The events vary slightly per platform, but include Half-pipe, Footbag, Surfing (starring Rippin' Rick),[1] Roller skating, BMX, and Flying disc.

The sound design for the original version of California Games was done by Chris Grigg, member of the band Negativland.

[citation needed] Originally written for the Apple II and Commodore 64, it was eventually ported to Amiga, Apple IIGS, Atari 2600, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Genesis, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX and Master System.

[22] In a capsule review for STart, Clayton Walnum said California Games "isn't a bad package, especially since it comes free with the Lynx".

The magazine stated that though the games had great graphics for their time, their most defining qualities were their competitive multiplayer modes and "level of control that has yet to be equaled".

[27] The Commodore 64 version was released for the Wii's Virtual Console service in Europe on April 11, 2008, and in North America on July 6, 2009.