The Atari800win Plus emulator lets you run 1980s-era Atari computer programs on your Windows PC. You run the programs in a window like the one shown here. It only takes a few minutes to download, set up, and run the emulator. These are the basic steps:   1. Download the emulator software.  2. Download the games (or other software).  3. Configure the emulator.  4. Play the game.  Detailed instructions are provided below.

Downloading the Emulator Software

To download and install the Atari800Win Plus emulator, follow these simple instructions.

1. Create a folder named Atari800 on your desktop to contain the program files.
   
   
2. Go to the idiology Atari8bit web page. (If that web site isn't working, try searching for "Atari800Win Plus" using your favorite search engine.) At the bottom of the web page, under "Minimal Downloads," click atari800win plus 3.1 to download the file "Atari800WinPLus31.zip." This takes about 2 minutes with a 56K modem, or a few seconds using broadband.
3. Open the ZIP file and move the extracted files into your Atari800 folder. (If you cannot open the ZIP file, you probably need to install a file extraction utility such as WinZip.) Select all the files and drag them into the new Atari800 folder that you created in Step 1. Note: The ".a8t" files are not necessary and can be deleted; they allow you to "cheat" (get unlimited lives) when you play certain games.


4. In the same idiology Atari8bit web page, click ROMs to download the file "roms.zip."
5. Again, extract the files and move them into the Atari800 folder.

Follow the links below to download the desired games. Move each downloaded file into your Atari800 folder. You only need one file, the ".ATR" file, for each game. I suggest trying Dog Daze Deluxe or Bumpomov's Dogs first.

Dog Daze Deluxe (file APX20264.ATR)
Bumpomov's Dogs (file APX20272.ATR)
Claim Jumper (file claimjumper.exe)
Dog Daze (file APX20069.ATR)
Other games and software (Pac-Man, Frogger, Shamus ...)

Note: You can rename the files to make them meaningful. For example, you can change APX20264.ATR to DogDazeDeluxe.ATR.

The emulator remembers your settings from session to session, so you only need to configure it once.

1. In the Atari800 folder, double-click the Atari800Win.exe (keyboard) icon to start the emulator. In the Setup Wizard, choose the default settings (just click Next, Next, and Finish). You can ignore the SELF TEST program that starts running in the Atari 800 window.
   
   
2. From the pull-down menus, choose View > Graphics Options. In the dialog box, set the Display Mode to 672 x 480. A new dialog box warns you that the program might run slowly; Click OK. Then click OK in the Graphics Options dialog box.
   
   
3. For a single-player game and a standard keyboard, skip this step and continue with Step 4. For a two-player game, or if your computer does not have a numeric keypad, you need to configure the keys to emulate the joysticks. For a two-player game, you can configure some keys on the left side of the keyboard to control the "left" player and the numeric keypad on the right to control the "right" player. From the pull-down menus, choose Input > Joysticks. Configure the joystick controls as shown below. Set Joystick 1 to use Keyset A. Set Joystick 2 to use Numpad. Click the Keyset A button and then click OK in the warning dialog box; this opens the Configure Keyset A dialog box. Click on each button and type the corresponding key as indicated below, including the space bar for the Fire Button. Click OK in the Configure Keyset A dialog box, then click OK in the Joystick Options dialog box.
4. From the pull-down menus, choose Atari > Disk Drives. Click the D1 button and select the name of the desired game. Then click OK.


 
5. Press the F5 key, which serves as the Atari RESET key.

This F4 key serves as the Atari START key. Press it to start (or restart) the game.

Single player (or right player in two-player mode): Make sure Num Lock is on. If necessary, press the Num Lock key to turn on the Num Lock light. Place your middle finger on the "5" key in the numeric keypad. Press the adjacent keys to move your player in the desired direction. The "0-Ins" key serves as the joystick button.

Left player (when configured for two players): Put your middle finger on the letter "S" key. Press the adjacent keys to move your player in the desired direction. The Space Bar serves as the joystick button. 

The F2 key serves as the Atari OPTION key. To set the game options, press the F2 key before you start the game.

The F5 key serves as the Atari RESET key.

Quick Notes on Each Game

Dog Daze Deluxe: Claim the blue fire hydrant before your opponent. To launch your bone, press the joystick button while running in the vertical or horizontal direction. If no one is using the other joystick, the computer takes over and plays against you. You can switch sides at any time; just take control of the other joystick. If you never use your bone, the computer-controlled dog will not use his either.

Bumpomov's Dogs: Hold down the key in the direction that you want your dog to move. The dog accelerates or slows down gradually. Pick up the dog biscuits and carry them back to your doghouse. You can carry no more than 30 dog biscuits and no more than two bones. Press your joystick button to launch your bone. If you "lean" against a wall during the launch, the bone follows along that wall.

Claim Jumper: The program is stored as an Atari executable (.exe) file rather than a disk image (.ATR) file. To run the program, choose File > Load Executable and select the file name, claimjumper.exe. Pick up the gold nugget, carry it to the assay office, and deposit the cash in your bank. Meanwhile, avoid the pursuing snakes or tumbleweeds. Pressing the joystick button drops your gold/cash, drops a snake egg or tumbleweed seed if you are standing still, or shoots a bullet if you are running.

Dog Daze: This is an older and simpler version of Dog Daze that launched my brief career as a computer game designer and programmer. Unless you are interested in the history of the game, play the Deluxe version instead.

If you have any questions or comments, you can contact me at my guest register page.