How To Access Petz

The PF Magic Petz games have been abandonware for more than 20 years. Game CDs can be purchased secondhand, but they are still susceptible to scratches and disc rot. The Petz Community has kept these games available by a number of means.

These instructions are for Windows-based computers; Mac users will need to use Wineskin or a Windows-based virtual machine.

Petz 4
Petz 4 has the widest install base among the Petz Community for its ease of installation.

PetzA Demo Fooler
All you need to do is install the Petz 4 demo and then install PetzA, which patches the demo to version 4.2 and unlocks the full game.


 * 1) Download the Petz 4 demo from archive.org.
 * 2) Install it in a folder that is not   or , as this may cause problems with the Adopted Petz and Petz Pix folders not appearing correctly.
 * 3) Download PetzA from archive.org
 * 4) Install PetzA.

Patch 4.2
Patch 4.2 for Petz 4 was offered as an official download in 2002 and unlocks the full version of the game for players who may want a more organic play experience. It can be downloaded from archive.org here and simply needs to replace the  in your   folder.

Acid Trip Installers
Acid Trip hosts fully installable copies of all Petz games as well as Oddballz and Babyz.

The instructions provided in their downloadable files are  that require third-party software to open. These can be converted into s for much easier viewing using tools like CloudConvert.

MAZZLABS Installers
MAZZLABS hosts installers of Petz 3, Petz 4 and Petz 5 with PetzA already installed as well as Dogz, Catz, Oddballz and Babyz installers with serial numbers for the latter four.

DOSBox
DOSBox is an emulator that will run packaged versions of Dogz, Catz and Oddballz on their own without needing to install an entire virtual operating system. Packaged versions of the games can be downloaded in Acid Trip's installers and will be provided here later.

Virtual Machines
Dogz, Catz, Oddballz and Petz II will not work on modern computers; virtual machines let you emulate on native software and have several free options.

A Windows 98 .iso and working product key can be obtained from archive.org here for use on these programs. Windows 95 was only ever released on floppy discs, so functional working .iso may be hard to come by.

Too much RAM can make the VM unstable and cause Catz and Oddballz to crash on loading.

VMware Workstation 17
I recommend making a VM with 64 MB of RAM and a 2 GB HD. Be sure to install VMware Tools in the Player → Manage menu option when the OS is installed to enable a bigger screen and true colors!
 * Download WMware Workstation 17 Player (Windows and Linux)
 * Installing Windows 98 on VMware Workstation 17
 * With VMware Tools installed, files may simply be dragged and dropped into the VM window to transfer them.
 * To emulate speaker drivers and get sound working, follow this tutorial; an offline DirectX 9.0 may be downloaded here.

VirtualBox

 * Running a Windows 95 Virtual Machine in VirtualBox (may be outdated)

86Box

 * Not recommended for low- or mid-range computers!
 * Download 86Box
 * Download 86Box Manager
 * Windows 98 SE VM Setup and Installation