>OPEN MAILBOX. GET LEAFLET. READ IT Classic text adventure report for June 2026 with game contests you can still play-and-judge in, a Visible Zorker update, news on several development environments, and new games. On all podcast platforms, YouTube, and at retroadventurers.podbean.com/e/42/ now.

Exclusive hardware news caps a retro kit roundup this week: news of a MiSTer handheld from Heber plus PicoCPC, PicoIDE, and PicoGUS updates. Then we look closer at reimagined Atic Atac and Wolfenstein 3D, and explore wonderful, novel operating systems in the Virtual OS Museum. youtu.be/gf2piu17r0I

Dave's on new hardware watch this week. (We told you he's fine.) Also, cat. See you Saturday!

Tech hidden in plain sight! The brand-new Swap Arcade and the Minty Cyberdeck palmtop. Plus Australia's MicroBee, the retro-tech Eurovision entry of LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER, host milestones, 3D conversions of classic games, new POKEY hope for Atari and more! youtu.be/VupmbLBg3iY

Something happens on Saturday's episode of This Week in Retro which is a first in the show's history! We also discuss the marital politics of arcade cabinet acquisition, the international politics of music, and the Australian politics of calling your computer "The Matilda"!

Classic literature 🤝 text adventure 🤝 #smoochescollier

I’m always intrigued by the books @jasoncompton.bsky.social has behind him during @thisweekinretro.bsky.social. Compelling covers and interesting titles that hint at the tale within. Reminds me of buying Acorn Electron games in the 80s. No screenshots. Just a title and picture. Each game a mystery

All aboard to the Hall of Fame! youtu.be/c9-hquIAfh0 Jo Cook of UK Amstrad Group helps take on a Sega myth and an Amiga delay, and to debate the merits of the latest Hall of Fame games at @thestrongmuseum.bsky.social (Put away your bagged milk before viewing, where applicable.)

We visit Infocom's surliest protagonist with guest Andrew Plotkin @eblong.com this time out, playing Michael Berlyn's Infidel as the main course. We also explore another Infocom parody: 1991's The Smirking Horror. retroadventurers.podbean.com/e/41/

Gamedev legend @kevintoms.bsky.social joins us for Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum handhelds, Xerox's R&D legacy, the BBC Computer Literacy Project recap from 1992 the latest from Commodore and FujiNet, a surprising workstation on FPGA, and a great deal more!

A crystal-clear statement from Acorn co-founder Hermann Hauser about the global home computer industry's fortunes in the early 1980s is unearthed! Our guest @kevintoms.bsky.social weighs in as well. More revelations from 1992, 1982, and beyond coming this Saturday in This Week in Retro episode 267!

"It's not books you need, it's some of the things that once were in books. The same things *could* be in the 'parlor families' today. The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios and televisors, but are not." Coming soon!

"But it's gonna cost you some serious zorkmids" is an actual line starting at 0:30 of this clip.

It's penny pushers and other horrors as Lee of @morefunmakingit.bsky.social journeys with us into dark places. Chris' Corner is in full effect with another look at Stunt Car Racer enhancements and we talk about Lee's upcoming charity effort + news from Commodore, Sega, and more. youtu.be/T_cQuBR1ZgA

Interview with the hosts of @bookriot.bsky.social’s Zero to Well-Read podcast as originally broadcast on Radio Literature. youtu.be/PhTZX9q3G10

We're joined by @morefunmakingit.bsky.social this week and some of us were more startled by 3D Monster Maze than others. These and other terrors including seaside arcades and castoff cabling when This Week in Retro episode 266 arrives Saturday!

>OPEN MAILBOX, where you >GET NEWS AND LISTEN TO IT is live! Nick and Jason cover new highlights in classic text adventures and neo-retro interactive fiction, including new Z-Machine/Infocom interpreters, an amazing Cornerstone prank-that-isn't, and more. retroadventurers.podbean.com/e/40/

Andrew Borman of @thestrongmuseum.bsky.social joins for the return of the iconic Channel 9 Australia's endorsement of retro gaming, the revival of a 50-year old Nintendo arcade cabinet, The Krypton Factor, and customizations of the Commodore 64 Ultimate in episode 265! youtu.be/aI4fYM0pQdM

Some chewy discussions coming your way between Andrew Borman (Director of Digital Preservation, @thestrongmuseum.bsky.social) and the hosts about the planned changes to Commodore 64 Ultimate core flashing permissions. All this and quite a bit more when This Week in Retro 265 arrives Saturday!

Bring big imaginations and big keyboards for the latest Retro eXo creation, a breakthrough in modern game dev for the original Sony PlayStation, and new life for old DV camcorders. Plus a holiday photo, a birthday and more in This Week in Retro episode 264! (PS: Chris is back) youtu.be/5fl7W43RvDQ

Canst thou draw out the Leviathan? Taking on a big text adventure collection takes a big man with a big imagination and a big keyboard. Chris is back! Plus plenty more news this Saturday when This Week in Retro 264 hits your YouTube and podcast feeds.

Legendary indie RPG author and entrepreneur Jeff Vogel of @spiderwebsoftware.bsky.social executes a sharp takedown of the Macintosh ecosystem as he sees it. (And he's a fan!) All this and much more coming Saturday to YouTube and podcast platforms.

Latinorum, a 1985 Commodore 64 text adventure refactored for the modern era, is part of The 2026 Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction, playable in both English and Italian. www.springthing.net/2026/play_on...

Thanks for two years of classic text adventures, conversations, and magazine deep dives. Jason, Nick, and Tim gather to talk about some upcoming new features on the podcast, a lineup change, and a first look at our new hand-crafted show artwork. retroadventurers.podbean.com/e/39

Podcaster-archivist @savetz.bsky.social (ANTIC, Eaten By a Grue) joins for 90s nostalgia, the loss of cover art giant Philip Castle, and the rise-and-fall of Iomega's Zip drives. All this, your picks for a gaming industry legend you'd like to spend an hour with, and more!! youtu.be/4Q_ODmzynsM

We get @adriansdigitalbasement.com to talk controller standard proliferation solved (possibly) by a new multi-interface project. And the latest from Commodore, recordings from Game Developer Conference 1989, the GBA'a 25th anniversary, plus new temporary "Chris' Corner" segment! youtu.be/kE8c463aibw

Well well well. Turn one page past the Dog Star Adventure listing in the May 1979 issue of Softside, and who do we find?

Guest player Tim Gilberts joins for interstellar exploration of two oft-overlooked sci-fi titles of the 1970s: Aldebaran III by Peter Langston, and Dog Star Adventure by Lance Micklus. retroadventurers.podbean.com/e/38/

Welcome back @ctrl-alt-rees.com! youtu.be/kB7aBtWr7mg News on the Myrient archive, OS pioneer Digital Research, and overdue game ports. Is reviving Cinemaware titles like jury duty? Are there enough good Atari Jaguar games to count on two hands? Find out in Ep 260 of This Week in Retro!

This weekend, Nick connected a group of permacomputing enthusiasts with Adventure (440 point edition) on the ICL 2966 at @tnmoc.bsky.social. Just about anything can be a platform for retro adventuring if you want it badly enough!

This week: the controversial Adventure Game Aptitude Test, improved access to Lucasarts classics thanks to a DREAMM emulator upgrade, and an outrageous hack to the infamous Sinclair C5. Plus your top picks in tiny software and an all-new Community Question of the Week. youtu.be/qm3E_fw7CRE

TWiR covers an unusual global gaming contest and the hosts talk about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Could Book Club be in our future?! Plus more news for retro Star Wars game fans, an incredible Sinclair C5 hack, and more when This Week in Retro 259 arrives Saturday!

All the fun you can squeeze into 64k! youtu.be/PM18XTdua8s We look at the international sensation Jet Set Willy and 1984's explosion of open-world adventure gaming. Plus a full Quake-style FPS in just 64k, and new flow coding and game engines for classic hardware.

>TAKE PITY AND EXAMINE IT. Nobody's angry with Chris for self-destructive adventure game choices, just worried about him. 1984's hottest adventure titles, up-to-date coding environments for out-of-date platforms, a full 3D FPS in just 64k, and more when This Week in Retro 258 arrives this Saturday!

"Keep a copy of what's important to you." "Punish your children one day." youtu.be/N7c_IBMUHws @ronscompvids.bsky.social helps us look back at Philips CD-i, discuss the Stop Killing Games movement, and dig into physical media ownership. Plus: What retro technology would you resuscitate with a $1B bu

Zarf is being a good sport about his Patreon targets so we'll spell it out: if you care about old text adventures AT ALL, GIVE HIM YOUR MONEY patreon.com/VisibleZorker

We take another look 260 Weeks Ago in Retro for our Patreon members, including a checkup on the tough-talking Buffee accelerator project for Amiga computers. www.patreon.com/posts/260-we...

Talking points for Episode 257 include:

It's the history of shoot 'em ups with TWiR and @slopesgameroom.bsky.social. Then we ask whether 1996 changed computing history forever and explore handheld retro tech vs. the doomscrolling scourge. Plus news in classic Z80-based tech from the 80s and 90s on Episode 256! youtu.be/acI72_99jFQ

The last 8-bit episode: not a misprint! We look at the innovative SCUMM adventure game engine, getting the video doc treatment shortly. We also report on hope for retro users of PowerPC Macs and ancient accounting packages, and sift through the 30 year legacy of Duke Nukem 3D! youtu.be/9HjHy5m15eQ

A vast Atari archive has a new home and we hear from Atari chroniclers about the news. Game design pioneer Mike Singleton gets a day in the sun via Midwinter remake, and the history of Counter-Strike player-vs-player mayhem gets a fresh look. Episode 254 available now! youtu.be/x0BrGNSIulI

Ron Martinez (Star Trek: The Promethean Prophecy, Hidden Agenda, Trek: TNG - The Transinium Challenge, Make Your Own Murder Party, etc.) returns for everything from Vladimir Nabokov to generative AI with Jason, Nick, and Dave V from @thisweekinretro.bsky.social . retroadventurers.podbean.com/e/37

PicoIDE, the CD-ROM and HD replacement, is here and so is creator @polpo.org to tell us all about it! youtu.be/NcWE9F3F85c Then it's preservation problems with Little Computer People and Alternate Reality: The City, and a discussion of the all-in-one TV/VCR combo on This Week in Retro 253!

@polpo.org joins us this week to talk optical media fragility, "cursed IDE controllers," & more, as ATAPI CD-ROM / IDE fixed hard drive replacement PicoIDE is ready for production. The campaign launches today, see picoide.com for details, and watch this Saturday on This Week in Retro episode 253!

Latest episode of 260 Weeks Ago in Retro is up now, with a look back at TWiR's first-ever video episode from January 2021! www.patreon.com/posts/260-we...

"Your resume says you think you excel at remaining focused and flexible despite adversity and distraction. Can you give us any examples?" @thisweekinretro.bsky.social

Australia's rich history of technological innovation in the spotlight! youtu.be/Z6FQ9Auc9U8 Plus the history of the 1980s sunsets-and-grids vibe, Leader Board golf, and a celebration of the golden age of tech magazines from an Amiga Format hoard, in This Week in Retro 252!

Long live home arcade gaming! But can Basic Fun! give Arcade1Up extra life? Can we learn from Sega legend David Rosen's life and career? Is a bite-sized arcade cabinet worth owning? Plus the end of a major operating system, hope for old laptops and more in This Week in Retro 251 youtu.be/fCephpE3Ai0

Check the thread, someone out there should be able to figure this out. (Perhaps a Softside Adventure or similar?)

Innuendo-free retro reporting, presented without context other than to remind that This Week in Retro 251, featuring loads of throwback arcade news and the life of a Sega legend, arrives Saturday on YouTube and all podcast platforms.