Glider 4.0 (1991) Free & open source
1991 · John Calhoun · System 6 · Mini vMac (Mac Plus) · 512×342 black and white
Guide updated September 2026 · needs your own copy
Before the colour, the level editor and the CD-ROM, Glider was this: a paper aeroplane, a black-and-white house, and heating vents. Glider 4.0 is the 1991 shareware version that made the series' name, and on a Macintosh Plus it is as immediate as anything on this site — the whole machine starts faster than a modern web page.
Controls
| Left / Right arrows | Steer |
| Space | Pause |
| Cmd-N | New game |
| Cmd-Q | Quit |
John Calhoun released the original Glider sources publicly on GitHub. Glider 4.0 was shareware in its day and is freely available now with its author's blessing.
Source and archives
- softdorothy/Glider4 — John Calhoun's original sources.
- Macintosh Garden — the shareware release.
How it works & what to expect
| Machine | Macintosh Plus, 4 MB RAM, 512×342 black and white |
|---|---|
| System | System 6.0.8 |
| Emulator | Mini vMac, compiled to WebAssembly |
| Speed | Instant, including on a phone |
What is different from Glider PRO
Glider PRO, three years later, added colour, much larger houses, a level editor and a great deal of furniture. Glider 4.0 is smaller and purer: one house, one idea, black and white, and it is over quickly enough to play through in a sitting.
Because it targets a Macintosh Plus rather than a Quadra, it is also the version that runs best on modest hardware — including a phone. If you have never played any Glider, this is a good place to start and it costs you nothing to find out.
Shareware, and what that meant
Glider was shareware: you got the whole game, and if you liked it you sent the author money. That model carried an enormous share of Macintosh software through the late 1980s and early 1990s, distributed on bulletin boards, on disks passed around user groups, and later on the Info-Mac archive.
It also produced a strange kind of authorship. A shareware game had one name on it, usually a person rather than a company, and the registration notice often included their home address. John Calhoun was one of that generation who kept going: Glider ran from 1988 to 1994 through four major versions, ended up published commercially by Casady & Greene, and was eventually released as open source by the same person who started it.
Questions people ask
Is Glider 4.0 free?
Yes. John Calhoun has published the Glider sources on GitHub, and the game was shareware in its day.
How is it different from Glider PRO?
Smaller, black and white, one house, no level editor. Glider PRO from 1994 is the bigger game; this is the one that made the series' reputation.
Why is it black and white?
It was written for a Macintosh Plus, which had a one-bit screen. That is also why it runs so quickly here.
How do I stay up?
Ride the heating vents. Everything else in the house is trying to end your flight.
Will it work on a phone?
Yes, well. A Mac Plus is a tiny machine and the emulation is light.
Is there a modern port?
Aerofoil ports Glider PRO rather than 4.0, but it is the best way to play the series seriously.