The ZX Spectrum was very popular, especially in the United Kingdom and Spain, with more than 5 million units sold over a 10-year span. Emulating the machine is quite easy.
We have about 2,300 ZX Spectrum games on My Abandonware, plus games for its little brother the ZX81 and for the SAM Coupé, a Spectrum-compatible computer: see the end of this page.
ZX Spectrum emulators
Fuse is our pick: free, on Windows, Mac and Linux, and still updated. Speccy is a simple choice on Windows, and Retro Virtual Machine a nice-looking one.
- Fuse (Windows, Mac, Linux): an accurate emulator of every Spectrum model, still updated in 2026. Mac users get it from its macOS port. Recommended.
- Speccy (Windows, Linux, Android): a light and easy emulator made by Marat Fayzullin, free. It emulates the 16K, 48K and 128K Spectrum, the +2 and the +3.
- Retro Virtual Machine (Windows, Mac, Linux): a nice-looking emulator that shows a virtual tape deck, and also runs the Amstrad CPC and the MSX.
- NO$ZX (Windows): another option if a game doesn't run well in the others.
Running ZX Spectrum games
Open the game file in the emulator: it chooses the right Spectrum model, and the game loads and starts by itself. In Fuse, use File > Open; in most emulators, drag and drop works too.
Our Spectrum games come in these formats:
- .tzx, .tap: tape images, the most common format. Loading takes a few minutes at the real speed, with the famous colored stripes on the border. Most emulators can load faster in their options.
- .z80, .sna, .szx: snapshots, a saved copy of the memory. They start at once.
- .dsk: disk images, for the Spectrum +3.
If a tape doesn't start by itself, load it by hand. On a 48K Spectrum, type LOAD "" and press Enter: the J key writes LOAD, and the quotes are Symbol Shift + P, twice. On a 128K model, choose Tape Loader in the start menu.
Tape control in Speccy
Some games ask you to stop the tape, then start it again later. In Speccy, press F4 to start or stop the tape. If you don't do this, the game may not load correctly.
PageUp fast forwards the emulation, handy to skip the long tape loaders. The video below shows World Championship Boxing Manager loading in Speccy.
Running World Championship Boxing Manager in Speccy.
ZX81 games
The ZX81 (1981) was the black and white predecessor of the Spectrum, with only 1 KB of memory. EightyOne is the emulator to use, and it also runs the Spectrum.
We have about 120 ZX81 games. Use EightyOne (Windows), which emulates the ZX80, the ZX81 and their clones. Many games need the 16 KB memory expansion: choose it in the hardware settings. ZX81 games come as .p files: open them in EightyOne, or type LOAD "" and start the tape. You can also try games online with JtyOne, a ZX81 emulator in the browser.
SAM Coupé games
The SAM Coupé (1989) was a British computer made by Miles Gordon Technology, able to run most Spectrum games. SimCoupé is the emulator to use.
We have a few SAM Coupé games. Use SimCoupé (Windows, Mac, Linux), still updated. SAM games come as disk images (.dsk, .mgt, .sad): insert the disk in the first drive, and the SAM boots from it.
I need help!
We do not provide support for running abandonware games. The Spectrum community is large and friendly.
Spectrum Computing is the reference database of Spectrum software, with a busy forum. World of Spectrum lists emulators for every system.
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.