About Arkanoid
Arkanoid is a block breaker that Taito developed and published for arcades in 1986. It came out in Japan in July of that year, and Romstar released it in North America in August. The game took the idea behind Atari, Inc.’s Breakout, a success from a decade earlier, gave it new life and set the model that many later block breakers followed. Akira Fujita and Hiroshi Tsujino designed it, and Hisayoshi Ogura wrote the music. It has single-player and multiplayer modes, and it was the first game in the Arkanoid series.
Home versions followed quickly. The NES version came out in Japan on December 26, 1986, and in North America in August 1987, while the Commodore 64 version reached Europe in early 1987 and North America in July 1988. The MS-DOS version arrived in November 1988, and Apple II, Apple IIGS and Atari ST versions came a month later. Over the years Arkanoid also appeared on the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, MSX, BBC Micro and classic Mac OS, on mobile phones and iOS, and more recently on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. Taito, now part of Square Enix, holds the rights.
How it runs in your browser
Pressing Play opens Arkanoid’s page on dos.zone in a new tab. There, js-dos, DOS.Zone’s open-source build of DOSBox for the web, emulates an IBM PC and boots the MS-DOS game inside the tab. The site supplies the game files itself, so there’s no installer, no copy of your own to find and no account to create. DOS.Zone doesn’t show ads.
The listing files Arkanoid under arcade games for MS-DOS and the IBM PC, and it holds a rating of 5 from 32 player reviews. Its short description only says that the game is free to play without registration and that phones get virtual controls. It doesn’t mention whether high scores or progress are kept between visits, so check the page itself if that matters to you.
Listings like this one can be withdrawn. DOS.Zone has removed games before: it took down GTA 1 and 2 after a request from Take-Two.
Controls and devices
DOS.Zone lists no controls for this version, and the game is set up for a keyboard and mouse. Once it has loaded, click inside the emulator window so it receives your input, then use the game’s own title screen and menus to find out which keys it uses.
On phones, DOS.Zone lays virtual buttons over the game, and the listing says you can play that way. A keyboard and mouse remain the better fit, so a desktop or laptop is the safer choice. Chromebooks haven’t been confirmed.
Who it’s for
Arkanoid suits players who met it in an arcade or on a home computer in the 1980s and want to play it again without setting up an emulator. It’s also a simple way for anyone who knows block breakers only from later games to see the one that set the model for them.
If you’d like more from the same era, Scorched Earth is a 1991 turn-based artillery game for MS-DOS, and Color Lines is a 1992 puzzle game.
Is Arkanoid Free, Safe and Official?
Can I play Arkanoid online for free?
Yes. DOS.Zone runs the MS-DOS version of Arkanoid free in a browser tab, with nothing to install and no sign-up. It isn’t made or endorsed by Taito.
Is this the arcade version of Arkanoid?
No. It’s the MS-DOS version for the IBM PC, which first came out in November 1988, running in an emulated PC. The arcade original dates from 1986.
Can I play Arkanoid on my phone?
DOS.Zone’s listing says you can, using its virtual on-screen controls. The game was built for a keyboard and mouse, though, so a computer is the better fit.
