Parlor
Game Boy · Game Boy Color · Game Boy Advance · Nintendo DS

Your handhelds. Every Apple screen.

Parlor is a Game Boy, GBA and DS emulator for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. Any controller. Full-screen on your TV over AirPlay. Saves that follow you. A link cable that reaches across the internet.

Get Parlor on the App StoreSee what it does

Includes a free game to try right away. Bring files copied from cartridges you own. One purchase for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV · Family Sharing included · no in-app purchases.

SELECT
START

Press A to play Snake

Go on, play. D-pad steers · A start · B pause · Select palette · Start get Parlor — or arrows, X, Z, Right Shift, Return, the same keys Parlor uses.

Every Apple device

iPhone. iPad. Apple TV. Mac.

One app, native on all four. Not a stretched phone app on the Mac, not a stripped-down one on the TV. Start on the train, finish on the couch.

Any controller

Your PlayStation, Xbox or Switch pad. Just pair it.

Every controller Apple supports. Press a button and a live keymap lights up with your pad's own labels. Remap anything. Touch controls step aside on their own.

AirPlay to your TV

Full-screen on the TV. Your phone is the controller.

Tap Screen Mirroring, start a game, and Parlor takes over the TV while your iPhone becomes the pad. Or plug in HDMI, or run the Apple TV app with a controller.

Link cable

Trade and battle with a friend — anywhere.

The link cable, emulated byte for byte and carried over Game Center. Or run two of your own games side by side on one screen. GB with GBC, GBA with GBA.

Saves that follow you

Pick up on any device, exactly where you stopped.

Battery saves, eight save-state slots with screenshots, and an auto-state every time you leave — synced through your private iCloud. If two devices disagree, the losing save is kept as a recovery copy, never thrown away. Game files stay on each device.

Full speed, clean sound

59.7 fps. Zero audio drops. By design.

Audio is the master clock, so the game can't drift or stutter. Measured in soak tests on GB, GBA and DS. Cores: SameBoy, mGBA, melonDS — verified against the standard accuracy suites. No BIOS files needed.

GBGame Boy.gb · four palettes · RTC
GBCGame Boy Color.gbc · color correction
GBAGame Boy Advance.gba · no BIOS needed
DSNintendo DS.nds · four screen layouts

Zip and 7z archives unpack on import. Decrypted Nintendo 3DS titles also play on iPhone and iPad.

Free games to try tonight

All free games →
Libbet and the Magic FloorGame Boy · IncludedTobu Tobu Girl Deluxe cover artTobu Tobu Girl DeluxeGame Boy ColorµCity cover artµCityGame Boy ColorAttack on Voxelburg cover artAttack on VoxelburgGame Boy AdvanceGraeber cover artGraeberGame BoyAdjustrisGame Boy

Independent homebrew, licensed for redistribution, with the license shown on every page. Parlor is still for the games you own — these are just a good way to try it. Updated 2026-08-29.

And the rest

The details, done properly.

  • Fast forward at 2×, 4×, 8× — audio stays at normal pitch, nothing squeaks.
  • Sharp, LCD grid and CRT filters in Metal, four Game Boy palettes, Game Boy Color color correction.
  • DS screens your way — stacked, side by side, corner, or single; two-finger double-tap to swap.
  • Apple TV survives a storage purge — library, saves and states restore from iCloud; games re-send from your iPhone in seconds.
  • Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight, a widget, Handoff — "Continue playing in Parlor."
  • Fourteen Game Center achievements for using Parlor itself — never tied to a game.
  • A real Mac app — ⌘S / ⌘L save and load, 2×–8× window sizes, full screen, keyboard play.
  • Box art and titles found automatically; favorites, sort, filter by system, play time.
  • No analytics, no trackers, no Parlor account. Every connection listed.
  • Open source, GPL v3. Build it yourself.
Questions

Quick answers.

What is Parlor?
Parlor is a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS emulator for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. It runs games you own at full speed with clean sound, works with any controller Apple supports, syncs saves through your private iCloud, plays full-screen on a TV over AirPlay with your phone as the controller, and links two games over the internet like a link cable. It is a paid app, open source under the GPL v3.
Which devices and systems does Parlor support?
iPhone and iPad (iOS/iPadOS 17 or later), Apple TV (tvOS 17 or later) and Mac (macOS 14 or later). It plays Game Boy (.gb), Game Boy Color (.gbc), Game Boy Advance (.gba) and Nintendo DS (.nds) games, and decrypted Nintendo 3DS titles on iPhone and iPad.
Does Parlor come with games?
One: Libbet and the Magic Floor, a free homebrew puzzle game under the zlib license, so you can try every feature immediately. Parlor never bundles or links to commercial games — you add files copied from cartridges you own.
How do I add my games?
On iPhone and iPad, tap + and pick files, or drop them into the Parlor folder in Files. On Mac, drag them from the Finder onto the window. On Apple TV, send them from your iPhone or iPad over Wi-Fi with a four-digit code. Zip and 7z archives are unpacked on import, and a .sav next to a game becomes its battery save.
Do I need BIOS files?
No. The Game Boy Advance core uses a built-in high-level BIOS, and the Nintendo DS core boots games with its free replacement BIOS and firmware. Nothing to download, nothing to find.
Can I play on my TV?
Three ways. Run the Apple TV app itself with a Bluetooth controller. Or, from an iPhone or iPad, mirror to any AirPlay TV — Parlor takes the screen over full-screen and your phone becomes the controller. Or plug in an HDMI adapter for the lowest latency.
Which controllers work?
Any controller Apple supports: PlayStation DualSense and DualShock 4, Xbox Wireless, Nintendo Switch Pro, 8BitDo, Backbone and every MFi pad, plus hardware keyboards on iPad and Mac. Parlor shows a live keymap labelled with the pad's own buttons and lets you remap anything. Touch controls work without a controller on iPhone and iPad.
Do my saves sync between devices?
Yes. Battery saves, every save-state slot with its screenshot, favorites and play time sync through your private iCloud to every device on the same account. Game files stay on each device and are never uploaded.
Is Parlor open source?
Yes — free software under the GPL v3. The full source is on GitHub, including the sync engine and the audio clock. The App Store build is what carries the iCloud and Game Center entitlements.
Does Parlor collect any data?
No analytics, no trackers, no Parlor account. Saves live in your own iCloud. The privacy policy lists every network connection the app makes.

More in the User Guide.

Get Parlor

The green glow after lights-out — now on the biggest screen in the house.

One purchase for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. Family Sharing included, no in-app purchases. Bring the games you own; Parlor brings everything else.

Download on the App Store

Open source under the GPL v3 — source on GitHub. Self-built copies don't carry the iCloud and Game Center entitlements.