CaveRace is a maze-based action game created in 1997 by Clemens Schotte and fellow students. Inspired by Dyna Blaster (Bomberman), the game sends miners into the caves of Eldora to collect gold and diamonds, clear passages with bombs, and defeat alien invaders.
| Forest | Winter | Lava |
|---|---|---|
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More screenshots, background information, and a download of the original MS-DOS release are available on the CaveRace website.
Far out in space lies Eldora, a small planet whose people have built their lives around its treasure-filled mines. Day after day, the miners venture underground to recover gold, diamonds, and other precious minerals hidden deep within the caves.
Then unexpected visitors arrive from outer space. Alien creatures invade the mines, threatening Eldora's people and the riches they depend on. The miners have only one practical defense: the same explosives they use to open passages through the rock.
You are one of those miners. Enter the infested caves, collect as much treasure as you can, and drive out every alien. Your bombs can clear softer stone and destroy nearby monsters, but the caves reward careful planning: dense rock will not move, and a careless blast can destroy treasure or a valuable power-up.
Every explosion can reveal a route or create a new danger. Clear the mines, protect Eldora's riches, and make the caves safe for its people again.
CaveRace 1.5 is a rewrite in Odin using the bundled raylib bindings, now available as a public beta for Windows and macOS. Its goal is to bring the game back to modern systems while preserving the original levels, artwork, sounds, and feel.
Get the latest build from ... link follows
| Story | Main menu | Controls |
|---|---|---|
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Every preserved CaveRace version has its own README with version-specific requirements, build instructions, controls, source layout, and compatibility notes. 1.5 is the only actively developed edition and the recommended download; 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, and 2.0 are kept for historical reference.
| Version | Year | Platform and technology | Documentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | 1997 | Original MS-DOS release, written for Borland C with x86 assembly | CaveRace 1.2 README |
| 1.3 | 2002 | Windows port using Visual C++ and DirectX 8.1 | CaveRace 1.3 README |
| 1.4 | 2012 | Windows 8 Store app written in C# with SharpDX | CaveRace 1.4 README |
| 2.0 | 2012 | C# and XNA edition for Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox 360 | CaveRace 2.0 README |
| 1.5 (beta) | 2026 | Modern Windows and macOS rewrite using Odin and raylib |
CaveRace 1.2 targets an Intel 80386-compatible IBM PC running MS-DOS with a 320×200, 256-color VGA display (Mode 13h). It is written mainly in C, with x86 assembly routines for memory and graphics. The game and MapEditor were built with Borland C 3.1.
The original game uses the mouse and keyboard. Its loop is synchronized to the display refresh rate, and unlike later Windows versions, it has no sound.
Install Borland C 3.1, set the IDE working directory to the project folder, and
build CaveRace or MapEditor from the sources in
1.2 Original (MS-DOS)/source/. This is a
historical toolchain intended for an MS-DOS environment or a compatible
emulator.
Start the MS-DOS game with -powerblast to enable the function-key cheats.
| Key | Result |
|---|---|
| F1 | Next level |
| F2 | Maximum health |
| F3 | Maximum bombs |
| F4 | Increase bomb power |
| F5 | Double points |
| 1 | Save a screenshot as screen.raw |
| % | Show rendering time |
The -slow option speeds up the game on older, slower systems.
Marijn Schotte created the artwork on an Amiga with Deluxe Paint. The source art uses the IFF (Interchange File Format). For the MS-DOS game, screens and 16×16 tiles were converted to a raw, indexed graphics format using a shared 256-color RGB palette.
| File | Content | Bytes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| BGS | 5 × 50 tiles (16×16) | 64,000 | Backgrounds |
| BOM | 17 tiles (16×16) | 4,352 | Bombs |
| CAR | 320×200 screen | 64,000 | Title card |
| ENM | 16 tiles (16×16) | 4,096 | Enemies |
| FNT | 36 glyphs (3×5) | 540 | Font |
| HIS | 320×200 screen | 64,000 | High scores |
| ITM | 13 tiles (16×16) | 3,328 | Items |
| MAN | 18 tiles (16×16) | 4,608 | Player |
| MN1 | 320×200 screen | 64,000 | Menu 1 |
| MN2 | 320×200 screen | 64,000 | Menu 2 |
| PAL | 256 RGB entries | 768 | Palette |
| STS | 4 tiles (16×16) | 1,024 | Status |
| TRS | 6 tiles (16×16) | 1,536 | Treasure |
Original CaveRace 1.0 team:
- Clemens Schotte — code and concept
- Marijn Schotte — artwork and concept
- Paul Bosselaar — documentation
- Paul van Croonenburg — documentation
- Harro Lock — code
From version 1.3 onward, CaveRace was developed by Clemens Schotte with artwork by Marijn Schotte.
Copyright © 1997–2026 NavaTron B.V.
The source code is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.