Zarel's Guide to Getting Games

To send games to your calculator, you will need a link cable, a cable that connects your calculator to your computer. Most newer calculators come with a link cable, but if yours didn't, you will need to buy one:

There are many places to download games from, but I recommend ticalc.org. It's widely considered the best:

Note that these are the most popular sections for games. There are other sections, even on ticalc.org, but I will not list them here.
You may browse ticalc.org for them:

Once you've downloaded the game, you'll find that it's usually a '.zip' file.

If you have Windows XP, you can open the '.zip' file by right-clicking it, clicking 'Extract All...', and following the directions.

If you have an older version of of Windows, I recommend you use 7-Zip to open your '.zip' files. Consult the 7-Zip documentation for how to open '.zip' files with 7-Zip.

If you have a Mac, you can use MacZip. Consult the MacZip documentation for how to open '.zip' files with MacZip.

For instructions on how to play a specific game, there should be a 'readme.txt' or '[gamename].txt' file in the game's zip file. The file is known as the 'readme'. Read it.

You will need to download and install TI Connect before you can use your calculator. Make sure to install it before you plug the Connectivity cable in. (Windows users who own the TI-82 or 85, download and use the Graph Link software instead.)

Plug the Connectivity cable into your computer and calculator.

Run TI Connect. Turn the calculator on if it is not. Use TI Connect's ScreenCapture program to get a screen capture from the calculator or use TI Connect's DeviceExplorer to view the contents of your calculator's memory. If successful, your Connectivity cable is properly connected and configured and you are ready to use it.

To send files to the calculator, drag and drop them from the Windows File Explorer window into TI Connect's DeviceExplorer Window. Alternately, right click the file and choose Send To TI Device. Do not merely double click them in Windows File Explorer as Windows won't know what to do with them.

After you have done this, it is recommended that, if you have a calculator with Flash memory (any calculator but TI-85/86), you archive the game (put it in Flash memory).

On a TI-83 Plus/84 Plus/Silver Edition, press 2ND+MEM, go down to 'Archive/Unarchive/Del', press Enter, go down to 'Prgm', press Enter, go down to the game you want to archive or unarchive, press Enter. Archived games will have a '*' next to them.

Before you do this, to be able to run a Basic program from MirageOS, open it for editing, press 2ND+INS, type a :, then a ", press Enter, then quit.

First, you will need to install MirageOS. After you have installed MirageOS, open it by pressing APPS, scrolling down to MirageOS, and pressing Enter. After this, the next time you want to open MirageOS, simply hold down ON+APPS. In MirageOS, you can run games by scrolling down to them and pressing 2ND.

If you can't run a Basic program from MirageOS, unarchive it, open it for editing, press 2ND+INS, type a :, then a ", press Enter, then quit, and archive it again. You will now be able to see and run it from MirageOS.