What Is OpenBOR and How Do You Use It?
OpenBOR is a 2D side-scrolling engine for building and playing beat 'em up games. You can use it two ways: download finished games and demos to play, or use the engine and its tools to build your own. ChronoCrash, the community site at chronocrash.com, describes OpenBOR as "the world's most powerful 2D side scrolling engine" and serves as its home community, offering a forum, wiki, and downloads. If you want to play, head to the downloads catalog; if you want to create, start with the wiki and forum.
What OpenBOR actually is
OpenBOR (short for Open Beats of Rage, sometimes just BOR) is a sprite-based engine focused on 2D side-scrolling action games, especially beat 'em ups. It handles the core systems such a game needs: characters, movement, combat, stages, and scrolling levels. Creators supply the game content — sprites, animations, level layouts, and logic — and the engine runs it.
Because it's an engine rather than a single game, "OpenBOR" refers both to the software and to the many games built with it. The ChronoCrash downloads catalog lists "dozens of finished games and demos, plus tools and assets to help build your own."
OpenBOR vs. Mugen and IKEMEN
These engines are related in spirit — all sprite-based, all community-driven — but they target different game types.
| Engine | Primary focus | Typical output |
|---|---|---|
| OpenBOR | 2D side-scrolling action | Beat 'em ups, side-scrolling action games |
| Mugen | 2D fighting | One-on-one fighting games |
| IKEMEN | 2D fighting | Fighting games, often with extended features |
ChronoCrash's primary focus is OpenBOR, but the site also supports "other sprite based engines like Mugen" and welcomes general game development questions. If your goal is a scrolling beat 'em up, OpenBOR is the natural fit; if you want a versus fighting game, Mugen or IKEMEN is the better starting point.
Playing OpenBOR games
- Go to the downloads section of ChronoCrash.
- Browse the catalog of finished games, demos, tools, and assets.
- Note the access condition: forum registration is required to download.
- Download a game, then run it through the OpenBOR engine as directed by the game's own files or release notes.
The site also links to an OpenBOR YouTube channel with "playthroughs, tutorials, and previews of new projects," which is useful for seeing a game in action before you download it.
Creating your own game
The exact workflow depends on the tools and templates you choose, but the general path is:
- Learn the engine. Read the OpenBOR Wiki — ChronoCrash describes it as the "knowledge base, lexicon, and technical manual," a "reference bible for new and experienced creators alike."
- Get the engine and tools. These are available through the downloads catalog alongside games and assets.
- Build your content. Create or gather sprites, animations, and level data, then wire them together using the engine's scripting and configuration.
- Test and iterate. Run your project through the engine, fix what breaks, and repeat.
- Ask for help. The forum is the "center hub" for questions and support.
A practical first step is to open an existing demo or finished game and study how it's put together before building from scratch — the downloads catalog includes assets and tools specifically for this purpose.
Where to get help
- Forum — ask questions, get support for OpenBOR and other engines, or talk with community members.
- Wiki — technical manual and reference for the engine.
- Downloads — games, demos, tools, and assets (forum registration required).
- YouTube channel — playthroughs, tutorials, and previews.
ChronoCrash describes itself as "a support community for independent game makers and fans," with staff including the site owner and OpenBOR project manager alongside several OpenBOR developers, so engine-level questions have a reasonable chance of reaching people who work on the engine itself.