Play Commodore 64 games Online
The c-64 was my first computer. I had an Atari 2600 before and it seemed like a quantum leap at that time switching from the console to the Commodore 64.
The C-64 had many classic games that I enjoyed playing: Archon, Boulder Dash, Maniac Mansion and Pirates for instance, and thousands of others. It also came with its own programming language that you could code in right after turning the system on; no extra hardware required, although it was recommended to have a disk or tape at hand to save your work to.
You now have the chance to play some of the all time classics of that era in your browser. The website 80 Stop Games is the El Dorado for anyone who wants to play classic Commodore 64 games again or simple browse the selection of games.
Interestingly enough, it features not only games for the C-64 but also other classic computer systems including Spectrum, Atari 2600 and MS-DOS.
Play Commodore 64 games Online
The website displays all games that it offers for the Commodore C-64 in a long list divided onto 14 pages currently.
A search is provided which you may want to use to find a particular game of interest, and there is also a top list available which you can browse.
Java required
The games use Java, which means that you need to have Java installed on your computer to play them. Please note that many browsers will end support for Java in 2016.
Google Chrome, as of version 45, does not support Java anymore, and Mozilla has plans to remove Java support from its Firefox web browser as well.
So what is the best option to play these games once that time comes? One of the better options, if the developer of the site does not update the technology used on it, is to install a browser that still supports Java.
Check out Pale Moon for instance. The browser is based on Firefox code, and will pick up Java automatically when it is installed on the system.
Which Commodore 64 games can be played on the site?
The selection of classic games that you can play directly on the site is quite good.
Here is a short selection of games: Airborne Ranger, Arkanoid, Barbarian, The Bards Tale, Bionic Commando, Boulder Dash, Cabal, Commando, Contra, Elite, Gauntlet, Ikari Warriors, Impossible Mission, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Katakis, Maniac Mansion, Microprose Soccer, Paperboy, Paradroid, Pitfall, R-Type, Rainbow Islands, Samurai Warrior, Skate or Die, Speedball, Supercars, Turrican and Winter Games.
Instructions on how to play the game are usually displayed when you load the game in the browser. You can change the default controls, and even add controls for a second joystick as well which can be useful if the game supports local multiplayer.
Some of the games do not load properly, but the majority seems to play just fine, provided that you have the latest version of Java installed on your system.
Alternative sites to play Commodore C64 games on
What follows is a list of resources that you can check out to play C-64 games.
- Vizzed hosts 6685 Commodore C64 games at the time of writing. The games require Java to play these games. The selection is quite good which means that you will find many popular and even more not-so popular games hosted by the site.
- Vice is an emulator for the C-64 that you can use to play C64 games locally on your system. You do need game disks though which you find on many sites on the Internet these days, e.g. the Tosec collection offered by Archive.org.