit

Travel takes one full day, so route planning matters as much as price arbitrage. Each borough has its own pricing biases, weapon shops, and event tables.

Lineage

The game descends from John E. Dell's 1984 Drug Wars and the long line of DOS, Palm, and Unix Dopewars ports that followed. Likely Software's release brought the formula to color Macs.