Empire Deluxe (PC Games, 1995)

To those of us that grew up in the DOS early years to present, few games (if any) were better. The appeal has not diminished as Empire Deluxe continues to have a strong following. It also has a David vs. Goliath backdrop to the story as the developers struggled to get this game published. The actual rejection letters are quite interesting to read as major publishers found the game addictive but would not take on the client. The rest is hall of fame software history as the game was published and exploded in popularity. The net is a great resource to learn more about Empire Deluxe and whether or not it is a fit in your collection, even in this day. There are DOS and Windows 3.1 versions floating around, with a newer versions available through Killer Bee Software on line (they bought the rights).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Baldwin
Walter Bright and the referenced rejection letters: http://www.classicempire.com/
http://www.killerbeesoftware.com/
Windows utility available to run DOS games, have not tried it on ED:
http://www.dosbox.com/ but works great for Overlord (1991).