I only play the odd game I must admit but some faves are:

- California Games
- Bruce Lee
- Leaderboard Golf
- Ms Pacman
- The great giana sisters (excellent Super Mario clone)

I need to get into some demos too.

Are you using JiffyDOS? It makes a huge difference to loading times so is worth the effort.

The C64 port of Turrican is pretty great.

When I think C64 I think of five things:

- Compute! and Crossroads
- Spy vs. Spy
- Epyx and Cinemaware games (C64 Defender of the Crown is my favorite of them)
- Appregios out the ass in all music
- Forbidden Forest 🤣

Oh yes, it's all about the Epyx games. Jumpman and Impossible Mission in particular. Some people are really fond of Last Ninja and its sequels. Maybe Boulder Dash and Wizball.

Of course, a lot of these games are also available on other platforms and in some cases the C64 version isn't necessarily the best.

I was always intrigued by Geos... a full GUI on a simple C64, with lots of WYSIWYG applications.
As for games... the best times I had was when we were with some friends and played games like Track 'n' Field together, or Decathlon, Summer Games, Winter Games etc.
International Karate + is also really nice.

Way of the Exploding Fist
Bruce Lee (there's also a very good fan-made sequel now)
the Creatures games
Paradroid
Mayhem in Monsterland (one of the most technically impressive games on the C64)

alternate reality the city, dungeon
impossible mission I & II
pitfall II
spy vs spy
infiltrator
ghostbusters

Monty on the Run has a great SID soundtrack.

Oh! Project Firestart, of course.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/firestart/firestart.htm

And Paradroid, but again, there are probably nicer modern implementations.

Denaris/Katakis is also really nice, especially if you play it with two players... One controls the space ship, the other the shield module.
Or R-Type, very nice as well.
Both have great music.

Last Ninja 2 for me 😀

Commando.
Wings of fury.
Skaermtrolden Hugo. (hugo the troll)
Testdrive 1 + 2.
Giana Sisters.
Rainbow Island.
Super Mario.
Rick Dangerous.
Bubble Bobble.
New Zeeland Story.
Batman.
Winthergames, Summergames and a third called something like WorldGames or something.
And then some sort of platform Indyana Jones game.

I can't remember more of those I played back then. There were just too many good games for the old BreadBox.

The ones I played as a kid:
Raid over Moscow
Temple of Apshai
Impossible Mission 1&2
Amazon
Beach Head
BC's Quest for Tires and the sequel Grog's Revenge
Mr Do's Castle
Buggy Boy
Fort Apocalypse
Hacker 1 and 2
Master of the Lamps
Spiderbot
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
and many many more...

Wizball - still great fun in co-op mode - you're a wizard charged with bringing back colors to the world - with the help of your cat
Dropzone - frantic Defender clone, great gameplay.
Thrust - zip in, steal the pod and escape the defense system while grooving to some of the best music ever programmed for the C64
Gyruss - best ever port of Konami's arcade classic
Paradroid - all of the ship's droids have gone haywire. Eliminate them by transferring your AI into their system. Don't try to take over the 999 while driving a 302.
Armalyte - easily one of the best shoot 'em ups for the C64. Has a co-op mode.
Nebulus - you're a frog and you're pissed that someone built towers in your swamp. Bring them down! Features novelty rotating towers and platforming puzzles.
The Sentinel - Take down The Sentinel but don't let him spot you. 10.000 landscapes to conquer.
Stunt Car Racer - technically impressive but clunky 3D racer on rollercoaster tracks. Still makes me laugh to this day.
Deflektor - turn mirrors to guide a laserbeam through or past obstacles, but don't let the laser overheat. Great Ben Daglish soundtrack.
Infernal Runner - escape from hell and die in funny ways while trying.
The Sacred Armour of Antiriad - restore freedom to the land piloting the sacred armour of the ancients. It's in a sorry state though so first you must fix it. Great title tune.
Saboteur (series) enter the compound and use your ninja skills to retrieve a floppy disk that holds important information, then set the time bomb and make your escape.

(Oh.. you're in the US. These are all PAL games..sorry)

Dammit, now I wish I had a C64! I have yet to find one even on craigslist.

Great little computers. I really love my ones now that I have some software. 😁

I really love my 1541 Ultimate II - a disk drive emulator and much more. It even emulates the sounds of a 1541! zzt zzt zzt zzzzzzzt clonk.

Does it really emulate the sound? That's pretty awesome. 🤣

Yep! And it can play SID's, override the ROM to allow you to use a soft copy of JiffyDOS, comes pre-loaded with a selection of fast loader / util carts, has a reset button, etc.

They're not cheap but I'm still tempted to buy a backup, because my C64 would seem a whole lot less attractive without my the 1541UII.