Play Lode Runner Online Free for NES.

NES Platformer, Puzzle 1 Player

Here at this Retro Gaming Players Club, we wouldn't be who we are if we didn't give you the ability to play "Lode Runner" online. Released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, this retro classic from its publisher is ready the second you press start — no downloads, no setup.

Lode Runner gameplay screenshot
Getting Your Relived Experience Ready

🎮 USB or Bluetooth controller? Plug it in, Once Detected Click Here to Open Your Controller Options

Download our Mini App on PC/Mac for advanced & more premium functions for your games.

Report this game not working
HIGH SCORE — THRONE EMPTY
Nobody holds this game yet.

First registered run claims the top spot. It won't stay easy for long.

🏆 2026-Q3 TOURNAMENT Q3 2026 Top Players Championship Top 3 players on this game share the prize pool — Premium subscribers qualify. Jul 1 – Sep 30, 2026 Enter with Premium ▶

It is one of the first games to include a level editor. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to Space Panic from 1980.

The Story Behind Lode Runner

The Atari 8-bit version of Lode Runner was converted to cartridge and re-released by Atari Corporation in 1987, as one of the series of releases for the Atari XEGS console. It was notably the first time an American computer game was adapted into a Japanese arcade game. The published game would retain this level editor, becoming one of the first to allow players to extend the gameplay with their own content.

Unfortunately, it does not fit within our product line." Smith borrowed money to purchase a color monitor and joystick and continued to improve the game. Like its text-based Kong predecessors, the submitted game had only simple animation where characters move across the screen in block increments. Broderbund released an enhanced version, Championship Lode Runner, in 1985, with 50 levels and a higher difficulty.

How Lode Runner Plays

The player controls a human, described as a "Galactic Commando" in the game's manual, who must collect all the gold in a level while avoiding the guards. The player can also trap themselves in pits from which the only escape is to abort the level, costing a life. The player starts with five lives; each level completion awards an extra life.

If a guard is carrying a bar of gold when he falls into a hole, he will drop it and the player can then pick it up. There are 150 levels in total, which progressively challenge players' problem-solving abilities or reaction times. Levels have a multi-story, brick platform motif, with ladders and suspended hand-to-hand bars that offer multiple ways to travel.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Lode Runner uses the power of the PC to create something much more than a video version of Ping Pong. The magazine called the game "a tour de force of American ingenuity ... the first release in a long, long time that can honestly bear the title, 'computer game' ... Softline readers named Lode Runner the most popular Apple and fourth most-popular Atari program of 1983.

Game Informer placed the game 52nd on their top 100 video games of all time in 2001. Computer Gaming World praised Lode Runners unusually easy-to-use level editor and the strategy necessary for an arcade title, describing it as "one of the few thinking men's arcade games". Unconditionally and wholeheartedly recommended".

Lode Runner — Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a controller to play Lode Runner?

No. Keyboard controls work out of the box (see the controls panel), and any USB or Bluetooth gamepad is detected automatically.

Who developed Lode Runner?

Development was handled by its developer, with its publisher publishing the release.

Where can I buy the original Lode Runner?

See the "Other Places You Can Get This Game" section below the article for legitimate places to buy real-world versions.

What console was Lode Runner released on?

its publisher shipped Lode Runner for the Nintendo Entertainment System back in , and this page runs that release.

Videos for This Lode Runner

See all gameplay videos ›

More NES Games