The Apple II GS (1986) was the last and most powerful Apple II, with color graphics and sound far ahead of its predecessors. It was not a big success, and only a few emulators exist, but they work well today.
We have about 150 Apple II GS games on My Abandonware. The Apple II GS also runs most Apple II software, so you can use these emulators for our Apple II games too.
Apple II GS emulators
GSplus is the easiest choice: free, on Windows, Mac and Linux, and you drop a disk image on its window to start a game. All the emulators below need a ROM file.
- GSplus (Windows, Mac, Linux): a modern version of KEGS, with drag and drop, gamepad support and a CRT look. It runs natively on Apple Silicon. Recommended.
- KEGS (Windows, Mac, Linux): the original, very accurate emulator by Kent Dickey, still updated. GSplus uses its code.
- Crossrunner (Windows): a very accurate emulator, made for developers but fine for playing.
- MAME emulates the Apple II GS too; Mac users can use it through Ample, a friendly window on MAME.
ActiveGS, the browser plugin we used to recommend, no longer works in modern browsers.
The ROM file
An Apple II GS emulator needs a copy of the ROM of the real machine. ROM 03, from the later Apple II GS models, is the one to use.
The ROM holds the built-in programs of the Apple II GS. It's copyrighted, so emulators don't include it. A ROM 03 file weighs exactly 256 KB; the older ROM 01 (128 KB) also works. You have 2 ways to get one:
- Dump it from your own Apple II GS, as explained in the KEGS documentation.
- Find it on the internet, using a search engine like Google or Bing.
For GSplus, name the file ROM.03 (or just ROM) and put it next to the program. When the emulator starts and shows a screen asking for a startup disk, the ROM works.
Running Apple II GS games with GSplus
Unzip the game, then drag the disk image and drop it on the GSplus window. GSplus puts the disk in the right drive, and the game starts.
Our game archives may contain several versions of the game, each with one or more disk images: .2mg, .po, .hdv or .dsk files. If the game has several disks, drop the first one. When the game asks for another disk, press F4 to open the configuration menu and change the disk. Other useful keys: F8 captures or releases the mouse, and F11 switches to fullscreen.
Many games start by themselves from their disk. Others run under GS/OS, the system of the Apple II GS: they show a desktop, and you open the game icon with the mouse, like on a Mac. A few need a GS/OS startup disk first, then the game disk.
Setting the disks by hand in KEGS
If a game doesn't start by drag and drop, set its disks in the F4 menu and tell the Apple II GS to start from them. It takes a few steps, shown in the video below.
In the video, I configure KEGS to run Arkanoid II. The video shows an older version of KEGS for Windows, but the menus are the same in KEGS and GSplus today:
- Start the emulator, and press F4 to enter the setup.
- In ROM File Selection, select the ROM file on your computer, then save the config file.
- Press CTRL + ALT + ESC to enter the Apple II GS Desk Accessories menu.
- Go to the Control Panel, then into Slots, then change the Startup Slot to "5" using ← and →.
- Save with Enter, then exit the Desk Accessories menu.
- Press F4 again, enter Disk Configuration.
- Press Enter for s5d1, then select the disk image of the game.
- If the game has 2 disks, set the second one for s5d2.
- Save the configuration file, close the emulator, then launch it again. Play!
Running Arkanoid II in KEGSWin.
Slot 5 holds the 3.5-inch floppy disks, which most Apple II GS games use. Games on 5.25-inch disks start from slot 6, and hard disk images (.hdv, .2mg of several MB) from slot 7.
I need help!
We do not provide support for running abandonware games. The Apple II community is friendly, and knows the Apple II GS well.
Ask on the comp.emulators.apple2 group or on Applefritter. The GSplus page on GitHub answers most setup questions.
First written by hand, and brought up to date in October 2026 against each program's own documentation and, where it exists, its source code. Game counts and file sizes come from our own catalogue. The update was drafted with the help of an AI assistant and checked by hand before publishing. If something here is out of date, tell us.