In two separate projects I've used fetch() to grab a secondary map file, and then used mset/mget to get/set tiles on that file and the default 0.map file, which has caused the graphics and map data to corrupt permanently in some way.

1. Short Circuit

I used Picotron to make a game for the GMTK Game Jam called Short Circuit. In it, I draw walls in the map editor with a basic sprite and then use a function during runtime to replace these sprites with ones that are shifted upward to look 3D:

Multiple times during this jam I would suddenly get an "Out of Memory" error when trying to run my cart even though it was fine for the past couple hours. I would reset Picotron, and suddenly all my sprite data for the cart would be empty (even if I opened it externally), and my map files would be empty and broken. Upon trying to launch the game I would get this error:

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map mget mset fetch

<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8"/>
<title>MunchRex — Playable HTML</title>
<style>
html,body{height:100%;margin:0;background:#0b1220;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}
canvas{image-rendering:pixelated;border:8px solid #081018; background:#7ec850}

ui{position:fixed;left:10px;top:10px;color:#cfe;border-radius:6px;padding:6px;font-family:monospace}

a{color:#9ff}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<canvas id="game" width="128" height="96"></canvas>
<div id="ui">MunchRex — Save as HTML & open. Controls: ← → | Z jump | X gulp | C tail/stomp<br/>Press Enter to Start</div>

<script>
/*
MunchRex — compact browser export

• 128x96 logical resolution (scaled by browser)
• Player: little T-rex (16x12 pixel sprite drawn from arrays)

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I originally made a cover of this on pico8, and learned about picotron after.
Suffice to say, I much prefer the latter, 8 channels makes such a difference.
You can see the original pico-8 version here

music

An endless runner taking place on a highway. Use the arrow keys to control him

Im gonna add some more progression later (unlockable hats and stuff)

endlessrunner action cars

-- Spotlight Lander Demo --

----- Arcade, Space, Classic -----

--------- Pico-8 game [0002] ---------

controls:

Up/Left/Right - Thrust

X - Restart

The Goal:

**Successfully land the lunar lander module by searching for the landing pad and adjusting your thrust to have a successful touchdown!

I created the game loop of this game by following a PDF tutorial resource created by Dylan Bennett and posted on his itch.io
Dylan Bennett - Gamedev_with_PICO-8_1

description

This game took slightly longer to develop than my first Pico-8 game due to unavoidable personal reasons, however, I'm super excited to finally get it out!

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space lander retro classic

This is a tower defense game to liven up a festival!
Supports both mouse and button controls.

Mouse Controls

• Click – Place a shop
• Mouse Wheel – Select a shop

Button Controls

• Arrow Keys – Move cursor
• Z / C – Place a shop
• X / V (Hold + Up/Down) – Change shop selection

The range of aroma differs depending on the shop.
Preferences also vary by age (child/adult) and gender (male/female).

	[8x8]

Shaved Ice – Perfect for hot summer days, and its low cost is another plus.

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picojam towerdefence

elzapato

I just had to make this!

This is my version of a Galton Board. This toy demonstrates the Central Limit Theorem (CLT). As I understand it, the CLT is simply the tendency for a series of random events to converge into a bell curve! It is a useful concept in statistics that is borrowed from probability. It is also relevant in AI and machine learning, where bell curves can be used to model deviations (from an average), error, or noise

Controls are listed in the cartridge

If you are interested in the math side of things, there are basically three layers:

1. Every time a particle hits one of the fixtures, a coin flip occurs, sending the particle left or right randomly. This happens up to 9 times, depending on where the particle started

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math simulation

We got some rain in my town today and I was looking at it while having a smoke.
Got inspired to make this small demo of falling rain and ripples.

I tackled this using an object oriented approach with Lua metatables.
Hope this helps anyone that wants to get started with OO in pico8 or anyone looking to add some rain to their game.

Feedback is always appreciated and I'm happy to answer any questions.

rain objectoriented metatables

Less successful than that Asteroids GPT creation, but the bones of a game ARE here. Still pretty incredible.

ChangeLog

1.0.1 Adds:
More News
New Game Added!
1.0.1-hotfix Adds:
Adds Ability to Launch
Bernie And the Wax Museum
1.0.2 Adds:
Overbold
More News
Removed Red Circle on News Icon
1.0.2-Hotfix Adds:
Ability to see new news

I'll Add your game if You request it.
There will be more news in later versions

nintendo-switch switch nintendo peppino

As an experiment, I wanted to see if GPT-5 could code a Pico-8 game and I'm honestly pretty terrified. This was generated in a single shot with the prompt "Write a Pico-8 version of Asteroids." The only bug fixing I did was to clean up the header, change the update rate from 60 to 30, and reverse the direction of rotation of the ship.

We are so cooked.

Bernie Cinders is a young fireball who enjoys toasting marshmallows, playing in dry leaves, and visiting the wax museum.

Controls: L/R, Z to jump -- UP to enter a door.

Made this past weekend for PICOJAM at Pico Pico Cafe (thanks for hosting CJ!). My theme was "melting". Unfortunately I forgot to submit to itch before the deadline, but here are the other entries: https://itch.io/jam/picojam-2025/entries

melt physics picojam platformer

Press (Z) to select difficulty
Press and hold (X) to generate a puzzle

use arrows to navigate, and press (Z) to input a number (1-9)

UPDATE 2025/08/12:
Toggle "note mode" ON/OFF in the pause menu. Hold (Z) and a direction on the keypad to input a blue dot inside the cell, so you can note down possible numbers!

Use arrows to navigate, collect the candies and avoid the bombs!

firstgame collectathon demo

🍧 make shaved ice for animals at the festival! 🍧

• place bowl under shaved ice maker
• insert ice into shaved ice maker
• pick up shaved ice
• add ✨SYRUP✨
• deliver to animals!

use arrow keys to move, z to interact & x to discard shaved ice.

(there's no ending! you just make shaved ice forever.)

Credits

• code by @davemakes
• art by @npckc
• music by @mabbees

Made in 2 days for PICOJAM 2025.

matsuri jam

just a little prototype for now :)
it's fun tho!

This is a port of a game that one of my friends made! If you haven't already, you should go check out The Rush on steam. It's free and is way more fun to play than this.
Go get it here! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2525190/The_Rush/

The basic controls include dpad/arrow keys to move, the O button to fire, and the X button to drop a bomb.

This cartridge features save data that records your top 3 high scores.

Enjoy! (and check out The Rush on Steam when you're ready!)

Pixic is a puzzle game about matching 4 squares together. It's inspired by Hexic HD for the Xbox 360, however some liberties were taken with the gameplay.
(most notably that its squares instead of hexagons)

You can rotate a 2x2 group of squares once, twice or as many times as you like! The rotation will stop at each change so you can move squares around the board to your liking. If you create a 3x3 group of squares with a different colored square in the center, you'll create a black gem. Matching 4 of these gives you higher score than regular squares. In Normal Mode, after 10 rounds bombs will start appearing every 5 rounds starting with 3 round timers. To defuse them, match them in a 2x2 group with 3 of the same colored squares (the bomb is a wildcard). However if you do not defuse it in time, that's GAME OVER.

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puzzle arcade

Ice cream making game
X to submit
C for order menu

First order is tutorial!
Make sure not to submit before looking at it!(Will change to only submit at desk)

changes:
Broken the menu (need to fix)
Added desk to submit orders
Some sfx

things to change/add:

1. Bin to remove current order ✅
2. Display for correct/wrong order
3. Order Menu/Book and order slips ✅
4. Map
5. NPCs to make orders✅
6. Dont allow swapping of items must bin (waste time)✅
7. Timer for each order
8. more items (sprinkles, sauce)
9. make items not clash? (choc and flake, vanilla and wafer)✅
   10.make UI better(stats in menu, not allow submit in menu?)