> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.kouch.dev/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.kouch.dev/getting-started/your-first-game.md). # Your first game From an emulator profile to playing a game, in five steps. Once [first-run setup](/getting-started/first-run-setup.md) is done, it takes five steps to play. ## 1. Add an emulator Kouch starts your games with emulators you add. Each one comes as an **emulator profile**, a `.kod` file. 1. **Drop the `.kod` file on the Kouch window.** You can also open a `kouch://` link, or go to **Settings › Emulators › Import profile** and type the file's path or its `https` link. 2. Kouch shows what the profile does: which systems it plays, where the emulator comes from, and which of the emulator's settings it will change. 3. Press **A** on **Install** (or **Import**, when you already have the emulator). If the profile installs the emulator, it's downloaded from the emulator's own official releases, and you can follow it in **Downloads**. [Add an emulator](/emulators/emulators/add-an-emulator.md) explains every part of that sheet. ## 2. Add your own system files, if the emulator needs them Some emulators need system files from your own console before they can start a game. Kouch never provides them, and it never downloads them. * **Drop them onto Kouch's window.** Kouch recognises which emulator each file is for and asks where it goes. See [Your own system files](/emulators/emulators/system-files.md#drop-them-onto-kouch). * Or open **Settings › Emulators**. An emulator that needs them says **System folder is empty — copy your own files in.** Choose **Add system files…** to pick them, or **Open system folder** (`Emulation\bios\`) to copy them in yourself. Until that folder has files in it, Kouch tells you which folder to use instead of starting the emulator on an error. ## 3. Put your games in the roms folder Put your own games in `Emulation\roms\`, on any disk you added. Setup has already made one folder per system your emulators play. Games somewhere else? Add that folder in **Settings › Paths** and choose which system it's for. See [Game folders](/library/library/game-folders.md). ## 4. Let Kouch find them Kouch looks for games **by itself**: every time it starts, after you add a game folder, after you import an emulator, and after setup. It lists every game it finds, then looks for cover art for each one. You don't need to press anything. While your library is empty, Home and Library also show a **Rescan library** button. {% hint style="info" %} **Added games while Kouch was open?** Close Kouch and start it again, and they show up. Games on a drive you plug back in come back by themselves. {% endhint %} ## 5. Play ![A game's page: Play, Favorite and the tabs](https://3008865259-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FiaV8VKDYJngjWWkPZx0Q%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-b5819b55bac6c963e1ad4066129736f903a5e635%2Fgame-page.png?alt=media) 1. Press **A** on a game to open its page. 2. Press **A** on **Play**. Kouch starts the emulator with your controllers already set up. Nothing needs setting up inside the emulator. To finish, hold **Select + Start** to open the [Quick Menu](/playing/quick-menu.md) and choose **Quit game**. Kouch asks the emulator to close so it can save first. {% hint style="info" %} **Shortcut:** hold **A** on a game card in Home or Library to play it straight away without opening its page. {% endhint %} ## Next * Bring in more players: [Join with a controller](/controllers/joining.md). * Change a game's settings, such as its resolution: [Per-game options](/playing/game-options.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.kouch.dev/getting-started/your-first-game.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.