Sopwith
Ranked 2 of 6 arcade games by recommenders
Fondly remembered early DOS dogfight game, praised for simple fuel and bomb strategy and smooth flight controls; critics find it very hard and speed-sensitive.
Fondly remembered early DOS dogfight game, praised for simple fuel and bomb strategy and smooth flight controls; critics find it very hard and speed-sensitive.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fond childhood memories of playing
“I also remember really enjoying Sopwith 2, which added cows, among other things.”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith” “We were always begging the daycare to let us play this. Very solid.”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith” “I've spent endless hours playing Sopwith! What a legend!”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith” - Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith”
- Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith”
Satisfying flight controls and physics
“Loved the basic physics of things like flying inverted or flying down low”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith” “Such a great control scheme!”
Comment from 5 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith” Strategic fuel and bomb play
“I've enjoyed the strategic aspect of fuel and bomb management and while the ai is simple, it provided a challenge.”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith” “I got very good at dropping the bomb while upside down and then flipping and getting outta there.”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Hard, speed-sensitive gameplay
“the game was really hard, because it was built for a 4MHz clock. Good times.”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith” “It was very difficult. Maybe because the game was speed sensitive”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Sopwith”
Other arcade games people recommend
The four most recommended other arcade games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fly By retro biplane game | 22 | 7 | 76% | 4 | — | Approved |
| SopwithThis page | 18 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Pac-Man | 9 | 2 | 82% | 5 | — | — |
| Atari Tempest arcade game | 8 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Pac-Man, but You're the Ghost | 5 | 10 | 33% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
15 of the 19 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“One of the best early PC games.”
“Such a great control scheme!”
“One of the PC games that worked great on the sorta-PC 186 RM Nimbus”
“I got very good at dropping the bomb while upside down and then flipping and getting outta there.”
“What a memory. I loved game.”
“I loved Sopwith as a child”
“being largely baffled at what I was supposed to do”
“As a small kid, I learned how to use the DOS command line to launch this game on my parents' PC.”
“I also remember really enjoying Sopwith 2, which added cows, among other things.”
“I've spent endless hours playing Sopwith! What a legend!”
“I've enjoyed the strategic aspect of fuel and bomb management and while the ai is simple, it provided a challenge.”
“Loved the basic physics of things like flying inverted or flying down low”
“the game was really hard, because it was built for a 4MHz clock. Good times.”
“It was very difficult. Maybe because the game was speed sensitive”
“We were always begging the daycare to let us play this. Very solid.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.