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MAME 12000 retro games consoles and computer Simulator

Download MAME ROMs, games and BIOS files. These are complete ROM sets, update packs and links to the best places to go to download games for solid retro arcade coin-op game fun. No tricks. No ads. No surveys.

Follow the instructions for downloading all MAME ROMs then follow the additional links in this page to get even more games and software.
This page is updated at least once per month with new game sites, news sites, emulator sites and download instruction updates. Come back often. Share this page with friends.
Only the best of the best emulator software and emulator sites get into this page.

DOWNLOAD MAME ARCADE ROMS

The latest version of MAME is 0.198. You can always find the latest MAME version number in the official change log. The latest version number is usually in the title of the first post in that page.
To use MAME to play arcade games you will need the MAME emulator and a split set of MAME ROMs. This is the minimum file requirement.
To improve your MAME experience you might download the Extras. To increase your list of playable games you might download the Software Lists and the CHDs.
  • The basic MAME ROMs are the files needed to play arcade games and to run the home computer emulators.
  • Software List ROMs are home computer game & general software files supplied in a way organised specifically for use with MAME e.g. Atari 800 games.
  • CHD files, Compressed Hunks of Data, are CD ROM and Laser Disk data clones needed for some of the arcade ROMs to be played.
  • CHD SL (CHD Software List) files are home computer software CD/DVD ROMs needed to play some MAME home computer games and apps.
  • MAME Extras provides game icons, emulator overlay images, information about the emulated system in play (i.e. the ‘about this emulator’ text) and cheat POKEs that enhance the MAME user experience, and other interesting stuff.
File names suffixed with _SL are concerned with Software Lists.
MAME ROMs are provided in split sets (recommended), merged sets and non-merged ROM sets. You only need one of the types.
The number of arcade titles, console titles and other software titles shipped in split, merged and non-merged sets is the same. The sets differ in the way the files are stored.
  • Non-merged sets keep separate all the files required for every single machine or game to run. Whether games A, B and C share some of the same files required to enable them to run or not, each game is still packaged with its own copy of all the files required for each game to run e.g. If each game has 3 files in common + 1 unique file then each game ships with 4 files (12 files total).
  • Split sets contain single copies of the files required to run a game. When games A, B and C share some of the same files required to enable them to run, each game is packaged with only the unique files required by it; the common files are shipped separately of the games e.g. If each game has 3 files in common + 1 unique file then each game ships with its 1 unique file, and the 3 common files are supplied separately of the games (6 files total).
  • Merged sets are an advancement of the Split sets idea. Merged sets take less storage space than split sets but some MAME frontends are not able to use merged sets properly and merged sets are less tolerant to game removals.
A good explanation of the differences between Non-Merged, Split and Merged sets can be found here. As mentioned in the comments below by Edwin, split sets are usually preferred by MAME enthusiasts. ROM pack update sites usually package downloads for use with split sets.

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THE DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

There are two ways to download complete ROMs for MAME 0198. Use either Option 1 or Option 2, not both, and Download update packs monthly.
Download instructions and tips are provided further down this page. Many of our readers find it easier to read the options before they read the instructions.

OPTION 1 (RECOMMENDED)

This is the quickest and easiest way to download a complete set of MAME ROMs.
Register a free account with pleasuredome.org.uk then download the full set of the latest ROMs.
Registration requires you to download a PDF document. Read this document. It tells you how to find your sign-up verification code in your torrent program’s ‘comments for the tracker’ notes.
Download either the complete set, which is several TBs of data (not always available), or save space and download only essential basic packages separately.
The separate packages:
  • MAME 0.198 ROMs (split) provides files needed for arcade and coin-op systems
  • MAME 0.198 Software List ROMs (split) provides files needed for personal computers, consoles and other systems
  • MAME 0.198 Software List CHDs (merged) provides arcade and coin-op CHDs
  • MAME 0.198 Multimedia & MAME 0.198 EXTRAs provide files that improve the MAME user experience.
The Extras are sometimes a release or two behind MAME. It is ok to use an older release if the latest is not available.

OPTION 2

No registration needed. Download an out-of-date ROM set from archive.org then use update packs to bring this set up to date.
This will net around 33k fully working programs.
Split Sets (Recommended)
MAME Extras (optional and nice to have)
These next 2 support file sets are not required and are not recommended for use. The files contained within these are included within the Full Pack downloads above. These are listed here in case you have a special need for them: 0.185 MAME BIOSes and Devices (92.7MB) and 0.185 Software List BIOSes & ROMs (17.9MB).
Merged and Non-Merged Sets (not needed if you use split sets)
Merged and non merged set download links are here in case you decide to use them instead of split sets. You do not need these if you used the split sets: Merged ROMS (57.2GB), Merged Software List (54.1GB), Non-merged ROMs (119.8GB), Non-merged Software List (78.8GB).

UPDATE PACKS

MAME ROM update packs are released every month. They are typically available a week after a MAME update is released. Pleasuredome lists update packs quicker than other outlets. Each update pack includes the latest new and improved MAME system and arcade game ROMs.
Get MAME update packs regularly to keep your collection current. Always download and install one update pack at a time. Install them in ascending pack number order to prevent accidental overwrites of newer files by older files.
Only arcade game and BIOS updates are shipped with the ROM update packs. This means home console games and retro computer games stored in the Software Lists need to updated separately; the same is true for the Extras.

MAME ROMS DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS AND CONFIGURATION TIPS

  1. Download the ROMs you need using either Option 1 or Option 2.
  2. Move the downloaded ROM packages to your MAME ROMs directory or drive.
  3. If you went with Option 1: do not unzip compressed files within the cloned directories.
  4. If you went with Option 2
    • Extract the downloaded files. Windows users will need 7zip to unzip the packages properly.
    • The extracted files are themselves in zipped/compressed format. Do not unzip these files.
  5. Download update packs (If needed. See Update Packs above) in numerical order e.g. update pack 0196 to 0197, unzip it into your ROMs directory, then download update pack 0197 to 0198 etc… Allow new files to overwrite existing older files.
  6. Download packages from the MAME Extras section.
  7. Keep the main ROMs and the Software Lists in folders of their own. Again, after the first unzip the unzipped packages will contain more zipped packages which should be left zipped.
  8. Keep the Extras, Video Snaps and CHDs in their own folders.
The files should be stored similarly to the structure shown in the images shown in the gallery below.

CONFIGURE MAME TO USE THE FILES

  1. Open MAME then select Configure Options.
  2. Set the location of the ROMs, CHDs and Software Lists via Configure Directories.
  3. Set the location of the Extras via Configure UI.
The ROMs directory might be called the ‘rompath’ in your MAME configuration panel.
You can create a ROMs directory along with other directories on any attached suitable storage device such as an internal hard drive or an external USB drive. Just remember to configure MAME to tell it where to find the directories.
Linux users can find a mame.ini and ui.ini file in the directory home/.mame. If you trust yourself you can edit these files manually to quickly set the MAME directory locations. Below here is an example of how those directories might look in mame.ini. The example shows an excerpt from ~/.mame/mame.ini. Your own directory paths will be different to those shown in the example excerpt.
Note to long time users of MAME and MESS
Since version 0.171 the complete ROM packs for MAME include files for both arcade machines (coin-ops), consoles and all the other computers previously emulated by MESS. There is no longer a MESS system. MAME is now both MESS and MAME in a single package.

MAME FRONTENDS

Frontends help us organize and play game collections more quickly than by using the standard MAME user interface.
QMC2 is the best MAME frontend. QMC2 is for Linux, Windows and Mac. The official guide to QMC2 shows where the ROM paths are and how to change them to reflect your storage archive. The tutorial that tells you how to install QMC2 and MAME into Ubuntu is here. Users of Ubuntu 17.10 and above will need to install QMC2 manually as shown here or use this installer script.
Quickplay is an alternative multiplatform frontend to try.
OneUp! is the Linux source code installer for MAME and QMC2.

HOT TIP

MAME is slow to load home computer software. This is especially apparent when MAME loads cassettes for old 8 bit computer systems.
Speed up MAME machine and software loads by pressing Insert then Page Down. The Insert key deactivates the emulated system’s keyboard mappings; this allows us to use, for example, Tab to adjust system settings. The Page Down key overclocks the emulated system i.e. when pressed, Page Down makes the emulator run faster.
MAME control keys are explained in here.

DOWNLOAD RETRO GAMES FOR MAME

The Internet Archive has one of the biggest game collections to download for emulators and consoles:

DOWNLOAD MORE GAME ROMS FOR MAME

Other top places to download MAME game ROMS are:
Linux users can use this handy Atari games downloader script to bulk download games disks from the Atari800 games site linked in the above list.

DOWNLOAD MAME CHEAT FILES

We can cheat if we want to. There is nothing wrong with cheating if it gets you further in life and games (as long as no one gets hurt and no lies are told).
Download cheat files for MAME. Read the instructions to see where to put the cheats file. Your MAME frontend might need the file to be placed somewhere special.

MORE INFORMATION

The Internet Archive has a good collection of software resources. The Archive preserves the Internet’s history for future generations to enjoy and research. Alien archaeologists will find it useful one day.
The index page for The Archive’s individual software pages is here.

DOWNLOAD MESS COMPUTER SYSTEM BIOS FILES

Not needed when you use MAME 0.171 or higher. This information is for reference only.
BIOS files were needed for retro gaming systems like the Atari 800, Commodore 64, Spectrum, Play Station and other 8-bit and 16-bit computers and games consoles.
When you download MAME (arcade) ROM packs version 0.171 or higher you also get BIOS files for old time consoles and retro-gamer computer systems that were previously emulated by MESS. These systems are now emulated by MAME. This means we no longer need to download separate MESS BIOS ROM packs.
If you do want to download them separately…
One of the most complete emulator ROM file sets for MESS is found at the Internet Archive:

OTHER EMULATORS

MAME struggles to play some classic games. For example, Elektra Glide for the Atari, one of my favourite Atari 800 games, will not run on MAME at all. If you find a game or program that MAME will not run, try one of these emulators instead.
Some of these emulators offer features not found in MAME such as easy cheat code installation (think POKEs) and ways to edit program code.

ATARI 8-BIT EMULATORS (400, 800XL/XE, 130XL, 1200XE ETC…)

Windows, Java, DOS & Linux
Atari800 will run most or all Atari games including those written for the Atari 400, 800, 130, 1200, 2600, 5200 and 7600.
Game performance seems to be better with Atari800 than with MAME. Remember to configure the machine to tell it where to find the downloaded Atari system ROMs that ship with the emulator.
Linux
Install Atari800 from your distro’s software repository or download it here.

SPECTRUM EMULATORS

Most Sinclair Spectrum games work on MAME without any problems but these next emulators have cheat, coding and other features that MAME lacks.
Windows
ZX32 will let you POKE and code until your 8-bit heart explodes in spectacular beams.
Android
Marvin is touch screen compatible, shows a full library of games and apps that Marvin will download from World of Spectrum, and runs almost every game I have tried to play on it.
MAME and all is MAME for Android.
Linux
Fuse is the popular Spectrum emulator for Linux. It is much more feature rich than ZX32. Many Linux repositories contain Fuse.
Windows, Android & Mac
Speccy is in active development and offers features similar to Marvin and ZX32.

RETRO NOSTLAGIA SITES

There are hundreds of websites dedicated to old computer systems and games. Here are some of my favorite 8-bit/16-bit nostalgia and retro computer news sites.
  • ZXART for Spectrum art, music and games.
  • Indie Retro News. Popular retrogame news with links to downloads.
  • Romhacking. Rebuilds of old games, new ports of old games and new games for old systems.
  • MyAbandonware. Reviews and downloads of old but mostly abandoned games.
  • Retrospec. Free independent game downloads.
  • vintageisthenewold. Retrogame news.
  • a8.fandal.cz. Atari 8-bit games, news and new ports and new games.

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