Here’s a quick guide in how to run Nth Pong Wars, on a real NABU PC from 1982 or on the MAME emulator. I’m assuming you found this README in some sort of a NthPongWars20260304.zip file (the numbers are a date), along with the Local Source and Store folders.
There are two parts, a server side that emulates the old NABU cable TV data network, and a client side (MAME or real hardware).
Also see the Nth Pong Wars blog if you need details on how I install things: Blog on FreeNet, Blog on Alex’s Server
For the server side, I use the NABU Internet Adapter from nabu.ca (there are others). See instructions there for installing in Windows, Linux or Macintosh.
Once it’s working, find its data folder (Linux uses ~/Documents/NABU Internet Adapter) and copy the NthPongWars.nabu file in the Local Source folder from the .zip file into the ~/Documents/NABU Internet Adapter/Local Source/ folder. Similarly, copy the zip file’s NTHPONG folder contents to the ~/Documents/NABU Internet Adapter/Store/NTHPONG/ folder.
Then fire up the NABU Internet Adapter and right at the bottom of the column listing all the programs you can run, there’s a Local Source section and it should have NthPongWars listed there. Select it.
For real NABUs, you need to connect their oddball serial cable to your server and fiddle with baud rates.
MAME needs some ROM images to run as a NABU. Look for main system ROM nabupc-u53-90020060-reva-2732.bin and keyboard processor ROM nabukeyboard-90020070-reva-2716.bin and put them in the MAME roms directory, inside a nabupc directory. Tell MAME to use that directory for ROMs, by starting MAME with no command line arguments and adding to the list of ROM folders it searches.
For MAME, you start it up (after first starting the server) with the command
line:
mame nabupc -window -resolution 1024x768 -hcca null_modem -bitb socket.127.0.0.1:5716
You need to fiddle with baud rates too, in the Machine Configuration menu you
pop up just when the game starts by hitting tab (or when the game is running by
hitting Scroll-lock and then tab). Pick 115200 baud in both directions, 8 bits,
no parity, 2 stop bits, no flow control, and 4K BIOS.
Once you exit the config menu, or skip it by hitting a key or joystick button or mouse, it should start up the NABU and then load the game. You might be able to play it then, but should change the MAME input settings so that the keyboard doesn’t pretend to be a joystick, the game has both one player keyboard input (arrow keys and YES/F1 button) and four player joystick inputs.
There’s also a version of MAME for the iPhone, called Arcade Mania, which works though you have to make your server accessible over the network. Or use mine by changing the command line to -bitb socket.www.agmsmith.ca:5716
From the main screen, use the arrow keys or joystick to pick a direction. You’ve got a tutorial, credits, Classic Pong Wars, quit, and if you hit fire/YES the main game. Or do nothing and see a demo run (which you can join while it plays).
There are just three keys you can type, ESC brings you back to the main menu, “0” sets the goal to 10 (to skip a level), and “q” quits.
You can also make your own levels, by editing the level files in the Store/NTHPONG folder. Please E-mail me any good ones!
- Alex
“Alexander G. M. Smith” agmsmith@ncf.ca www.agmsmith.ca
August 2026