About Home Alone
Home Alone is the name of several tie-in games based on the 1990 film written by John Hughes. They came out between 1991 and 1993 on the NES, Game Boy, Super NES, Master System, Genesis, Game Gear, Amiga and MS-DOS, and each one plays differently. Bethesda Softworks made the NES game, for example, while Imagineering made the Game Boy and Super NES versions.
This page is about the MS-DOS game, which shares its design with the Amiga version. Manley & Associates developed it and Capstone Software published it. Dave Albert and Ivan Manley designed it, Ivan Manley directed it and Tom McMail wrote the music. DOS.Zone labels its listing 1992, while Wikipedia’s release list dates the Amiga and MS-DOS versions to 1991.
DOS.Zone describes the game as young Kevin McCallister’s battle of wits against the Wet Bandits. You gather items around the house and set traps at the spots the game marks for you. Phase I ends on its own at 9:00 unless you press N to move on sooner, and Kevin starts Phase II wherever Phase I left him.
How it runs in your browser
Pressing Play opens DOS.Zone’s Home Alone page in a new tab, at an address ending in 1992. The site starts the MS-DOS version in js-dos, its open-source DOSBox port, which emulates a PC inside the browser. DOS.Zone supplies the game files, so there’s nothing to install and no account, and the site shows no ads. The listing tags the game as action and platformer and has a rating of 4.3 from 12 player reviews. It doesn’t say whether progress carries over between visits.
Controls and devices
DOS.Zone’s description lists the keys:
- F1 picks up flashing objects. For something out of reach, jump with 0 on the numeric keypad, then press F1 in mid-air.
- Kevin can hold only three items. Pick up a fourth and a warning appears; press Space to carry on.
- F2 chooses an item from your inventory for a trap, and F3 places it where the word HERE appears.
- The BB gun covers trap spots in the middle of a room or overhead. It has to be in your inventory, the burglar must be directly underneath, and you fire it with Enter in Phase II.
- N skips ahead to the next phase before 9:00.
- Esc pauses and opens the options menu, where M switches the music, A switches all sound, R restarts from Phase I and C continues.
On phones DOS.Zone offers virtual on-screen controls, but with this many function keys a keyboard is far easier. We haven’t tested it on a phone, and Chromebooks haven’t been confirmed.
Who it’s for
It suits people who played this version on a family PC in the early 1990s, and fans of the film who want to try one of its games without setting up an old computer. Check the keys above before you start, since the game leans on the function keys. Another film tie-in from the same years, Disney’s Aladdin, runs on DOS.Zone in its MS-DOS version too.
Is Home Alone Free, Safe and Official?
Can I play the Home Alone game online for free?
Yes. DOS.Zone runs the MS-DOS version free in your browser, with nothing to download and no account to create.
Which Home Alone game is this?
It’s the MS-DOS game developed by Manley & Associates and published by Capstone Software, which also came out on the Amiga. The NES, Super NES, Genesis and Game Boy games are different games with different gameplay.
What are the controls for Home Alone on DOS.Zone?
DOS.Zone lists them: F1 picks up flashing objects, numpad 0 jumps for high ones, F2 selects an item for a trap and F3 places it where HERE appears. Enter fires the BB gun in Phase II, and N moves on to the next phase before 9:00.
