About Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder is a shoot ’em up that Sensible Software developed and Virgin Interactive Entertainment published for the Amiga, with the European release on 3 December 1993. Jon Hare designed it and Richard Joseph wrote the music, and the game runs on a modified version of the Sensible Soccer engine. It is a single-player game and gave its name to the Cannon Fodder series.
The theme is military. You direct a handful of troops through a long run of missions, fighting enemy infantry, vehicles and installations, so the shooting goes hand in hand with squad tactics. The game also has a darkly humorous tone, which commentators both praised and condemned.
Virgin took the game to many other systems. Audio Visual Magic made the MS-DOS version, Arch Rivals the Amiga CD32 one and PanelComp the Mega Drive conversion, and Krisalis Software published it for the Acorn Archimedes. Versions for the Atari ST, 3DO, Super NES, Mega Drive and Atari Jaguar came out in 1994 and 1995, with Allister Brimble writing the music for the Super NES, Mega Drive and Jaguar versions. Codemasters brought it to the Game Boy Color in 2000.
How it runs in your browser
The Play button opens Cannon Fodder’s listing on dos.zone in a new tab. DOS.Zone serves the MS-DOS game files itself and runs them in js-dos, an open-source build of DOSBox that emulates an old PC inside the browser. Nothing gets installed, you don’t need disks or files of your own, and there’s no sign-up. The site doesn’t show ads.
The listing files the game under action and strategy and carries a rating of 5 from 9 player reviews. It doesn’t explain how progress is kept between sessions, so check DOS.Zone’s page before you count on picking up where you left off.
Controls and devices
DOS.Zone pairs this game with a keyboard and mouse. The page doesn’t list the controls, so look through the game’s own screens before your first mission, and once the emulator has loaded, click inside its window so the game picks up your input.
Phones get virtual on-screen controls from DOS.Zone, though a game built around a keyboard and mouse is much easier on a desktop or laptop. We haven’t tried it on a touchscreen, and Chromebook support hasn’t been confirmed.
Who it’s for
Cannon Fodder suits players who remember it from the Amiga or an old PC and want a quick way back to it, and anyone curious about an early-1990s action game that mixes shooting with managing a squad. For more military action from the same years, Desert Strike, the 1992 shoot ’em up where you fly an Apache helicopter, also runs on DOS.Zone. If you’d rather steer a crowd than fight with one, Lemmings, the 1991 puzzle and strategy game first made for the Amiga, is a gentler pick.
Is Cannon Fodder Free, Safe and Official?
Can I play Cannon Fodder online for free?
Yes. DOS.Zone runs the MS-DOS version free in a browser tab, with nothing to download and no account to set up. It isn’t made or endorsed by the game’s rights holders.
Is this the Amiga version of Cannon Fodder?
No. The game first came out on the Amiga in 1993. DOS.Zone runs the MS-DOS port, made by Audio Visual Magic, in an emulated PC.
Can I play Cannon Fodder on a phone?
DOS.Zone shows virtual on-screen controls on phones, but the game was made for a keyboard and mouse and we haven’t tried it on a touchscreen. A computer is the better choice.
