How To Clean Your NES Games

Well, I got some new games yesterday, and this is a question that comes up fairly often, so I thought I'd show you how to clean your NES games. This also gives me an excuse to link my own site more often.

What you will need

You'll need the following:
-A game to clean (I'm using perennial favourite Megaman 2)
-Rubbing Alcohol
-Q-Tips
-Contact cleaner (not strictly necessary, but helpful. Mine came from the NES Repair Shop)
-NES Game Bit (Also got this from the NES Repair Shop)
-A clean working area (not pictured here)

The first thing to do is open up the cart

You use the Game Bit for this. Sometimes those screws can be in there pretty good, so you might want to use a socket wrench or a screwdriver handle for this.

Certain games use different types of screws, particularly very old games and unlicensed titles. You'll usually just need a small flathead screwdriver for those.

Next, remove the circuit board

Obviously, hold it by the edges. Note which way the microchips were facing when you take it out, they usually face the front, but some carts may go the other way. This one has some dirt on it, you can see discoloured areas on the connector pins. There's work to be done here.

Put some cleaner on a paper towel

If you hold the bottle and the paper towel like this, you just need to give it a little shake to get enough on the paper towel. Then, gently rub the connector pins with the cleaner until most of it ends up on the paper towel (the paper towel will turn grey or black if dirt is coming off). If it takes a ton off, you probably have to repeat it, but don't scrub too hard or you can actually take the gold-plating off the pins.

Dip a Q-Tip in the Alcohol

You can see parts of the paper towel are grey here. Anyway, dip the Q-Tip in the alcohol, and rub it over the connectors. This will remove any extra cleaner and it also helps to clean the pins. Afterwards, use the other end of the Q-Tip to dry it. If the Q-Tip turns grey or black, it's probably not clean enough, and you may need to Q-Tip it again or use more cleaner. After you are satisfied with one side, you have to do the other side.

Put the board back in and close the cart

After you have polished both sides to your satisfaction, you're done! Now you just have to put the cart back together (remember, the microchips face the front of the cart on most games! Some carts let you put the board in the wrong way!). Use the game bit to close the cart. Don't overtighten: If the edge of the cart is bending inwards, you've tightened too much.

Try it out!

If it didn't work, then it's probably not clean enough, unless all your games don't work, in which case you probably have a bad connector on your system. You'll need to repair or replace it, which is another guide.

For most games, this process takes 5 to 15 minutes. Now, you just have to repeat this for every game that you own, and you'll have a perfectly working NES library (isn't retro gaming fun?) You should definitely invest in dust jackets, they're cheap and they keep your games clean. Otherwise you'll be cleaning them every couple years.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to teach a certain Doctor a lesson.