The Atari Lynx can be emulated on a number of platforms. There are emulators for macOS, Linux and Windows as well as game consoles, mobile phones and other handheld devices. Most of the emulators are based on the original Handy Lynx Emulator.
There are multi-system emulators like Mednafen, Libretro and Argon that incorporate Lynx emulation as part of their feature set.
ROMs and Lynx System BIOS🕸
Emulation requires ROM files, which are dumps of the cartridge data, to be loaded into an emulator to play games. There is a big selection of these available for download from our game database. Some emulators also require the Lynx System BIOS ROM file being present.
Emulation in a Web Browser🕸
If you have a modern browser that supports WebAssembly, you can play Atari Lynx online right here at Atari Gamer.
If you don't have your own ROMs, most of the games in the game database have been preloaded and can be played by visiting that game's information page and clicking 'Play Online'.
Emulation on PC/Mac🕸
Handy🕸
The simplest way to get Atari Lynx ROMs running on your computer is with Handy, an Atari Lynx emulator.
If you're in a hurry, Atari Gamer has these files here for you: Handy-0.95.zip (Windows) and handy-099.zip (macOS)
OpenEmu🕸
OpenEmu is a macOS emulator for multiple consoles and it supports Atari Lynx as well. If you're using a Mac, this is probably your best choice for emulation. It manages your ROMs for you in a library but is much easier to use than RetroArch. You can download it here.
RetroArch🕸
Another way to get started with Lynx emulation on PC or Mac is to install RetroArch and use its configuration screens to download one of the Atari Lynx 'cores'.
Once the 'core' is loaded, the content i.e. ROMs can be selected.
Once a ROM is selected it can be launched and played.
Emulation on Handheld Devices🕸
Handheld Linux based systems like GP2X can be used to run Lynx emulators like GP2XHandy and handy2x.
Thanks to Lee Chapman, the admin of the Atari Lynx Fans for information on the GP2x.
Emulation on Android Devices🕸
Android devices like phones, tablets, Chromebooks and even Raspberry Pi (running Android/Lineage) have the option of running, Argon for Atari Lynx emulation. You can see more details about Argon on this page we've put together - Argon - Multi-system (including Atari Lynx) emulator for Android.
Emulation on Other Consoles🕸
Atari Lynx can be emulated on other consoles. Consoles like the SNES Classic Mini can be soft-modded to run emulators, including Lynx emulators. See this article on how that can be achieved - How to run Atari Lynx games on the SNES Classic Mini.
Older consoles like the Sega Dreamcast can also emulate Atari Lynx. There is some discussion on this topic and the emulation information is a little hard to come by. However what is known is that an emulator called M.E.S.S. exists and can be downloaded. Since Dreamcast makes it so easy to run homebrew software, all that is needed is to burn a CD and the emulator should work.
If your download doesn't start automatically after 10 seconds, please click here.