The ColecoVision home video game console was quite popular in the early 80s, with arcade games like Donkey Kong, before disappearing after the video game industry crash in 1983.
We have about 110 ColecoVision games on My Abandonware, and one game for the Coleco Adam, the computer version of the console.
ColecoVision emulators
ColEm is the easiest choice on Windows and Linux: free, ready to use, and it also runs Coleco Adam software. On a Mac, use Gearcoleco.
- ColEm (Windows, Linux, Android): a very good ColecoVision and Coleco Adam emulator made by Marat Fayzullin. It comes with everything it needs. Recommended.
- Gearcoleco (Windows, Mac, Linux): a very accurate and recent emulator, native on Apple Silicon Macs, which also runs the Coleco Adam. It needs the ColecoVision BIOS (see below). It also exists as a RetroArch core.
- OpenEmu (Mac): a multi-system emulator which supports ColecoVision. On Apple Silicon Macs, use OpenEmu-Silicon.
MAME runs ColecoVision games too, see our page about multi-system emulators.
Running ColecoVision games with ColEm
ColEm asks for a game file as soon as it starts. Pick the game file you unzipped, and it plays at once.
ColEm is really easy to use, and needs nothing else:
- ColEm will immediately ask you to choose a game file.
- Go to the directory where you unzipped the game archive.
- Binary files (
.bin) are hidden by default: change "Supported Files" to "All Files" in the select box at the bottom right. - Select the game file, and play!
Running Centipede in ColEm.
The keypad
The ColecoVision controller has a 12-key keypad, like a phone. Most games ask you to press a number on it to pick a game mode or a skill level before they start.
The number keys of your keyboard play the keypad keys in most emulators. Many games came with a plastic overlay for the keypad, showing what each key does in that game: the game manual often shows it. Check your emulator's manual for the * and # keys.
The ColecoVision BIOS
Most ColecoVision emulators need the BIOS, the small program built into the console. ColEm includes it; Gearcoleco and MAME ask you for it.
The BIOS file is usually named coleco.rom or colecovision.rom. It's copyrighted, so most emulators don't include it: see our page about BIOS files to get it. In Gearcoleco, select it once in the Emulator menu.
Coleco Adam games
The Adam (1983) was the computer version of the ColecoVision: it ran all its games, plus its own software on tapes and disks. ColEm and Gearcoleco both run it.
We have one Adam title, Richard Scarry's Best Electronic Word Book Ever!. Adam software comes as tape images (.ddp) or disk images (.dsk). Both emulators open them from their file menu; the ColEm manual explains how to switch it to the Adam.
I need help!
We do not provide support for running abandonware games. The ColecoVision community is small but very helpful.
Ask on the ColecoVision / Adam forum of AtariAge, where most ColecoVision fans and homebrew authors meet.
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.