It has become increasingly popular to release small modern versions of classic consoles and computers as examplified by The NES / SNES mini, the C64 mini / maxi, and also the Amiga 500 (A500) mini. In this post I will describe how to add extra games to your Amiga 500 mini, for those of you who want extra games in addition to the 25 built in games.
First step: Upgrade the firmware
The latest firmware for the Amiga 500 mini supports loading “ADF-files” from a USB-stick. So, head over to https://retrogames.biz/support/thea500-mini/upgrade/, and follow the instructions for how to update the firmware from a USB-stick.
Second step: Add games to a USB-stick
Now, it is time to add your favorite games on a USB-stick. You should first format the stick to FAT32. Then, drag and drop your games to the stick, and create a folder structure that suits your needs.
Here are a couple of good sources for games:
https://www.planetemu.net/roms/commodore-amiga-games-adf
Download the compressed files, and extract the ADF (amiga disk files). Below is a selection of games I went for:
Third, browse the games on your Amiga 500 mini
Connect the USB-stick to your Amiga 500 mini, and it should show up in the games selector. Select the USB-stick and click on one of the ADF-files to start the game.
For multiple-disk games, select the first disk with the “A” button, then add the other disks using the “R” button. When prompted to change disk in game, press and hold the “home” button, and insert the next disk using the “R” button. However, if your game is larger than 3 disks, you need to create a playlist. A playlist is a .m3u file that lists all the disks of the game. For example, if I wanted to create a playlist for the Heart of China game, it would look something like this:
| /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 1 of 9).adf /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 2 of 9).adf /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 3 of 9).adf /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 4 of 9).adf /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 5 of 9).adf /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 6 of 9).adf /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 7 of 9).adf /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 8 of 9).adf /games/HoC/Heart of China (1991)(Dynamix)(Disk 9 of 9).adf |
Then, you start the game by clicking the playlist file instead of the ADF-files. See also: https://retrogames.biz/support/thea500-mini/manuals/update-1-1-1/
That’s it, good luck with your Amiga 500 mini!