On this website, you can find a great number of games for different video game consoles and home computers from the past, and play them. This is variation of Pantheon for the Web. Pantheon is Windows desktop application, that does the same, but has much more games available (over 10,000). You can find more information about Pantheon here.
Pantheon for Windows OS
To play a game, select a device on the main page, and then select a game from the list by clicking on its image. The emulator will launch the game, and after a few seconds, the game will be available to play. If the game does not start or if an error occurs during the play, you will receive an error message. In that case, you can send me an e-mail and tell me about the problem (attach screenshot if you can). You can also try to hard reload page, to ensure that all javascript files are up-to-date (usually Ctrl + click on Reload button or F5 key).
Different devices have different number of games available. Some have only few dozens, some have thousands of games to play. If you are not interested in all types of games for certain device, use the combobox at the bottom of the page. Select the type of games that interest you, and games of other genres will be hidden. The games, that you have already played, have two silver stars, one at the left and right side of the title. This information is storted in your browsers history, and is available for a limited time (depends on your browser's preferences).
Most home computers had a BASIC interpreter combined with a line editor, which one could use to type in BASIC commands and programs and execute them. If you would like to do this, select the device that you would like to use and click on the link that says Start device in Operating System/BASIC mode. This option is not avaiable for video game consoles, of course. Info and Manual/Guide options on the toolbar are links to pages with more information about the BASIC of this device.
The project was started at the beginning of 2024, and there is a lot less games to play, compared to Pantheon, but I plan to add games more frequently. Pantheon project is not abandoned, i will still add new games, as I used to, but maybe not so many.
Emulators:
Emulators of all devices have the same user interface, which consists of canvas where the device screen is presented, and toolbar with various options, at the right side of the page. Games can be played with keyboard, gamepad or joystick, or with mouse if the game supports light gun controller. You can also play games on mobile platforms, such as smart phones or tablets, but there are few differences between mobile and desktop version, which are explained at the bottom of this page.
By default, the toolbar at the right side of the page, is displayed when mouse cursor is moved, and it will hide after a few seconds. But you can also make it visible all the time. Use pin/unpin option to switch between these two modes. This toolbar has many options.
Info and Manual/Guide options, when available, are links to external web pages with more information about the game. Or about BASIC programming if you are in the BASIC mode of computer.
Save current state (F12) and Restore saved state (F10): the player can save the current state of emulator (snapshot) and later restore it. If you play the game, use this from time to time (you never know when the emulator will crash). Snapshot is only available for restore, as long as the page is open, but one, the last snapshot, that you make, is stored at local storage and will be available in this game, until you make another snapshot.
The Upload/Download menu has tree options. The state of emulator (snapshot) can be saved and downloaded, as file. This file's file extension is .pws, name is combination of device name and program title (eg. Sinclair ZXSpectrum - Atic Atac.pws). This file can be then uploaded, to restore downloaded state. Download screenshot option creates a copy of device display and then downloads it as .png file.
With the options at the bottom of the toolbar, you can also restart the emulator, pause it (F9) and increase the speed of the program execution. The speed can be increased by 2x, 4x or 8x (you can also switch between normal speed and 8x with F8 or if you click on speed meter icon). This is useful to skip parts of the game, that take a lot of time (loading, initializaton....), but you can also use this for games that run very slowly by default. I also use 2x speed for Sinclair ZX81 text adventure games, because at normal speed, typing text at this device can be painful. You can also decrease the speed of the program execution by 50% (1/2), which can make certain games or sequences very easy to play (I am bad player, I use this a lot).
Settings menu has several options, that will allow you to adjust emulator to your needs. You can change the size of the display and its brightness and adjust sound volume. Click on these option to switch between different modes. You can also enable or disable CRT mode, which is just graphical effect that simulates old CRT TV screens.
Two input controllers are supported, with maximum four buttons on each controller. Default keys (U.S keyboard layout) are:
- Controller 1: cursor keys to move, right control key as button 1, / as button 2, . as button 3 and , as button 4
- Controller 2: WSAD keys to move, and F G R T key as buttons 1-4
This can be changed in Control Settings dialog. Just click on the icon of control to select it (turns red) and then press a key, to assign it to this control (turns black again). The key names refer to U.S keyboard layout, as the system keyboard layout cannot be detected via javascript.
Many games for home computers do not support joystick, and can only be played with keys on the keyboard. I try to bind those keys to controller 1, if it makes sense. But, if controller keys are bound to the same keys that are used for the keyboard, this can cause problems with some games. Select controller keys wisely, cursor keys, navigation keys and key on numeric keypad are the safest choice.
If device does not produce sound (Sinclair ZX81, Jupiter ACE), sound volume settings are not available. If device can produce audio, you will not hear it, until you make a gesture (mouse click or key click). There is also a notification at the bottom of the page that says: Click a mouse button or press a key to play audio. This is because autoplay is disabled by default in modern web browsers, but you can change this behaveour for specific website in your browser.
There are several other types of options, which are not always available on toolbar:
- Device specific options: for example Atari 2600 has icons for Player 1 and Player 2 switches.
- Disks/tapes icons: if the game is available on more than one disk or tape, an icon for each disk or tape is on the toolbar. When the game states, for example: Insert Disk 2 and press Enter, click on the icon for Disk 2 and it will become activated.
- Keyboard icon: the computers and certain video consoles (Magnavox Odyssey 2) have a keyboard. Of course you can use keys on your keyboard to type text in the game or BASIC, but you can also activate on-display keyboard and type text by clicking on the keys of on-display keyboard. This is mandatory for mobile devices, but can be useful, when you play games on computer, as you can see how the device's keyboard is layed out, and how special symbols or commands can be accessed.
On-display keyboard for Sinclair ZX80/81
Keyboard shortcuts:
- F8 - Toggle between 8x and normal speed
- F9 - Toggle between pause and play
- F10 - Restore saved state
- F12 - Save current state
Controllers:
Gamepads with standard mapping are supported via Navigator.getGamepads() API. I have only one gamepad (Microsoft Xbox controller) and it works fine in Google Chrome and FireFox.
Atari 2600:
Atari 2600 has two controllers ports. Standard Atari 2600 controller is joystick with one button, but all other controllers are also supported. There are two buttons and three switches on the console console itself. Reset button is bound to button 3 on controller 1, and Select to button 4 on controller 1. TV type selection (color or black-and-white) switch is set to color, and cannot be changed. Player 1 and Player 2 difficulty switches can be switched by clicking on P1/P2 icons on toolbar.
All controllers which are supported:
- Joystick controller
- Paddle controller
- Driving controller
- Keyboard controller
- XG-1 light gun (play with mouse)
Enduro for Atari 2600
ColecoVision:
ColecoVision has two controllers ports. Standard ColecoVision controller is joystick with two buttons and numeric keypad. Numeric keypad is supported only for controller 1: use number keys at the top of the keyboard for digits, and (-) and (=) keys (US keyboard layout) for asterix (*) and hash (#). You can also press controller button 3 for asterix and controller button 4 for hash (if the game is not for Super Action Controller). To use keys on the numeric keypad of controller 2, use the same keys as for controller 1 and press ` key (left from key 1) at the same time. You can also activate keys of each controller via on-display keyboard for ColecoVision, which can be accessed from the toolbar.
All controllers which are supported:
- Standard ColecoVision controller
- Super Action controller: has four buttons
- Roller controller
- Driving controller
Ninja Princess for ColecoVision
Sega Master System:
Sega Master System has two controllers ports. Original controller has D-Pad with two buttons, labelled 1 and 2, but button 1 is often referred as Start in SMS games. There are also two buttons on the console console itself: Pause and Reset. Pause is bound to button 3 on controller 1, and Reset is bound to button 4 on controller 1.
All controllers which are supported:
- Original Sega controller
- Paddle controller
- Sega Sports Pad
- Light Phaser: light gun controller (play with mouse)
Power Strike II for Sega Master System
Sinclair ZX80/81:
Sinclair ZX80/81 does not play audio, so audio volume settings are not available. Most of the games are written in BASIC and run slow, so switch to 2x, or even 4x speed mode to make things more enjoyable. Typing text on real device was painful, because the keyboard was bad, and response was slow, but if you switch to 2x, or even better to 4x speed mode, things get better. From time to time, BASIC games may just stop working. This is issue with my emulator, that I will fix in the future. If this happens, type CONT (C key+Enter) command to get back in the game. In most games, Space key is disabled, as it stops the program execution.
Sinclair ZX80/81 has keyboard with only 40 keys (activate on-display keyboard to see their layout). Most special characters, some actions and commands are accessible with combination of keys. I have binded some of the most commonly used to appropriate keys on the keyboard (US keyboard layout):
- Backspace for delete (Shift + 0)
- Key , for comma . (Shift + .) )
- Key ; for semicolon ; (Shift + X)
- Key " for colon : (Shift + Z)
- Key - for minus - (Shift + J)
- Key = for plus + (Shift + K)
- Key / for equal = (Shift + L)
- Key [ for open parenthesis ( (Shift + I)
- Key ] for close parenthesis ) (Shift + I)
- In BASIC mode, you can also use cursor keys to move a cursor (as Shift + 5-8)
Munchy for Sinclair ZX80/81
Sinclair ZX Spectrum:
Most games for ZX Spectrum support Kempston joystick, which is supported in this emulator (use controller 1 keys). If the game does not support joystick, I bind default keys to controller 1 if it makes sense. If you redefine keys in the game, this will not work.
Sinclair ZX Spectrum has keyboard with only 40 keys (activate on-display keyboard to see their layout). Most special characters, some actions and commands are accessible with combination of keys. I have binded some of the most commonly used to appropriate keys on the keyboard (US keyboard layout):
- Backspace for delete (Shift + 0)
- Key . for period . (Symbol Shift + M) )
- Key . for comma . (Symbol Shift + N) )
- Key ; for semicolon ; (Symbol Shift + O)
- Key \ for colon : (Symbol Shift + Z)
- Key " for quote " (Symbol Shift + P)
- Key - for minus - (Symbol Shift + J)
- Key = for plus + (Symbol Shift + K)
- Key / for equal = (Symbol Shift + L)
- Key [ for open parenthesis ( (Symbol Shift + I)
- Key ] for close parenthesis ) (Symbol Shift + I)
- In BASIC mode, you can also use cursor keys to move a cursor (as Shift + 5-8)
Kaa's Kingdom for Sinclair ZX Spectrum
Mobile platforms:
You can run games at this site on your mobile platform, such as smart phone or tablet, but for better user experience, you should be aware of few thigs:
- You can play games in normal mode or in full-screen mode. You start every game in normal mode, but you can activate full-screen mode with top button on the toolbar. There is no option to exit full-screen mode on the toobar, so you must do this with appropriate gesture for your system
- There are few options missing on the toolbar, compared to desktop version. There are only options to (from top to bottom) activate full-screen mode, save current state and restore saved state, device specific options (if avilable), on-display keyboard (if keyboard is available), restart emulator, pause, settings menu, and option to return to the page with games. If you switch to full-screen mode, first and last option are then removed.
- Four different control layouts are supported on touch screens: two left and two-right handed. You can shift between these four modes with Control settings option (in Settings menu). When you activate different layout, it is displayed on the screen for two seconds. During the play, activated control is highlighted for 0.5 sec, which makes easier to target nearby buttons.
- On-display keyboard is not so rich with information on mobile version, compared to desktop version, but it is necessery to play most games for home computers and many games for ColecoVision. Activate on-display keyboard when you need to press a key or enter text.
- Performance on mobile devices is not so great, at least not on my 5-year old smart phone. If you notice lag spikes after you start the game, you should wait some time before the fast CPU core takes over... then the performance should be fine.
Active control layout on smart phone