How to play California Games on Mac

PlatformsPortable console, Computer

Game summary

Introducing the gnarliest bunch of games under the sun. Games invented on the beaches by sun-baked beach bums with a fondness for ripping, grinding, and shredding. With six radically thrilling events intended to bring you to the edge and blow your mind. And make adrenaline California's most plentiful natural resource. Wish they all could be California Games. Get ready to shred the face off an awesomely tubular wave. Turn a "berm" on a BMX bike and spray up a wall of dirt. Launch a few feet off-the-lip with your skateboard tucked high. And while you're up there, dance for the crowd. Or if you're feeling like kicking back a bit, float a flying disk, juggle a foot bag with your heels, or just slalom the boardwalk on skates. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. But this ain't beach blanket bingo. In fact, before you even set foot on California turf, you'll choose an on-screen sponsor from among the heaviest names on the circuit. Then, hit the competition route. Prizes include trophies for a single event and a top prize in overall competition. So get air. Go crazy. Welcome to a new state of intensity. California Games was the original "Extreme Games" – what today's generation might call "X-Games in the sun". Players can select sponsors (absent in some versions) and compete in events such as skateboarding, footbag, surfing, roller skating, flying disc (frisbee) and BMX. The surfing event is ranked by judges, which give a score to help the players improve their routine. The Atari versions (2600 and Lynx) of the game omit the flying disc and roller skating events, while the Genesis version omits only the flying disc event.
First released: Jul 1987

Play California Games on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)

The easiest way to play California Games on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.

Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.

Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).

California Games installation steps for Mac

Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install California Games like you would on any PC.
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