You can still find them in some places, but they're pretty anachronistic these days. You'll find the occasional coin-op game at the movie theater and elsewhere, but mostly it's a thing of the past, now that everyone has a device in their pocket or on their desk that's a great gaming system. Fortunately some developers have kept the spirit of the arcade game alive.
Contrary to popular belief, there exists a bevy of awesome games available on Mac computers. From stellar indies like Night in the Woods to popular free-to-play Battle Royale Fortnite, take a look. The Macintosh Software Library from the Internet Archive lets you run old-school Macintosh games and applications in your browser, so stop hurling insults on Twitter and start throwing rocks in.
Air Attack
If you're fond of classics like 1942, you'll love Air Attack. Fly airborne missions deep in enemy territory and take out targets in the air, on land and in the water. The game was developed using the popular Unity game engine, so it sports stellar 3D modeling and texturing effects.
$0.99 - Download now
Dragon's Lair (Daring Edition)
Back in the 80s we had to use our imagination a lot when we were playing video games. Computer processors were still slow and small, and while game developers did the best they could to provide us with bright graphics and sound, it still wasn't very realistic. All that changed with a unique game called Dragon's Lair. Using video laserdisc technology and cel-drawn animation from ex-Disney animator Don Bluth, Dragon's Lair presented us with the adventures of Dirk the Daring, an errant knight on a quest to save the princess from an evil dragon. It isn't your normal run-and-gun shooter: You need to make decisions at key moments to keep the action going, or face certain doom. Since there's often only way way to go, people who played Dragon's Lair over and over again would learn the patterns to joystick and action button movement, but it's still fun.
- $9.99 - Download now
Jets 'n' Guns Gold
This side-scroller has dozens of levels, hundreds of enemies, boss monsters, tons of upgrades to collect and all the trappings of the side-scrolling action genre. If you're a fan of classics like R-Type or Gradius, you'll love it. Great soundtrack, too. I first encountered Jets 'n' Guns almost a decade ago, and still haven't gotten tired of it. It's just a lot of fun to play.
- $6.99 - Download
NBA Jam
Originally developed in 1993, NBA Jam was an enormous hit back in the day — while the basketball gameplay was straight up ridiculous and over the top, it featured real teams and players and an outrageous Marv Albert-like announcer with catch phrases like 'He's on fire!' and 'Boomshakalaka!' NBA Jam was a hugely successful home arcade game too, so it's no wonder that EA has continued it with a Mac version.
- $9.99 - Download now
Pac-Man
Bandai Namco has resurrected one of the definitive coin-op characters of all time: Pac-Man. This is a faithful recreation of the original Pac-Man game in all of its glory: One maze, four ghosts, and one yellow mouth with an insatiable appetite for dots and power pellets.
- $4.99 - Download now
Pangea Arcade
Pangea's been a Mac game developer since the 'bad old' days of the Mac; some of their games were included with the Mac back when Apple was still turning out beige Performa-era boxes. So it's no wonder they have a flair for the old school, and Pangea Arcade is a three-in-one collection that includes games reminiscent of classics like Missile Command, Asteroids and Centipede. But every game has been updated with modern graphics, sound and gameplay, so it's not a pure walk down memory lane — these are modern games with old school appeal. If you have red/blue anaglyph glasses handy, you can even get 3D support.
- $9.99 - Download now
Pinball Arcade
No coin-op arcade is worth a damn without plenty of arcade games to play, and FarSight Studios delivers here. The developer has licensed classic real-world pinball tables from Williams, Bally, Stern Pinball and Gottlieb for this game. This free download only includes a single table: Tales of the Arabian Nights. But others are available as downloadable content, for a fee.
- Free - Download now
Raiden Legacy
Raiden was a collection of very popular arcade shooters back in the day, and they've been resurrected in this collection from DotEmu. Raiden Legacy combines Raiden, Raiden Fighter, Raiden Fighters 2 and Raiden Fighters Jet. Features include two-player support, different game and difficulty modes, Game Center support and more.
- $3.99 - Download now
Space Ace
The same team that developed Dragon's Lair followed up their successful effort with Space Ace, a wacky animated adventure in outer space in which you must keep Commander Borf and his legions from taking over the Earth (and save the beloved Kimberly in the process). It features the same style of gameplay as Dragon's Lair, and remains a fan favorite decades later.
- $9.99 - Download now
Syder Arcade
A nod to the classic side-scrolling genre, Syder Arcade reminds me of an updated version of the games I used to play on my Commodore Amiga, back in the day. It combines that old-school sensibility with updated 3D graphics. Three different ships to choose from, four difficulty levels, six different areas to play and a bonus survival mode.
- $9.99 - Download now
What did I miss?
These are my favorites, but I imagine there are some of yours that didn't make the list. Tell me about your favorite Mac arcade games in the comments!
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
(PRODUCT)REDApple is now redirecting (PRODUCT)RED purchases to COVID‑19 relief fund
Now through September 30, Apple is redirecting 100% of a portion of (PRODUCT)RED purchases to the Global Fund’s COVID‑19 Response.
If you're thinking about your childhood games on Atari, ColecoVision, or that old Commodore 64, you can relive those memories with retro gaming on your Mac. You're going to need some emulation software to help you get started. Our favorite emulation software comes from OpenEmu and we'll show you how to get it up and running.
What is OpenEmu
OpenEmu is a free (you can donate if you like their software) and open source graphical front end for many software emulators (which in turn are also open source). OpenEmu makes it exceedingly easy to get you up and running your favorite older generation titles from a multitude of systems such as Atari, Nintendo, Sega and even arcade systems.
OpenEmu features
OpenEmu allows for simple set up. You just need to download the installer, choose the emulators you want to freely download, and then drag and drop your saved titles to the program window. It automatically organizes the titles into the various systems that they were created for and makes it easy for you to configure keyboard, gamepad, and joystick controller inputs.
Getting OpenEmu
OpenEmu comes in two flavors. Press Pack and an OpenEmu Experimental Press Pack. The only difference as far as I can tell is that the Press Pack is lacking support for the M.A.M.E., which is arcade machine emulation software.
What is M.A.M.E.
For simplicity's sake, I'll define M.A.M.E. as an archive of the vintage software that runs arcade systems from yesteryear. The developers try their best to recreate the software systems that ran/run on arcade based computers and do so strictly via CPU emulation for that purpose. The developers avoid using GPU acceleration for the emulation because the actual running of the software is simply an aside to the purpose of their mission. As a result, if you want to run some older arcade games, aside from having an authentic arcade CPU board, your best option would be the M.A.M.E. project.
Here's how to get the full M.A.M.E. enabled version of OpenEmu.
- Head to OpenEmu.org.
Click the Download Now button
Source: iMore
- Click Allow when prompted to allow OpenEmu to be downloaded onto your Mac.
When the download is complete, the OpenEmu icon will appear on your desktop.
Running OpenEmu for the first time
Upon launching OpenEmu the first time, you'll have to allow your Mac to run software from an unidentified developer and choose the emulators you want to download and run.
- Double-click on the OpenEmu icon on your desktop.
Close the warning pop-up telling you the app can't be opened by clicking Cancel.
Source: iMore
- Click on the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your Mac's screen.
Click on System Preferences.
Source: iMore
- Click on Security & Privacy.
- Navigate to the General tab.
Click the lock in the bottom left corner of the Security & Privacy window.
Source: iMore
- Enter your System Administrator password.
- Click Unlock
Click Open Anyway under Allow apps downloaded from. OpenEmu will open immediately, and so will another warning.
Source: iMore
- Click Open System Preferences when prompted to allow OpenEmu to receive keystrokes from any application.
- Close the OpenEmu program at this time.
- Click the lock in the bottom left corner of the Security & Privacy window when it pops up.
Enter your System Administrator password.
Source: iMore
- Click Unlock
- Tick the box next to OpenEmu to allow it to monitor inputs from your keyboard even while using other apps.
Click the lock in the bottom left corner of the window to prevent further changes.
Source: iMore
Arcade Games On Mac
Running the OpenEmu startup wizard for the first time
- Launch OpenEmu on your Mac.
- Click Next on the welcome screen.
- Select or de-select any and all emulator cores you want to be able to download and use.
- Click Next.
Click Go to begin your adventure!
Source: iMore
Installing games
Installing games is as easy as a drag and drop of the game files you own. Games will magically be placed into their correct system heading automatically.
- Open Finder.
- Find your game ROM.
- Drag your game ROM into the OpenEmu window.
- Done.
Configuring inputs
As with everything else in OpenEmu, configuring your input devices is supremely easy.
- In OpenEmu, go to Preferences.
- Tap Controls.
- Choose the system you wish to edit controls for. Having a similarly shaped gamepad makes it that much easier.
Click the control you want to edit and then tap the button, or keyboard input you want to map it to.
Source: iMore
- Complete all of the inputs as you desire.
Playing games
- Find the system for which you installed the game.
- Double-click the title.
- Play.
Games? What games?
I purchased an X-Arcade Tankstick with trackball from Xgaming, and that purchase gave me over 200 arcade games that I can legally enjoy. M.A.M.E. also has an archive of free to download and play full-fledged arcade ROMS. On top of that you can also find a number of homebrew developers that have built and still build new games for the various emulated home consoles.
Final thoughts
I love gaming. Yes, even gaming on Mac (maybe especially so). I'm also set up for VR gaming on my MacBook pro connected eGPU. But I'll always have a soft spot for the older arcade titles from my youth. That's why I love OpenEmu. I can simply get right into the action without worrying about configuration. What emulator do you use for your retro gaming? Let us know in the comments!
Updated February 2020: Updated with steps for macOS Catalina's security workaround.
macOS Catalina
Main
Play Windows Games On Mac
(PRODUCT)REDPlay Old Arcade Games On Computer
Apple is now redirecting (PRODUCT)RED purchases to COVID‑19 relief fund
Now through September 30, Apple is redirecting 100% of a portion of (PRODUCT)RED purchases to the Global Fund’s COVID‑19 Response.