On Christmas Day, the folks over at Retro Games Ltd delivered a lovely treat for us all by revealing that nine unlockable treats were hidden on the Spectrum.

“So you DON’T have to be as smart as Professor Brian Cox to find the NINE unlockable treats hidden on The Spectrum.. But it does help if you are! Happy Christmas to you all from everyone here at Retro Games, and let your Xmas quest to find all nine of them now begin!”

LInk on X – https://x.com/THEC64_RGL/status/1871825469819273591

These treats were in fact nine additional games that would accompany the 48 already available bringing the total to 57.

Since we’re big fans of the new not so mini console we’ve put together the steps required to unlock these nine additional games that are added to the caurosel.

How to unlock the nine additional games

Time-based unlocks

• Play the “The Lords of Midnight” for 1 continuous hour – unlocks Doomdark’s Revenge
• Play the “Technical Ted” for 30 continuous minutes – unlocks Gilligan’s Gold
• Play the “Horace Goes Skiing” for 30 continuous minutes – unlocks Hungry Horace
• Play the “Hungry Horace” (once unlocked) for 30 continuous minutes – unlocks Horace & the Spiders

Note that you do not have to be actively playing the hames but they do have to be running.

“Hidden Code” unlocks

• Play Manic Miner. Press Enter to Start – 6031769 – this activates “boot mode”. you will see a boot icon next to your lives. Unlocks Cybernoid
• Play “The Hobbit” – Type the word SAVE and press enter – unlocks Pimania

Play based unlocks

3 Games that have a Second part. Play through these games and complete them to unlock the sequels

• Army Moves unlocks Army Moves 2
• Freddy Hardest unlocks Freddy Hardest 2
• Phantis unlocks Phantis 2

When you unlock a game and it’s added to the carosel you will hear a chime. Note that once they have been unlocked they will be there forever, even if you do a firmware update.

Spectrum FAQ

If you’ve not already read our “The Spectrum” FAQ then you can check it out below

What are the games are included with the Spectrum (without having to unlock)

For those interested, the Spectrum comes with the following 48 games that do not require any unlocking

• Alien Girl (Skirmish Edition)
• Ant Attack
• Army Moves
• Auf Wiedersehen Monty
• Avalon
• Bobby Bearing
• Cosmic Payback
• Devwill Too ZX
• Exolon
• Fairlight
• Firelord
• Football Manager 2
• Freddy Hardest
• The Great Escape
• Head Over Heels
• Highway Encounter
• The Hobbit
• Horace Goes Skiing
• Jack the Nipper
• Knot in 3D
• The Lords of Midnight
• Manic Miner
• Match Day II
• Movie
• Nodes of Yesod
• Penetrator
• Phantis (Game Over II)
• Pheenix
• Pyracurse
• Quazatron
• Robin of the Wood
• Saboteur! Remastered
• Shovel Adventure
• Skool Daze
• Snake Escape
• Spellbound
• Starquake
• Starstrike II
• El Stompo
• Stonkers
• Target: Renegade
• TCQ
• Technician Ted – The Megamix
• Tenebra
• Trashman
• The Way of the Exploding Fist
• Wheelie
• Where Time Stood Still

Let’s hear from you

Have you managed to unlock all the additional games on the Spectrum? Are there any games you wish they had also added? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below