Miss those days of yore when nobody in your neighborhood could beat you at Frogger? Think all those newfangled games like Riven are pretty to look at but Snooze City to play? Then you need an emulator, my friend.

What's an emulator, you say? It's a software program that, in effect, makes your computer act like something else -- an Atari 2600, say, or a coin-op version of Pac-Man. There are literally dozens of websites devoted to them, and literally hundreds of games available for downloading.

And they're pretty much all free. The catch? Nobody's really sure if they're legal or not, and the folks who own the copyrights to these old games are considering taking action. So if guys with black suits and briefcases interrupt your next game of Defender, don't say we didn't warn you...

MAME Me!

By far the most popular of the game emulators is MAME (Multi-Arcade Machine Emulator). It lets you play dozens of popular '80s coin-op games, all reproduced with fanatical attention to detail. To download MAME and hundreds of ROMs (game files, remember?) for free, as well as a guide to MAME's byzantine installation process), stop by our sister site GamePower) -- or just glance to the right for our Quick and Dirty Installation Guide.

You'll also want to check out The Official MAME Emulator Page, put up by Italian MAME creators Nicola Salmoria and Buffoni Mirko. It's a great place to find the newest versions of the program, as well as screen shots from games and information on how MAME was created. Amateur programmers will love the site's collection of advice on making their own ROMS.

Miss Your Atari?

Long for that old 2600 you had when you were a kid? Don't worry -- with a few patches, your computer can serve as an excellent surrogate. Stop by ClassicGaming.com for a great collection of emulators (for imitating the Atari 2600, the Nintendo, ColecoVision and a few other systems), as well as a ROM of the Week feature.

Kris High's Emulator Page is worth a visit as well. It offers links to dozens of different emulators and an extensive (and supposedly legal) collection of ROMs for them.

Screw All That Software, I Just Wanna Play Games

If your browser supports Java, you can play a number of classic games without having to download a thing. At Java Arcade, 80s Server Games and Trivia, and Kewl Java Games you can find barely disguised imitations of popular video games from Missile Command to Frogger. And at Macrosquishy you can find advice for making your own.

Talk With Fellow Fans

Can't enjoy these games all on your lonesome? There are a number of newsgroups where you can converse and share files and tips with your fellow fans. Our favorite is alt.emulators.classic-arcade. It's an excellent place for both casual gamers and hard-core programmers to meet. rec.games.video.classic is also worth checking out, especially if you're interested in the history of those early '80s console games