About Digger
Digger is a maze game from the Canadian developer Windmill Software, released in 1983 as a self-booting disk for IBM PC compatibles. Rob Sleath, the main developer behind Windmill’s games, created it, and Windmill published it. It plays in a similar way to Mr. Do!, the arcade game from 1982. In 1984 Digger was converted to run on the IBM PCjr and the IBM JX. Wikipedia lists single-player and multiplayer modes.
The game had a second life in the late 1990s. In 1998 Rob Sleath released Digger under the GNU GPL, and Andrew Jenner made Digger Remastered, a free-software version, by reverse engineering the original. Jenner also noted that, technically, the copyright might still be owned by Windmill, which no longer sells the game. So the code is under a free license from its author, but who holds the copyright isn’t entirely settled.
How it runs in your browser
Play opens dos.zone in a new tab. The bundle behind this listing is a single program file, DIGGER.COM (our check), and js-dos, the site’s open-source version of DOSBox for browsers, runs it inside an emulated MS-DOS PC. The 1983 release came on a self-booting disk, so what DOS.Zone serves is a DOS program rather than that disk, and the listing doesn’t say which release the file comes from.
Either way, there’s nothing to download and install yourself, no account to set up and no ads on DOS.Zone.
The listing has a rating of 5 from 5 player reviews. Its description is a stock paragraph that only confirms the game is free, needs no registration and has virtual controls for phones. It doesn’t mention high scores or saving, so don’t count on anything carrying over between visits until you’ve checked.
Controls and devices
Digger was built for a keyboard. DOS.Zone doesn’t list the keys, so watch the game’s own screens when it starts for any hints about controls. Click inside the emulator window once it has loaded so your key presses reach the game.
DOS.Zone switches on virtual on-screen controls for phones. A keyboard game is more comfortable on a desktop or laptop, and we haven’t tested this one on a touchscreen. Chromebooks haven’t been confirmed.
Who it’s for
Digger suits players curious about what PC games looked like in 1983, and fans of arcade-style maze games from the early 1980s. If you like early arcade designs, Taito’s 1986 block breaker Arkanoid is on DOS.Zone in its MS-DOS version. NetHack, first released in 1987, is another old game whose code is freely licensed, though it’s a very different, much longer kind of game.
Is Digger Free, Safe and Official?
Can I play Digger online for free?
Yes. DOS.Zone runs Digger free in a browser tab, with nothing to install and no account. It isn’t made or endorsed by Windmill Software.
Is Digger open source?
Rob Sleath, who made the game, released it under the GNU GPL in 1998, and Andrew Jenner built a free-software version, Digger Remastered, by reverse engineering the original. Jenner noted that Windmill might technically still own the copyright.
Does Digger work on a phone?
DOS.Zone offers virtual on-screen controls on phones, but Digger was built for a keyboard and we haven’t tested it on a touchscreen. A desktop or laptop is the better fit.
