Best games
Best Indie games of 2006
The 10 best Indie games released in 2006, ranked from 2,745 critic and player ratings.
The best Indie game of 2006 is Dwarf Fortress, with a critic score of 93/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 2006.
- 10 games are listed on this page, carrying 2,745 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 10
01
Dwarf Fortress
93
/100
02
Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress is a single-player fantasy game. You can control a dwarven outpost or an adventurer in a randomly generated, persistent world.
84
/100
03
DEFCON
You play the role of a military commander hidden deep within an underground bunker. Your mission - to successfully exterminate your enemy's civilian population whilst disabling their ability to attack your own. Start by launching your battleships, submarines, and bombers in order to decimate your opponent's defences. Scramble together your alliances, but remember only one can stand victorious. Prepare your pre-emptive strike before one of your supposed allies get the same idea. Choose the perfect moment for betrayal, obliterating your opponents with an apocalyptic thermonuclear barrage, but get it wrong and their devastating counter attack will bring you to your knees!
85
/100
Dwarf Fortress
93
/100
02
Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress is a single-player fantasy game. You can control a dwarven outpost or an adventurer in a randomly generated, persistent world.
84
/100
03
DEFCON
You play the role of a military commander hidden deep within an underground bunker. Your mission - to successfully exterminate your enemy's civilian population whilst disabling their ability to attack your own. Start by launching your battleships, submarines, and bombers in order to decimate your opponent's defences. Scramble together your alliances, but remember only one can stand victorious. Prepare your pre-emptive strike before one of your supposed allies get the same idea. Choose the perfect moment for betrayal, obliterating your opponents with an apocalyptic thermonuclear barrage, but get it wrong and their devastating counter attack will bring you to your knees!
85
/100
04
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the fourth game in the Elder Scrolls story, is set within the province of Cyrodiil, the heartland and Imperial capital of Tamriel. Emperor Uriel Septim VII is assassinated in flight from his own palace, but just before he dies he passes on to you the mystic Amulet of Kings. The adventure proper begins with the quest to find Uriel's lost and illegitimate son who is the only heir to the throne. In a world where the forces of darkness seek their ultimate dominion over the ranks of man and mer alike, you alone stand between the future of Tamriel and the gates of Oblivion.
81
/100
05
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded
During the first half of the 21st century, the war on terror became a global phenomenon, as more blatant and frenzied attacks struck deeper into the lives of common people. Inevitably, the public outcry to stop the madness grew to an irresistible level; the military forces of the world slowly but steadily retooled their approach, weapons, and tactics to combat people who were willing to die for their cause. One of the consequences was the harassment of civilians on an unprecedented scale, leaving destruction and misery in its wake. The world was soon rebuilt and a new age of prosperity and technological progress began. Science focused on creating a viable fusion power source and new technologies which would exploit this new power. A group of corporations was granted almost total freedom in order to pursue these goals. This may have seemed dangerous a hundred years ago, but in 2112 it was considered appropriate and was supposed to foster creativity and growth on an unprecedented scale. It didn't.
78
/100
06
The Ship: Murder Party
The Ship is a murder mystery multiplayer.
76
/100
07
flOw
flOw is a game about piloting an aquatic organism through a surreal biosphere where players consume other organisms, evolve, and dive into the abyss. With an embedded design of DDA (dynamic difficulty adjustment), players with differing skill levels can intuitively customize their game experience and enjoy the game at their own pace. You can play as one of 5 creatures, each in a unique environment. Lose yourself in the crisp “deep blue” in full HD at 1080p and 5.1 Surround Sound. Use the SIXAXIS motion sensors on the DUALSHOCK wireless controllers for an organic experience that will allow you to glide, flit, and flOw through the universe.
71
/100
08
Roblox
Roblox is a massively multiplayer online platform marketed toward creators and players of all ages. It allows users to create their own virtual games using a variety of objects, which they and others can enter and socialize in. Games created on Roblox can be scripted using a sandboxed scripting language based on Lua 5.1 to affect events that occur in-game and create different scenarios.
71
/100
09
The Blackwell Legacy
When Rosa Blackwell's only relative dies after twenty years in a coma, she thinks the worst is over. This all changes when Joey Mallone, a sardonic ghost from the 1930s, blows into her life and tells her that she is a medium. Whether they like it or not, it is up to them to cure the supernatural ills of New York in this critically-acclaimed series of point-and-click adventure games. When three NYU students kill themselves one after the other, nobody thinks that a sinister force is at work. Nobody but fledgling medium Rosa Blackwell and her new spirit guide Joey Mallone. It's trial by fire as they set these troubled spirits to rest.
70
/100
10
Broken Sword 4 - The Angel of Death
Secrets of the Ark: A Broken Sword Game returns to its roots by reintroducing point-and-click-based mouse control next to keyboard control, although still relying on a full 3D engine with fixed camera perspectives. A few puzzles are still action-based, but you are now given more time to act in stressful situations, rather than having to make split-second decisions. Next to the regular puzzles, you need to investigate images, texts and clues in the central manuscript as the story progresses.
60
/100
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the fourth game in the Elder Scrolls story, is set within the province of Cyrodiil, the heartland and Imperial capital of Tamriel. Emperor Uriel Septim VII is assassinated in flight from his own palace, but just before he dies he passes on to you the mystic Amulet of Kings. The adventure proper begins with the quest to find Uriel's lost and illegitimate son who is the only heir to the throne. In a world where the forces of darkness seek their ultimate dominion over the ranks of man and mer alike, you alone stand between the future of Tamriel and the gates of Oblivion.
81
/100
05
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded
During the first half of the 21st century, the war on terror became a global phenomenon, as more blatant and frenzied attacks struck deeper into the lives of common people. Inevitably, the public outcry to stop the madness grew to an irresistible level; the military forces of the world slowly but steadily retooled their approach, weapons, and tactics to combat people who were willing to die for their cause. One of the consequences was the harassment of civilians on an unprecedented scale, leaving destruction and misery in its wake. The world was soon rebuilt and a new age of prosperity and technological progress began. Science focused on creating a viable fusion power source and new technologies which would exploit this new power. A group of corporations was granted almost total freedom in order to pursue these goals. This may have seemed dangerous a hundred years ago, but in 2112 it was considered appropriate and was supposed to foster creativity and growth on an unprecedented scale. It didn't.
78
/100
06
The Ship: Murder Party
The Ship is a murder mystery multiplayer.
76
/100
07
flOw
flOw is a game about piloting an aquatic organism through a surreal biosphere where players consume other organisms, evolve, and dive into the abyss. With an embedded design of DDA (dynamic difficulty adjustment), players with differing skill levels can intuitively customize their game experience and enjoy the game at their own pace. You can play as one of 5 creatures, each in a unique environment. Lose yourself in the crisp “deep blue” in full HD at 1080p and 5.1 Surround Sound. Use the SIXAXIS motion sensors on the DUALSHOCK wireless controllers for an organic experience that will allow you to glide, flit, and flOw through the universe.
71
/100
08
Roblox
Roblox is a massively multiplayer online platform marketed toward creators and players of all ages. It allows users to create their own virtual games using a variety of objects, which they and others can enter and socialize in. Games created on Roblox can be scripted using a sandboxed scripting language based on Lua 5.1 to affect events that occur in-game and create different scenarios.
71
/100
09
The Blackwell Legacy
When Rosa Blackwell's only relative dies after twenty years in a coma, she thinks the worst is over. This all changes when Joey Mallone, a sardonic ghost from the 1930s, blows into her life and tells her that she is a medium. Whether they like it or not, it is up to them to cure the supernatural ills of New York in this critically-acclaimed series of point-and-click adventure games. When three NYU students kill themselves one after the other, nobody thinks that a sinister force is at work. Nobody but fledgling medium Rosa Blackwell and her new spirit guide Joey Mallone. It's trial by fire as they set these troubled spirits to rest.
70
/100
10
Broken Sword 4 - The Angel of Death
Secrets of the Ark: A Broken Sword Game returns to its roots by reintroducing point-and-click-based mouse control next to keyboard control, although still relying on a full 3D engine with fixed camera perspectives. A few puzzles are still action-based, but you are now given more time to act in stressful situations, rather than having to make split-second decisions. Next to the regular puzzles, you need to investigate images, texts and clues in the central manuscript as the story progresses.
60
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Indie game of 2006?
Dwarf Fortress currently tops the ranking with a score of 93/100 across 94 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.