Micro Arcade Is a Series of Tiny Handhelds That Run Just a Single Game Each

A few years ago, the Arduino-based Arduboy 8-bit miniature handheld video game console launched. It was very basic, but packed a lot of charm into its compact body. Later, the creator released the Tetris MicroCard, which was similar but only ran Tetris — and, surprisingly, costs more than the Arduboy. Now, thanks to a licensing deal with Super Impulse, an entire range of Micro Arcade handhelds is going to be launched soon.

Each Micro Arcade handheld game system is absolutely tiny — about the size of a credit card. But, they’re capable of running complete games on an little full-color LCD screen. Each Micro Arcade console is built on the same tech as the Tetris MicroCard and has physical buttons for gameplay. However, they’re not programmable like the ArduBoy is. You just get the one game that’s burned into the hardware.

That makes the Micro Arcade essentially a modern version of the classic Nintendo Game & Watch handhelds from the ’80s. Micro Arcade appears to be launching with six games: Space Invaders, Pac-man, Galaga, Frogger, Rally X, and an Atari model that presumably contains a few individual games. Each Micro Arcade will cost between $20 and $25, which is a little hard to swallow when you can play those games for free on your smartphone. But, if the idea of an adorable dedicated handheld appeals to you, these look really well made.