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⌂ ∞ ▽ Elite on the 6502

Playing two-player Elite

How to download and play two-player Elite

Player 2 being attacked by a missile in two-player Elite

You can play two-player Elite in a web browser, or on a BBC Master or BBC Micro that's got a 6502 Second Processor fitted. Here are your options:

  • Play two-player Elite in your browser.
  • Download two-player Elite as a disc image that will run in an emulator, or on a real BBC Micro or BBC Master 128 using a device like a Gotek.

To load two-player Elite on a BBC, simply insert the disc image and press SHIFT-D-BREAK (for DFS), SHIFT-M-BREAK (for MMFS), SHIFT-S-BREAK (for Micro SPI) or use the *DBOOT command (for all SD card solutions); emulators tend to map BREAK to F12, so press SHIFT-D-F12. The disc will automatically load if you're playing it in a browser.

If you are playing in a browser, note that f0 is mapped to F10 on a modern keyboard, so press that key to start. Also, only one joystick is emulated in JSBeeb, so when playing in a browser you are limited to playing either the keyboard or joystick against the AI Pilot, or player 1 on keyboard and player 2 on joystick.

The controls for two-player Elite are described in the instructions, along with information on how to configure the game for joysticks and Delta 14B.

Hardware requirements
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You will need a BBC Micro, a BBC Micro B+ or a BBC Master, fitted with a 6502 Second Processor.

For one human player, this is all you'll need, though you can add a joystick if you prefer, or a Delta 14B with 14B/1 adaptor.

For two human players, you'll need at least one joystick, but twin joysticks are even better. One or two Delta 14Bs are also supported if you have a 14B/1 adaptor.

Here's the dream set-up - twin Delta 14B joysticks on a BBC Micro B+ that's been signed by David Braben. The ultimate Elite machine!

Playing two-player Elite with twin Delta 14B joysticks on a BBC Micro B+ signed by David Braben

Two-player Elite will run on all 6502 Second Processors, but faster is better. The BBC Micro's 3MHz 65C02 co-processor will cope absolutely fine, but the Master's 4MHz internal 65C102 co-processor is a slightly better choice, and if you have a PiTubeDirect then you might like to try the fast 65C02 or 65C102 options. The game is frame-limited, so it is fully playable even on the fastest machines (unlike the original version).

Release history
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Two-player Elite has had the following releases:

  • 2026-09-03 - Initial release

You can check the release for a given disc image by loading the disc and typing *TYPE README to display the credits. The build date is at the end.