Highball

Windows games for Mac gamers

WHO USES ITMac gamer · Former Whisky user · Mac user

Install to use

Runs Windows games on Apple Silicon and tells you if yours will work.

INSTALL

START IN 5 MINUTES ↓

Highball library: All, Steam and Epic filters at the top, twelve game covers below, each marked Verified.

TESIGN TAKE

The real product is the CC0 compatibility database behind the app.

Activity and discovery evidence

★ 2.1k▲ 5 HNAs of 11-01 21:00 UTC

2,096 stars · checked on GitHub 11-02 02:16 UTC · no 7-day star increase observed (GH Archive) (as of 11-01 21:00 UTC) · 5 Show HN points observed 09-13 14:07 UTC

RANKS GAMES #9 As of 11-01 21:00 UTC

CROSS-SIGNAL Show HN + GitHub

AT A GLANCE

LICENSE: GPL-3.0
USAGE: Use freely. Release your source if you redistribute (copyleft).
LANGUAGE: Swift
PLATFORM: macos · cli
ACTIVITY: last commit within 24 h (2026-11-01) · latest pre-release v0.10.24 (2026-11-01) · 118 releases As of 11-02 02:16 UTC
COMMUNITY: 20 contributors · 92 open issues (incl. PRs) · made by: an individual As of 11-02 02:16 UTC
SOURCES: Show HN + GitHub
OPEN SOURCE: YES
FIRST SEEN: 2026-09-13 07:43 UTC
CATEGORY: GAMES

A summary, not legal advice.

WHY IT MATTERS

Tools that run Windows games on a Mac make you pick a Wine build yourself, and you only learn whether a game works after installing it. Highball sets up Wine, DXMT, D3DMetal and DXVK, connects a Steam or Epic library, and pulls per-game renderer verdicts and the anti-cheat blocklist from an open CC0 database before you download anything. App and CLI are GPL-3.0, the data is CC0, and the README rules out a paid tier. Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer only, and still in beta.

BUILD FROM THIS

A personal check of Mac compatibility before buying a game
A runtime for a Windows-only program on an office Mac
Your own lookup page built on the CC0 compatibility data

WHO IT'S FOR

Mac gamer: wants to know a Windows-only game will run before buying
Former Whisky user: looking for a replacement
Mac user: one Windows-only work program left to run

START IN 5 MINUTES

$ brew install --cask gauthierpiarrette/highball/highball
# Or drag Highball.dmg from Releases into Applications and press Get started
# Apple Silicon · macOS 14+ · the first run downloads the engine and takes a while

CAVEATS

Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer only
Beta; the first run can take 15 to 25 minutes
D3DMetal requires accepting Apple's separate license

RECEIPT

FIRST SEEN: 2026-09-13 07:43 UTC
AT SOURCE: 2026-08-23 20:35 UTC
KEPT: 2026-09-14 02:41 UTC
CREATED → FIRST SEEN: 20d
WHEN FIRST SEEN: 352 ★
SOURCES: Show HN + GitHub

The same facts in machine-readable form — View as Markdown · JSON

SIMILAR TOOLS

Up to five from GAMES by ★ total: edited entries first, then repository cards; this entry is highlighted. Drawn from the same stored snapshot as the rankings — a comparison, not a recommendation. As of 11-01 21:00 UTC

NAME	★ TOTAL	▲ 7d	LICENSE	PLATFORM	LAST PUSH
RufflePlay old Flash files again	★ 18.8k	—	Licence unconfirmedunconfirmed	web · windows · macos · linux	2026-11-02
HighballWindows games for Mac gamersTHIS ENTRY	★ 2.1k	—	GPL-3.0copyleft	macos · cli	2026-11-01
godotengine/godotCARD	★ 117k	—	MITpermissive	—	2026-09-13
game1024/openspeedyCARD	★ 17.7k	—	GPL-3.0copyleft	—	2026-09-12
hydralauncher/hydraCARD	★ 16.9k	—	MITpermissive	—	2026-09-13

TIMELINE

2026-08-23 20:35 UTCRepository created
2026-08-26 15:16 UTCShow HN post ↗
2026-09-13 07:43 UTCFIRST SEEN BY TESIGN
2026-09-14 02:41 UTCPublished on TESIGN

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