Grizzards

for the Atari 2600 — a turn-based rôle-playing game

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How to access Grizzards

On a personal computer

  1. Fedora, Red Hat, Ubuntu, or Debian Linux® users, see the next box for instructions on installing Stella. Everyone else: Download the version of the Stella emulator for your type of computer. Note that Windows users need to download the MicroSoft Visual C++ update as well. If you're not sure which architecture (32-bit or 64-bit) your computer is, it's probably 64-bit.
  2. Install Stella on your computer. Windows users: Run the .exe file you downloaded in the last step. macOS users: Open the .dmg file you downloaded, then drag the Stella icon into Applications in the left bar of your folder window. Linux users: see the next box for instructions.
  3. Download the Grizzards Cartridge ROM file to your computer
  4. Double-click the Cartridge ROM file to open it in Stella
Remember, Stella is Donation-Ware and a donation is appropriate.

On your Atari 2600 or 7800 game console

If you have an Harmony, Harmony Encore, or UnoCart:
  1. Download the Grizzards Cartridge ROM file to your computer
  2. Insert the SD card from your Harmony Encore cartridge or UnoCart into your computer
  3. Copy the Cartridge ROM file to the SD card
  4. Eject the SD card in the usual way for your computer system
  5. Load the SD card back into your Harmony Encore or UnoCart
The original (non-Encore) Harmony cartridge is not capable of running the full game for Grizzards, only the demo versions will work.
If you have a PlusCart:
  1. Start up the PlusCart as usual. From the menu, select Search ROM.
  2. Enter the letters GRIZ
  3. Select the Grizzards ROM you need: Demo if you have a SaveKey, MemCard, or AtariVox, or else NoSave if you do not.
Note: the PlusStore usually has fairly up-to-date ROM files, but if you want the most up-to-date possible version, follow these alternative instructions:
Or, alternatively, for the PlusCart:
  1. Download the Cartridge ROM file you wish to use
  2. Log in to the PlusCart PlusStore on your PC
  3. Open the My ROMs folder in your web browser
  4. Drag the Cartridge ROM file from your Downloads folder window into the My ROMs folder in your browser
  5. Start up the PlusCart as usual. From the menu, select My ROMs and select the Grizzards ROM file.
If you have a Krokodile Cart: (untested)
  1. Download the Grizzards Cartridge ROM file to your computer
  2. Load the Krokodile Cart utility program and connect your Krokodile Cart to your PC according to its instructions
  3. Upload the Grizzards cartridge ROM to your cartridge
If you have an Atari Flashback Portable (NTSC only):
  1. Download the Cartridge ROM file you wish to use
  2. Insert the SD card from your Flashback Portable into your computer
  3. Copy the Cartridge ROM file to the SD card. It must be in a folder named Game
  4. Eject the SD card in the usual way for your computer system
  5. Load the SD card back into your Harmony Encore or UnoCart
This ROM has very visible graphics problems with both certain high-resolution graphics, like the title screen, as well many full-screen text displays. It will greatly impair your ability to read signposts and non-player-character text. The game is playable, however.

Installing Stella on Fedora or Red Hat Linux®

  1. Enable RPM Fusion for your version of Fedora on the RPM Fusion web site
  2. Press the Activities button at the top-left corner of your screen
  3. Type Terminal
  4. Open the program named Terminal by clicking its icon.
  5. In the Terminal window, type: sudo dnf install stella
  6. Enter your (normal log-in) password if prompted. Note: You must be an administrator of your computer.
  7. Now, download the cartridge ROM file and double-click it to start

Installing Stella on Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux® systems

  1. Open a terminal window in the usual way for your system.
  2. In the terminal, type: sudo apt install stella
  3. Enter your (normal log-in) password if prompted. Note: You must be an administrator of your computer.
  4. Now, download the cartridge ROM file and double-click it to start

Installing Stella from Source Code form on other Linux® or Unix®-like systems:

  1. Download the Stella Source Code package from the Stella downloads page
  2. Double-click the downloaded file and extract its contents into a new folder.
  3. Open a terminal in that new folder.
  4. Type ./configure && make && sudo make install
  5. If the build fails due to a missing library, install the library needed using your system's normal package manager utility. Often these will be library packages with the -dev or -devel suffix; e.g. the package for SDL2 might be called something like libSDL2-devel. Refer to your system's documentation for how to install the dependency packages.

Keys in Stella

The keys in Stella can be configured from within the program.Some of the default keys that you might want to know:

You can redefine the keys used in the Options under Input on the Event Mappings tab. Note that the second button (stats button) is found in the Joystick section and is called Left Booster Top Booster Button.


Web site, videogame, and related media copyright © 2021-2022, Bruce-Robert Pocock. Music and some artwork by Zephyr Salz.