Retro arcade games that play in your browser
Old arcade games were simple to learn and hard to put down. One button or four directions, a score in the corner, and "one more go". RetroFabs makes new games in that style, built around one person: their name on the title screen, their look on the hero, and a message from you when they finish.
They play in a browser from a link. No app store, no download, no console. Pixel graphics and chiptune music are part of the look, and the controls work on a phone as well as a keyboard.
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The nine games
Each one is a short, original game in a style that arcades made popular. Pick one, or take three or all nine.
Maze Runner
A maze chase. Eat every coin in the maze while four enemies hunt you through the corridors. Grab a power coin and they turn scared for a few seconds, so you can chase them for a change. Every level ends with a boss ghoul of its own.
Platformer
A side-scrolling platformer. Run and jump through each stage, collect everything on the way, then head for the goal. Pits and enemies get in the way, and a different boss waits at the end of every level.
Space Shooter
A vertical space shooter. Slide left and right, shoot the waves of enemies coming down the screen and collect the stars. Waves get harder as you go, and every level ends with a different boss.
Coin Chase
A fast catching game. The back doors of the van fly open and you run along the bottom of the screen to catch the falling carts and dodge the bootlegs. You have a few hearts, so it rewards quick reactions.
Brick Bash
A brick breaker. Bounce the ball off your paddle and clear every coloured brick. The ball picks up speed as you go, and every level ends with a boss that fights back.
Block Line
A falling-block puzzle. Turn and drop the pieces to complete lines. Clear the line target, then beat the boss that waits at the end of each level.
Crypt Bomber
A bomb-dropping maze game. Place bombs, blast the crates and catch the ghouls in the explosions, then find the exit hidden under a crate. Every ghoul moves differently, later crypts add spikes, fire vents and conveyor belts, and the explosions can chain.
Road Rush
A top-down driving game. Steer an open-top car with your hero at the wheel through traffic, grab nitro and dodge oil slicks, swerving taxis and a hearse that comes up from behind. Later roads add a dark tunnel, ice, a narrow bridge and sharp curves.
Ghoul Patrol
A run-and-gun platform game. Run, jump and shoot waves of ghouls that climb out of their graves, each with its own warning before it attacks. Watch out for lava, falling stalactites and geysers, and pick up spread and pierce shots. The Bone Giant waits on stage 5 and the Crypt Keeper on stage 10.
Angry Chef (free bonus game, limited time only)
Catch the plates, dodge the hot pans and survive eight rounds as the head chef loses his temper. It is not personalised, and it is included free with the Arcade pack for a limited time only.
Where these styles come from
Each of the nine games belongs to a family that goes back decades. Brick breakers date from the mid-1970s, when a paddle, a ball and a wall of bricks was enough to fill an arcade cabinet. Shoot 'em ups arrived in the late 1970s and gave the arcade its first screens full of descending enemies. Maze chases became a staple around 1980, platformers grew out of the arcade climbers of the early 1980s, and falling-block puzzles appeared in the middle of that decade and never really went away. Grid-based bomb games and top-down driving games arrived in the early 1980s, and run-and-gun shooters followed a few years later.
That history is why the genres still work. The rules fit in a sentence, a round is over in a couple of minutes, and the difficulty is visible: you know what you did wrong. Those are the things we copy. The characters, mazes and tunes are all our own.
Retro games on a phone
Retro games were designed for a joystick and a few buttons, which maps neatly onto a touchscreen. Maze Runner gets a directional pad, the Platformer has left, right and jump buttons, Block Line has buttons for moving, rotating and dropping, Brick Bash can be steered by dragging, Crypt Bomber has a directional pad and a bomb button, Road Rush has steering buttons with brake and nitro, and Ghoul Patrol has left, right, jump and shoot. There is nothing to configure, and the page keeps the game in full screen so it feels like a device of its own.
Made to order
Every game is built for the person you choose. You pick the occasion, and the title and win screens get a banner for it, along with themed scenery such as snow, hearts or pumpkins. You build the hero with the pixel character builder, from face shape, hair and beard to glasses, hat and outfit, so it looks like them, and add your own message. Every game has 10 levels. Here is how that works in full, or see gift ideas for retro gamers.
Questions
Can I play retro games in my browser without downloading anything?
Are these copies of old arcade games?
Do they work on a phone?
How long does a game last?
Can I try one before I buy?
Occasions
Looking for a particular occasion? Browse the occasions calendar: birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day, retirement and more.