Platform status · 7 October 2026
A game is explained with a kit: the notes and scripts that drive an emulator and a disassembler for one system, on the contributor's own computer. Some combinations are known to work. The rest need work, and are open to anyone who wants to be first.
Measured end to end: the tools installed, the emulator checks run, and games explained. Copy a prompt into your agent to explain a game of your own.
Commodore 64 on macOS, Apple silicon
WorksThe emulator built from source (vice-mcp v3.13.1) passed 56 of 56 checks; the v3.11.0 release build passed 28. Measured again on 28 September 2026: the v3.13.1 release build (v3.13.1-macos-arm64-gui.dmg) passed 56 of 57, failing only pause-at-instruction. On 2 October 2026 the v3.13.2 release build (v3.13.2-macos-arm64-gui.dmg), which fixes that pause, passed all 57 in five runs. Nothing written outside the repository. Recorded 2 October 2026.
Games made here: Chiller, Encounter, Falcon Patrol, Little Computer People
Clone https://github.com/gamesexplained/gamesexplained and follow kit/START.md. I am on macOS, Apple silicon, and I want to explain a Commodore 64 game.Commodore 64 on Linux, x86_64
WorksUbuntu 24.04, in containers with no display and on desktops. The release zip and source builds of vice-mcp v3.13.0 and v3.13.1 passed 53 to 56 of 56 checks, the misses coming and going between runs; they came from a pause that can stop part way through an instruction, which a 57th check measures, and on 26 September 2026 the v3.13.1 release passed all but that one in five runs. On 2 October 2026 the v3.13.2 release, which fixes that pause, passed all 57 in five runs. The release needs runtime libraries from apt, which the contributor installs; nothing else is written outside the repository. Recorded 2 October 2026.
Games made here: A View to a Kill, Alter Ego, Arkanoid, Castle Master, Delta, Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror, Fist II: The Legend Continues, Ghostbusters, Impossible Mission, Jet Set Willy, Last Ninja Remix, Master of Magic, Mercenary, Mr. Hat, The NeverEnding Story, The Sentinel, Wasteland, Way of the Exploding Fist, Wizard, Wizball
Clone https://github.com/gamesexplained/gamesexplained and follow kit/START.md. I am on Linux, x86_64, and I want to explain a Commodore 64 game.3 games do not record the computer they were made on: Choplifter, Jupiter Lander, Radar Rat Race.
Each needs someone to get the tools running, measure them, and write down what they found. The most wanted come first. Copy a prompt into your agent to take one on.
Commodore 64 on Windows, x86_64Wanted
LimitedEvery Windows build the emulator project had published was headless, and a headless build cannot stop the CPU, so frame stepping is impossible. The kit cannot build the emulator on Windows. No run recorded. Recorded 24 September 2026.
Start with kit/c64/INSTALL.md and the footprint principle.
Clone https://github.com/gamesexplained/gamesexplained and follow kit/START.md to explain a Commodore 64 game on Windows, x86_64. Nobody has run the kit here: follow "If you are the first on an operating system" in kit/INSTALL.md, run check-emulator, and record what works in kit/c64/INSTALL.md and site/status.json.Commodore 64 on macOS, Intel
No run recordedThe emulator project had published no build for this machine; building from source is the way to one. Recorded 24 September 2026.
Start with kit/c64/INSTALL.md and the footprint principle.
Clone https://github.com/gamesexplained/gamesexplained and follow kit/START.md to explain a Commodore 64 game on macOS, Intel. Nobody has run the kit here: follow "If you are the first on an operating system" in kit/INSTALL.md, run check-emulator, and record what works in kit/c64/INSTALL.md and site/status.json.ZX Spectrum on macOS, Apple silicon
LimitedZEsarUX 13.0 over ZRCP and SkoolKit 10.1, both under tools/. On 3 October 2026 the ZEsarUX-13.0 release build (ZEsarUX_macos-silicon-13.0.dmg) passed 41 of 45 checks in 21 seconds. The four it failed each have a workaround, and none costs a phase of kit/EMULATOR.md. Nothing written outside the repository. No game page had been published from it at that date. Recorded 3 October 2026.
Start with kit/spectrum/INSTALL.md and the footprint principle.
Clone https://github.com/gamesexplained/gamesexplained and follow kit/START.md. I am on macOS, Apple silicon, and I want to explain a ZX Spectrum game.ZX Spectrum on macOS, Intel
No run recordedNo run recorded.
Start with kit/spectrum/INSTALL.md and the footprint principle.
Clone https://github.com/gamesexplained/gamesexplained and follow kit/START.md to explain a ZX Spectrum game on macOS, Intel. Nobody has run the kit here: follow "If you are the first on an operating system" in kit/INSTALL.md, run check-emulator, and record what works in kit/spectrum/INSTALL.md and site/status.json.ZX Spectrum on Linux, x86_64
LimitedUbuntu 24.04 with no display. On 3 October 2026 the ZEsarUX-13.0 release build (ZEsarUX_linux-13.0-ubuntu24_x86_64.tar.gz) passed 41 of 45 checks in each of three runs, the same four failures as on macOS, each with a workaround. It needs SDL 1.2 (libsdl1.2debian), which Ubuntu does not install by default and which lands outside the repository; apart from that, verify-footprint was clean. No game had been taken through the kit on Linux at that date. Recorded 3 October 2026.
Start with kit/spectrum/INSTALL.md and the footprint principle.
Clone https://github.com/gamesexplained/gamesexplained and follow kit/START.md. I am on Linux, x86_64, and I want to explain a ZX Spectrum game.ZX Spectrum on Windows, x86_64
No run recordedNo run recorded.
Start with kit/spectrum/INSTALL.md and the footprint principle.
Clone https://github.com/gamesexplained/gamesexplained and follow kit/START.md to explain a ZX Spectrum game on Windows, x86_64. Nobody has run the kit here: follow "If you are the first on an operating system" in kit/INSTALL.md, run check-emulator, and record what works in kit/spectrum/INSTALL.md and site/status.json.The other popular 8-bit machines. A kit for any of them starts with kit/PLATFORMS.md. The library is roughly how many games the system had; sources are at the foot of the page.
| System | Library |
|---|---|
| Amstrad CPCAmstrad · 1984 · Zilog Z80A | ~20,000 |
| MSXASCII and many makers · 1983 · Zilog Z80 | ~2,300 |
| Atari 8-bitAtari · 1979 · MOS 6502B | ~12,000 |
| Apple IIApple · 1977 · MOS 6502 | ~1,200 |
| BBC MicroAcorn Computers · 1981 · MOS 6502 | ~3,000 |
| VIC-20Commodore · 1980 · MOS 6502 | ~850 |
| NES / FamicomNintendo · 1983 · Ricoh 2A03 | ~1,400 |
| Atari 2600Atari · 1977 · MOS 6507 | ~460 |
| Master SystemSega · 1985 · Zilog Z80A | ~310 |
| Game BoyNintendo · 1989 · Sharp SM83 | ~1,000 |
| Game Boy ColorNintendo · 1998 · Sharp SM83 | ~920 |
| Game GearSega · 1990 · Zilog Z80 | ~370 |
| ColecoVisionColeco · 1982 · Zilog Z80A | ~150 |
Which systems contributors have chosen, by the number of games explained on each.
| # | System | Games | Tiers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Commodore 64 | 27 | 3 gold 7 silver (claimed) 12 silver 5 bronze | |
| 2 | ZX Spectrum | 1 | 1 silver |
The other 13 systems on this page have none.
Library sizes are rough. Every source counts in its own way: some list only commercial or licensed releases, some add public-domain games, type-ins and new games written since, and a few count software of every kind. Each line says what its figure counts.