Legal free arcade game discovery / 2026-08-02

Car Polo official MAME ROM: legal access and version-check guide

Use the rights-holder-approved MAMEdev page, preserve its non-commercial condition, and validate the exact `carpolo` set without creating a mirror.

9 minute legal import guideOfficial MAMEdev source page and MAME 0.289 short name `carpolo`; Android port compatibility is not claimed

Car Polo official MAME ROM: legal access and version-check guide

Open MAMEdev's Car Polo title page as the official source, read and accept its non-commercial-use condition there, and initiate any download only from that page. Keep the source receipt separate from a MAME 0.289 technical audit: the grant is limited to the original Car Polo images delivered by MAMEdev and does not authorize ArcadeShelf or another product to mirror, bundle, prefetch, or commercialize them.

Do this in order

  1. 01

    Open the exact MAMEdev Car Polo page and confirm it still names H.R. Kauffman, Exidy, free non-commercial use, and the required acknowledgement.

  2. 02

    Accept the condition and initiate the download on MAMEdev only; do not use a mirror, direct-file hotlink, app fetch, bundle, or cached copy.

  3. 03

    Record the title-page URL, access date, permission wording, intended non-commercial use, and exact downloaded artifact without publishing it.

  4. 04

    Record the target emulator and upstream MAME revision; for the August 2 baseline use MAME 0.289 and short name `carpolo`.

  5. 05

    Place the file through the Android port's documented local import flow and run its targeted audit or the equivalent of `carpolo -verifyroms`.

  6. 06

    Preserve the audit and current emulation limitations; do not claim complete sound, a perfect dump, tested Android controls, or redistribution permission.

Decision and diagnostic table

EvidenceWhat it permits or provesBoundary
MAMEdev title pageSource-site non-commercial accessUser must review and act there
MAMEdev free-ROM catalogApproved distribution from MAMEdevNo third-party mirror or bundle
MAME 0.289 driver`carpolo` identity and driver flagsCode license does not license ROM assets
Targeted local auditTechnical match for one buildNo rights or Android playability proof

The official page is part of the permission

MAMEdev says H.R. Kauffman made the original images available for free, non-commercial use and requires an acknowledgement before download. Bypassing that page would remove the user from the published permission flow.

Free does not mean mirrorable

MAMEdev's catalog limits approved distribution to its own site and requires separate owner permission for another website, MAME distribution, software package, cabinet, or product. ArcadeShelf therefore links to the page and hosts no Car Polo file.

Preserve the imperfect-emulation flags

The fixed MAME 0.289 source marks sound as unemulated and one character ROM as a bad dump. A successful ROM audit confirms the expected data contract, not complete emulation or testing of a specific Android port.

First-party sources

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