Do I need the original game files to run Zuma Portable?

Yes. The project does not include the original game's assets, so you need your own copy. Requires game data files from your own copy of the game; if you don't own it, the Steam version is available.

How is Zuma Portable licensed?

project: MIT (modifications). The repository itself is the authoritative source.

Zuma Portable

DecompilationActivePlayableWindowsOSXAndroid

Source code reconstructed from the original game's compiled binary, so the game can be understood, rebuilt and ported.

Based on Zuma

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Links, repository & details

About

Zuma is a 2003 tile-matching puzzle game developed and published by PopCap Games, released on PDAs, mobile phones, and the iPod. Zuma Portable is a decompilation-based reimplementation of Zuma Deluxe, reverse-engineered from the original Mac and Windows executables and built on the open-source SexyAppFramework, aiming for assembly-level accuracy in the game logic. It's fully playable on Windows, macOS, and Android, though the author notes potential bugs and inaccuracies are still expected.

How it differs from the original

It's built on the open-source SexyAppFramework 1.3 with patches to restore some older behavior, rather than the original's internal framework version, and the resulting executable is deliberately DRM-free; some missing method and variable names were reconstructed from Flash/C# ports of Zuma's Revenge and the Zuma web game rather than from Zuma Deluxe itself.

Getting started

Compile it using the project's included build script, which automatically downloads the needed old Visual Studio toolchain along with CMake and Ninja (modern MSVC or MinGW-w64 also work). Game data isn't included — you'll need your own copy of Zuma Deluxe, available on Steam, to supply it.

Known issues & limitations

accuracy: Fully playable but potential bugs and inaccuracies are expected.

What you need to run it

Original game files required. The project ships code only; you provide your own copy of the game (macOS, Windows version). Requires game data files from your own copy of the game; if you don't own it, the Steam version is available.

You need the game’s assets from your own copy.

Features

The project is fully playable.
The resulting executable is DRM-free.

Summarised from the project's README.

Licensing & legal

The project deliberately avoids reverse-engineering the original's DRM, aiming to reduce legal risk while keeping the code, aside from assets, MIT-licensed.

FAQ

What is Zuma Portable?: Zuma Portable is an open-source decompilation of Zuma. Source code reconstructed from the original game's compiled binary, so the game can be understood, rebuilt and ported. The original game ran on macOS and Windows.
Do I need the original game files to run Zuma Portable?: Yes. The project does not include the original game's assets, so you need your own copy. Requires game data files from your own copy of the game; if you don't own it, the Steam version is available.
How is Zuma Portable licensed?: project: MIT (modifications). The repository itself is the authoritative source.