How to Play PICO-8 on Android Handhelds

The market is moving toward more 1:1 aspect ratio devices. The RG Cube and ZPG A1 Unicorn offer an Android-based experience; however, the RGB30 and RGB20SX still run Linux firmware. The issue with this is that Android handhelds haven't been able to play PICO-8. Windows emulation, made possible by programs like Winlator and Mobox, has completely transformed that.

The most significant drawback is that there is no procedure at all. Playing PICO-8 on Android handhelds involves more than just moving files and getting started. Fortunately, PICO-8 is so light that it may function flawlessly on almost any Android device you may already own or acquire in the future. Let's start configuring everything so you can play PICO-8 on Android.

Play PICO-8 on Android With P8GO

Nearly ten years have passed since PICO-8 was made public. Even while the retro handheld scene is becoming increasingly popular, there is still no simple way to play old Android games and handhelds. That is, until recently, a new software named P8GO: Pixel Games was released on the Play Store.

Mr. RetroGameCorps initially alerted us to this, and Stubbs became so enthralled that he created the video you see above. The setup is simple: you only have to download the app from the Play Store.

After installation, launch the P8GO app to begin playing the different games. The application does more than serve as a review for PICO-8 games. You can create a "Collection" of your favourite games by logging in with your Google account, Discord, or email.

Daily challenges in one of the recent releases added more fun. You can scroll up and down to check what's available or share games with your pals.

Things to Know About P8GO

If you're like us, you likely downloaded the app immediately after learning about it. However, when attempting to use P8GO on your devices, there are a few things to consider.

Many community members have been experimenting with it, and a bug is causing the audio to crack. C0unt_Zer0 has shared the following, along with a few of our own devices:

Retroid Pocket 3+ (Android 11 / 4GB RAM): Audio is slightly better than on the Cube.
Anbernic RG503 (Android 12 / GammaOS / 4GB RAM): The app crashed on launch.
Ayaneo Pocket Air (Android 12 / 12GB RAM): No Issues
Anbernic RG353PS (Gamma Core): Do not recommend with these specs.
Anbernic RG Cube: Audio is a little buggy.
ZPG A1 Unicorn: Audio crackles and games have slowdowns.

Generally speaking, the finest experience is offered by the more expensive gadgets, such as cell phones. It's fantastic that neither Stubbs nor I have encountered any issues with P8GO on our phones.

But don't let your Android handhelds' performance and audio problems deter you. The developers are trying to identify and apply a solution because they know the issue. At the time of writing, P8GO is still very much in its infancy, so all that needs to be done is wait for the problems to be ironed out.

Can You Manually Add Games to P8GO?

To put it briefly, no.

The developers appear to be "hosting the games themselves" and "getting permission from the creators." This is unexpected, considering a PICO-8 license from Lexaloffle costs $15. However, there shouldn't be any cause for concern as long as the devs are telling the truth.

Using your library of PICO-8 games would be fantastic, so this may change soon. Once more, all that needs to be done is wait and see where the development train goes.

Play PICO-8 on Android Using Winlator

We had to jump through many hoops to play PICO-8 on Android before P8GO made its way to the Play Store. Although Winlator has made it technically feasible, this approach is quite time-consuming. However, here is all the information you need to get PICO-8 operating on your Android device.

How to Install and Set up Winlator on Android

The first step is to configure Winlator on your Android device. This Windows emulator never ceases to amaze, and it is updated frequently with enhancements and optimizations to improve the experience.

Download and install the latest version of Winlator.

Winlator GitHub

Launch your preferred web browser.

Go to the PICO-8 website and buy it if you need to.

PICO-8 Landing Page

Get the Windows ZIP file.

Extract the PICO-8 file to your device's Downloads folder.

Get Winlator open.

To create a new container, hit the plus button in the upper right corner.

You can give the Container whatever name you like. Ours is called Pico8.

Choose the Screen Size option that most closely matches your device.

For the AYN Odin 2, for instance, you would choose among the 16×9 possibilities.

Swipe up and select Custom if you're using a device with a 1:1 screen, like the RG Cube.

Put in 720 x 720.

You can leave Turnip (Adreno) selected for the graphics driver.

Choose WineD3D by tapping the DX Wrapper drop-down menu.

Don't change the Audio Driver to ALSA.

To view Wine Configuration, scroll down.

Tap Win Components after swiping.

Make sure Native (Windows) is selected under DirectSound.

In the lower right corner, tap the checkmark.

How to Set up PICO-8 in Winlator

Winlator allows you to construct distinct "Containers" for each game you wish to play. This will enable you to have two containers on a modern device: one for PICO-8 and another for Fallout-like games. More on that will be covered in a subsequent guide.

Tap the three vertical dots next to the Container you created from the Containers page.
Press the "Run" button.
Use the touchscreen as though it were a trackpad to navigate Winlator.
In the File Browser, open the D: folder. This is the Downloads folder on your device.
Find the Pico-8 folder you extracted in the last section, then open it.
Find the File called pico8.exe.
Right-click or two-finger tap the pico8.exe file.
From the drop-down menu, choose Create Shortcut after you've highlighted it.
Click Desktop in the File Explorer's left sidebar.
The pico8.desktop File can be right-clicked.
From the drop-down option, choose Edit.
Find the line that begins with "Exec=env" in the Notepad program window that appears.
Use all four fingers to tap the screen.
From the pop-out side menu, choose Keyboard.
After pico8.exe, place your cursor at the end of the line.
Enter -splore.
After choosing File> Save, exit the Notepad application.
Tap the screen one more with your four fingers.
From the pop-out side menu, select Exit.

After you've created the PICO-8 shortcut, you may stop working. But doing so will force you to use the standard terminal interface, which means you'll need to type a command each time you want to play something. To alleviate some of the headaches, you can boot straight into the Splore interface within PICO-8 by including "-splore" at the end of the Config file.