Play Reader Rabbit online — the original 1989 DOS game Works — the full original game runs via DOSBox in your browser
Guide updated October 2026 · Runs via DOSBox + WebAssembly
Reader Rabbit — The Learning Company's 1989 reading game for young children, and the first appearance of the rabbit in overalls. Four activities build three- and four-letter words: sort them by letter, match them on the word train, and find pairs. Press Enter at the title screen to start.
1–5: menu choices · Y / N: answer · ENTER: confirm · SPACE: continue
⌨ Keyboard — for menus & name entry
Controls — what does what
| Action | Keyboard |
|---|---|
| Choose and move | Arrow keys |
| Select | Enter or Space |
| Back / quit | Esc |
Runs in your browser tab with DOSBox + WebAssembly — nothing is uploaded. Click the screen to capture input; press Ctrl+F10 to release mouse.
Reader Rabbit is no longer sold anywhere, and its publisher is gone or has left it unsold for decades. It is hosted here on the same footing as the Internet Archive's software collections. That is a practical position, not a legal claim. This page carries no advertising. Provenance: /apps/reader-rabbit/NOTICE.md. Rights holders: it comes down within 48 hours on request.
About Reader Rabbit
Reader Rabbit began on the Apple II in 1984 and became one of the best-selling children's software series of the 1990s, with a dozen sequels. This is the 1989 DOS version with EGA graphics, aimed at ages three to six. Its activities are the Sorter, the Word Train, the Labeler and Word Match. Everything is driven by the arrow keys and Enter, so it works well on a touch screen with the buttons below.
How it runs here
This is the original DOS release of Reader Rabbit, unmodified, running in DOSBox compiled to WebAssembly. The whole game is about 1 MB, so it starts within seconds on a normal connection. Sound and music play once you click into the game.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play Reader Rabbit online for free?
Yes. Click Play and the original 1989 DOS version starts in your browser, running in a WebAssembly build of DOSBox. Nothing to install and no account.
Why is Reader Rabbit hosted here?
Reader Rabbit is not sold anywhere today; we checked the stores listed in its provenance note. It is preserved here the way the Internet Archive preserves old software. That is a practical position, not a legal claim. If the rights holder (the successors to The Learning Company (HarperCollins)) asks, it comes down within 48 hours.
Does my progress save?
Saved games persist in this browser between visits, best-effort. Clearing site data removes them.
Can I play on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Touch buttons for the keys Reader Rabbit uses appear under the game on touch devices.
More you can play in your browser
Related guides
- Number MunchersPlay Number Munchers in your browser: the 1990 MECC classroom game where you munch multipl
- Word MunchersPlay Word Munchers in your browser: MECC's 1990 vowel-sound game, the spelling twin of Num
- Run your own DOS gameHave another DOS game on disk? Drop it into the DOS player.
- Reader Rabbit on a MacintoshThe Mac version, on an emulated Mac at macemu.com, our sister site.
Want a game like this on your own site?
Reader Rabbit isn't ours to give away — we host it, we didn't write it. But eleven of the games here we did write from scratch, and those are free for anyone to put on their own page: one line of HTML, no account, no permission, no attribution beyond a credit line.