Here's a retro:

Tech TV's "The Screen Savers" have a list of their favorite Graphically challenged games. Some good ones there, but i especially liked this [text based] one:

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The antithesis of super-graphics gaming is -- of course -- text-based games. Of these, for my money, it doesn't get any better than Infocom's classic "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Based on the infamous five-book trilogy by Douglas Adams, you begin the game as the befuddled Arthur Dent, waking one average morning and failing to notice the large, yellow bulldozer in your front yard. I grew up playing this game and the "Solid Gold" edition released in 1987 manages to improve the experience without interfering with the original. Give your trigger finger a break, put your imagination to work, and download this game immediately. You can thank me later. (Another Infocom favorite you might recall is the popular Zork series). "