diff --git a/functions/other_functions.sh b/functions/other_functions.sh
index b9c7f74a..4e58ebcf 100644
--- a/functions/other_functions.sh
+++ b/functions/other_functions.sh
@@ -892,6 +892,282 @@ start_retrodeck() {
   es-de
 }
 
+run_game() {
+  # Initialize variables
+  emulator=""
+  system=""
+  manual_mode=false
+  es_systems="/app/share/es-de/resources/systems/linux/es_systems.xml"
+
+  # Parse options
+  while getopts ":e:s:m" opt; do  # Use `m` for manual mode flag
+      case ${opt} in
+          e )
+              emulator=$OPTARG
+              ;;
+          s )
+              system=$OPTARG
+              ;;
+          m )
+              manual_mode=true
+              log i "Run game: manual mode enabled"
+              ;;
+          \? )
+              echo "Usage: $0 --run [-e emulator] [-s system] [-m manual] game"
+              exit 1
+              ;;
+      esac
+  done
+  shift $((OPTIND -1))
+
+  # Check for game argument
+  if [[ -z "$1" ]]; then
+      log e "Game path is required."
+      log i "Usage: $0 start [-e emulator] [-s system] [-m manual] game"
+      exit 1
+  fi
+
+  game=$1
+
+  # If no system is provided, extract it from the game path
+  if [[ -z "$system" ]]; then
+    system=$(echo "$game" | grep -oP '(?<=roms/)[^/]+')
+  fi
+
+  log d "Game: \"$game\""
+  log d "System: \"$system\""
+  
+  # Try finding the <altemulator> inside the specific game block
+  altemulator=$(xmllint --recover --xpath "string(//game[path='$game']/altemulator)" "$rdhome/ES-DE/gamelists/$system/gamelist.xml" 2>/dev/null)
+
+  if [[ -n "$altemulator" ]]; then
+      log d "Alternate emulator found in <altemulator>: $altemulator"
+      emulator_name=$(echo "$altemulator" | sed -e 's/ (Standalone)//')  # Strip " (Standalone)" from name
+      emulator=$(find_emulator "$emulator_name")
+
+      if [[ -n "$emulator" ]]; then
+          log d "Using alternate emulator: $emulator"
+      else
+          log e "No valid path found for emulator: $altemulator"
+          exit 1
+      fi
+  else
+    # Try to fetch <alternativeEmulator> from anywhere in the document
+    alternative_emulator=$(xmllint --recover --xpath 'string(//alternativeEmulator/label)' "$rdhome/ES-DE/gamelists/$system/gamelist.xml" 2>/dev/null)
+
+    if [[ -n "$alternative_emulator" ]]; then
+        log d "Alternate emulator found in <alternativeEmulator> header: $alternative_emulator"
+        
+        # Find the emulator name from the label in es_systems.xml
+        emulator_name=$(find_emulator_name_from_label "$alternative_emulator")
+        
+        if [[ -n "$emulator_name" ]]; then
+            # Pass the extracted emulator name to find_emulator function
+            emulator=$(find_emulator "$emulator_name")
+        fi
+        
+        if [[ -n "$emulator" ]]; then
+            log d "Using alternate emulator from <alternativeEmulator>: $emulator"
+        else
+            log e "No valid path found for emulator: $alternative_emulator"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+    else
+        log i "No alternate emulator found in game block or header, proceeding to auto mode."
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  # If an emulator is found, substitute placeholders in the command before running
+  if [[ -n "$emulator" ]]; then
+    # Ensure command substitution
+    find_system_commands "$emulator"
+    # TODO: almost there, we need just to start the emulator without Zenity: maybe we have to edit THAT function to pass the emulator to run
+    log d "Final command: $command"
+    eval "$command"
+  else
+    log e "No emulator found or selected. Exiting."
+    return 1
+  fi
+  
+  # If the emulator is not specified or manual mode is set, ask the user to select it via Zenity
+  if [[ -z "$emulator" && "$manual_mode" == true ]]; then
+    emulator=$(find_system_commands)
+  fi
+
+  # If emulator is still not set, fall back to the first available emulator
+  if [[ -z "$emulator" ]]; then
+    emulator=$(get_first_emulator)
+  fi
+
+}
+
+# Function to extract commands from es_systems.xml and present them in Zenity
+find_system_commands() {
+    local system_name=$system
+    # Use xmllint to extract the system commands from the XML
+    system_section=$(xmllint --xpath "//system[name='$system_name']" "$es_systems" 2>/dev/null)
+    
+    if [ -z "$system_section" ]; then
+        log e "System not found: $system_name"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    # Extract commands and labels
+    commands=$(echo "$system_section" | xmllint --xpath "//command" - 2>/dev/null)
+
+    # Prepare Zenity command list
+    command_list=()
+    while IFS= read -r line; do
+        label=$(echo "$line" | sed -n 's/.*label="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p')
+        command=$(echo "$line" | sed -n 's/.*<command[^>]*>\(.*\)<\/command>.*/\1/p')
+        
+        # Substitute placeholders in the command
+        command=$(substitute_placeholders "$command")
+        
+        # Add label and command to Zenity list (label first, command second)
+        command_list+=("$label" "$command")
+    done <<< "$commands"
+
+    # Check if there's only one command
+    if [ ${#command_list[@]} -eq 2 ]; then
+        log d "Only one command found for $system_name, running it directly: ${command_list[1]}"
+        selected_command="${command_list[1]}"
+    else
+        # Show the list with Zenity and return the **command** (second column) selected
+        selected_command=$(zenity --list \
+            --title="Select an emulator for $system_name" \
+            --column="Emulator" --column="Hidden Command" "${command_list[@]}" \
+            --width=800 --height=400 --print-column=2 --hide-column=2)
+    fi
+
+    echo "$selected_command"
+}
+
+# Function to substitute placeholders in the command
+substitute_placeholders() {
+    local cmd="$1"
+    local rom_path="$game"
+    local rom_dir=$(dirname "$rom_path")
+    
+    # Strip all file extensions from the base name
+    local base_name=$(basename "$rom_path")
+    base_name="${base_name%%.*}"
+
+    local file_name=$(basename "$rom_path")
+    local rom_raw="$rom_path"
+    local rom_dir_raw="$rom_dir"
+    local es_path=""
+    local emulator_path=""
+
+    # Manually replace %EMULATOR_*% placeholders
+    while [[ "$cmd" =~ (%EMULATOR_[A-Z0-9_]+%) ]]; do
+        placeholder="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+        emulator_path=$(replace_emulator_placeholder "$placeholder")
+        cmd="${cmd//$placeholder/$emulator_path}"
+    done
+
+    # Substitute %BASENAME% and other placeholders
+    cmd="${cmd//"%BASENAME%"/"'$base_name'"}"
+    cmd="${cmd//"%FILENAME%"/"'$file_name'"}"
+    cmd="${cmd//"%ROMRAW%"/"'$rom_raw'"}"
+    cmd="${cmd//"%ROMPATH%"/"'$rom_dir'"}"
+    
+    # Ensure paths are quoted correctly
+    cmd="${cmd//"%ROM%"/"'$rom_path'"}"
+    cmd="${cmd//"%GAMEDIR%"/"'$rom_dir'"}"
+    cmd="${cmd//"%GAMEDIRRAW%"/"'$rom_dir_raw'"}"
+    cmd="${cmd//"%CORE_RETROARCH%"/"/var/config/retroarch/cores"}"
+
+    log d "Command after %BASENAME% and other substitutions: $cmd"
+
+    # Now handle %INJECT% after %BASENAME% has been substituted
+    cmd=$(handle_inject_placeholder "$cmd")
+
+    echo "$cmd"
+}
+
+# Function to replace %EMULATOR_SOMETHING% with the actual path of the emulator
+replace_emulator_placeholder() {
+    local placeholder=$1
+    # Extract emulator name from placeholder without changing case
+    local emulator_name="${placeholder//"%EMULATOR_"/}"  # Extract emulator name after %EMULATOR_
+    emulator_name="${emulator_name//"%"/}"  # Remove the trailing %
+
+    # Use the find_emulator function to get the emulator path using the correct casing
+    local emulator_exec=$(find_emulator "$emulator_name")
+    
+    if [[ -z "$emulator_exec" ]]; then
+        log e "Emulator '$emulator_name' not found."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "$emulator_exec"
+}
+
+# Function to handle the %INJECT% placeholder
+handle_inject_placeholder() {
+    local cmd="$1"
+    local rom_dir=$(dirname "$game") # Get the ROM directory based on the game path
+
+    # Find and process all occurrences of %INJECT%='something'.extension
+    while [[ "$cmd" =~ (%INJECT%=\'([^\']+)\')(.[^ ]+)? ]]; do
+        inject_file="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"  # Extract the quoted file name
+        extension="${BASH_REMATCH[3]}"    # Extract the extension (if any)
+        inject_file_full_path="$rom_dir/$inject_file$extension"  # Form the full path
+
+        log d "Found inject part: %INJECT%='$inject_file'$extension"
+
+        # Check if the file exists
+        if [[ -f "$inject_file_full_path" ]]; then
+            # Read the content of the file and replace newlines with spaces
+            inject_content=$(cat "$inject_file_full_path" | tr '\n' ' ')
+            log i "File \"$inject_file_full_path\" found. Replacing %INJECT% with content."
+
+            # Escape special characters in the inject part for the replacement
+            escaped_inject_part=$(printf '%s' "%INJECT%='$inject_file'$extension" | sed 's/[]\/$*.^[]/\\&/g')
+
+            # Replace the entire %INJECT%=...'something'.extension part with the file content
+            cmd=$(echo "$cmd" | sed "s|$escaped_inject_part|$inject_content|g")
+
+            log d "Replaced cmd: $cmd"
+        else
+            log e "File \"$inject_file_full_path\" not found. Removing %INJECT% placeholder."
+
+            # Use sed to remove the entire %INJECT%=...'something'.extension
+            escaped_inject_part=$(printf '%s' "%INJECT%='$inject_file'$extension" | sed 's/[]\/$*.^[]/\\&/g')
+            cmd=$(echo "$cmd" | sed "s|$escaped_inject_part||g")
+
+            log d "sedded cmd: $cmd"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    log d "Returning the command with injected content: $cmd"
+    echo "$cmd"
+}
+
+# Function to get the first available emulator in the list
+get_first_emulator() {
+    local system_name=$system
+    system_section=$(xmllint --xpath "//system[name='$system_name']" "$es_systems" 2>/dev/null)
+
+    if [ -z "$system_section" ]; then
+        log e "System not found: $system_name"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    # Extract the first command and use it as the selected emulator
+    first_command=$(echo "$system_section" | xmllint --xpath "string(//command[1])" - 2>/dev/null)
+
+    if [[ -n "$first_command" ]]; then
+        # Substitute placeholders in the command
+        first_command=$(substitute_placeholders "$first_command")
+        log d "Automatically selected the first emulator: $first_command"
+        echo "$first_command"
+    else
+        log e "No command found for the system: $system_name"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
 find_emulator() {
   local emulator_name=$1
   local found_path=""
@@ -935,210 +1211,18 @@ find_emulator() {
   fi
 }
 
+# Function to find the emulator name from the label in es_systems.xml
+find_emulator_name_from_label() {
+    local label="$1"
+    
+    # Search for the emulator matching the label in the es_systems.xml file
+    extracted_emulator_name=$(xmllint --recover --xpath "string(//system[name='$system']/command[@label='$label']/text())" "$es_systems" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/%//g' | sed 's/EMULATOR_//g' | cut -d' ' -f1)
 
-# TODO: add the logic of alt emulator and default emulator
-
-run_game() {
-  # call me with (-e emulator) (-s system) game/path, examples:
-  # run_game -e gambatte_libretro ~/retrodeck/roms/gb/Capumon.gb
-  # run_game ~/retrodeck/roms/gb/Capumon.gb
-  # run_game -s gbc ~/retrodeck/roms/gb/Capumon.gb
-
-  # Initialize variables
-  emulator=""
-  system=""
-  es_systems="/app/share/es-de/resources/systems/linux/es_systems.xml"
-
-  # Parse options
-  while getopts ":e:s:" opt; do
-      case ${opt} in
-          e )
-              emulator=$OPTARG
-              ;;
-          s )
-              system=$OPTARG
-              ;;
-          \? )
-              echo "Usage: $0 --run [-e emulator] [-s system] game"
-              exit 1
-              ;;
-      esac
-  done
-  shift $((OPTIND -1))
-
-  # Check for game argument
-  if [[ -z "$1" ]]; then
-      log e "Game path is required."
-      log i "Usage: $0 start [-e emulator] [-s system] game"
-      exit 1
-  fi
-
-  game=$1
-
-  # If no system is provided, extract it from the game path
-  if [[ -z "$system" ]]; then
-    system=$(echo "$game" | grep -oP '(?<=roms/)[^/]+')
-  fi
-
-  log d "Game: \"$game\""
-  log d "System: \"$system\""
-
-  # Function to handle the %INJECT% placeholder
-  # When %INJECT%=filename is found in the game command it will check for the existence of the file
-  # If the file is found the "%INJECT%=file" will be replaced with the contents of the found file
-  handle_inject_placeholder() {
-      local cmd="$1"
-      local rom_dir=$(dirname "$game") # Get the ROM directory based on the game path
-
-      # Find and process all occurrences of %INJECT%='something'.extension
-      while [[ "$cmd" =~ (%INJECT%=\'([^\']+)\')(.[^ ]+)? ]]; do
-          inject_file="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"  # Extract the quoted file name
-          extension="${BASH_REMATCH[3]}"    # Extract the extension (if any)
-          inject_file_full_path="$rom_dir/$inject_file$extension"  # Form the full path
-
-          log d "Found inject part: %INJECT%='$inject_file'$extension"
-
-          # Check if the file exists
-          if [[ -f "$inject_file_full_path" ]]; then
-              # Read the content of the file and replace newlines with spaces
-              inject_content=$(cat "$inject_file_full_path" | tr '\n' ' ')
-              log i "File \"$inject_file_full_path\" found. Replacing %INJECT% with content."
-
-              # Escape special characters in the inject part for the replacement
-              escaped_inject_part=$(printf '%s' "%INJECT%='$inject_file'$extension" | sed 's/[]\/$*.^[]/\\&/g')
-
-              # Replace the entire %INJECT%=...'something'.extension part with the file content
-              cmd=$(echo "$cmd" | sed "s|$escaped_inject_part|$inject_content|g")
-
-              log d "Replaced cmd: $cmd"
-          else
-              log e "File \"$inject_file_full_path\" not found. Removing %INJECT% placeholder."
-
-              # Use sed to remove the entire %INJECT%=...'something'.extension
-              escaped_inject_part=$(printf '%s' "%INJECT%='$inject_file'$extension" | sed 's/[]\/$*.^[]/\\&/g')
-              cmd=$(echo "$cmd" | sed "s|$escaped_inject_part||g")
-
-              log d "sedded cmd: $cmd"
-          fi
-      done
-
-      log d "Returning the command with injected content: $cmd"
-      echo "$cmd"
-  }
-
-
-  # Function to replace %EMULATOR_SOMETHING% with the actual path of the emulator
-  replace_emulator_placeholder() {
-      local placeholder=$1
-      # Extract emulator name from placeholder without changing case
-      local emulator_name="${placeholder//"%EMULATOR_"/}"  # Extract emulator name after %EMULATOR_
-      emulator_name="${emulator_name//"%"/}"  # Remove the trailing %
-
-      # Use the find_emulator function to get the emulator path using the correct casing
-      local emulator_exec=$(find_emulator "$emulator_name")
-      
-      if [[ -z "$emulator_exec" ]]; then
-          log e "Emulator '$emulator_name' not found."
-          exit 1
-      fi
-      echo "$emulator_exec"
-  }
-
-  # Function to substitute the placeholders
-  substitute_placeholders() {
-      local cmd="$1"
-      local rom_path="$game"
-      local rom_dir=$(dirname "$rom_path")
-      
-      # Strip all file extensions from the base name
-      local base_name=$(basename "$rom_path")
-      base_name="${base_name%%.*}"
-
-      local file_name=$(basename "$rom_path")
-      local rom_raw="$rom_path"
-      local rom_dir_raw="$rom_dir"
-      local es_path=""
-      local emulator_path=""
-
-      # Manually replace %EMULATOR_*% placeholders
-      while [[ "$cmd" =~ (%EMULATOR_[A-Z0-9_]+%) ]]; do
-          placeholder="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
-          emulator_path=$(replace_emulator_placeholder "$placeholder")
-          cmd="${cmd//$placeholder/$emulator_path}"
-      done
-
-      # Substitute %BASENAME% and other placeholders
-      cmd="${cmd//"%BASENAME%"/"'$base_name'"}"
-      cmd="${cmd//"%FILENAME%"/"'$file_name'"}"
-      cmd="${cmd//"%ROMRAW%"/"'$rom_raw'"}"
-      cmd="${cmd//"%ROMPATH%"/"'$rom_dir'"}"
-      
-      # Ensure paths are quoted correctly
-      cmd="${cmd//"%ROM%"/"'$rom_path'"}"
-      cmd="${cmd//"%GAMEDIR%"/"'$rom_dir'"}"
-      cmd="${cmd//"%GAMEDIRRAW%"/"'$rom_dir_raw'"}"
-      cmd="${cmd//"%CORE_RETROARCH%"/"/var/config/retroarch/cores"}"
-
-      log d "Command after %BASENAME% and other substitutions: $cmd"
-
-      # Now handle %INJECT% after %BASENAME% has been substituted
-      cmd=$(handle_inject_placeholder "$cmd")
-
-      echo "$cmd"
-  }
-
-  # Extracting the commands from es_systems.xml for the selected system
-  find_system_commands() {
-      local system_name=$system
-      # Use xmllint to extract the system commands from the XML
-      system_section=$(xmllint --xpath "//system[name='$system_name']" "$es_systems" 2>/dev/null)
-      
-      if [ -z "$system_section" ]; then
-          log e "System not found: $system_name"
-          exit 1
-      fi
-
-      # Extract commands and labels
-      commands=$(echo "$system_section" | xmllint --xpath "//command" - 2>/dev/null)
-
-      # Prepare Zenity command list
-      command_list=()
-      while IFS= read -r line; do
-          label=$(echo "$line" | sed -n 's/.*label="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p')
-          command=$(echo "$line" | sed -n 's/.*<command[^>]*>\(.*\)<\/command>.*/\1/p')
-          
-          # Substitute placeholders in the command
-          command=$(substitute_placeholders "$command")
-          
-          # Add label and command to Zenity list (label first, command second)
-          command_list+=("$label" "$command")
-      done <<< "$commands"
-
-      # Check if there's only one command
-      if [ ${#command_list[@]} -eq 2 ]; then
-          log d "Only one command found for $system_name, running it directly: ${command_list[1]}"
-          selected_command="${command_list[1]}"
-      else
-          # Show the list with Zenity and return the **command** (second column) selected
-          selected_command=$(zenity --list \
-              --title="Select an emulator for $system_name" \
-              --column="Emulator" --column="Hidden Command" "${command_list[@]}" \
-              --width=800 --height=400 --print-column=2 --hide-column=2)
-      fi
-
-      echo "$selected_command"
-  }
-
-  # If the emulator is not specified, ask the user to select it or get it from the XML file
-  if [[ -z "$emulator" ]]; then
-    emulator=$(find_system_commands)
-  fi
-
-  if [[ -n "$emulator" ]]; then
-    log d "Running: $emulator"
-    eval "$emulator"
-  else
-    log e "No emulator found or selected. Exiting."
-    return 1
-  fi
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+    if [[ -n "$extracted_emulator_name" ]]; then
+        log d "Found emulator by label: $extracted_emulator_name"
+        echo "$extracted_emulator_name"
+    else
+        log e "Emulator name not found for label: $label"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}