After having read about, reported news about and reviewed video games and consoles for years, Prans didn’t know that one day he could conceive his very own handheld video game machine. Sure, the thought crossed his mind but he would dismiss it as mere fantasy due to the seemingly herculean task this endeavor poses. However, when Prans was offered the opportunity to build his own console easily without any prior experience via the MAKERbuino, he happily embarked on this enticing journey.

The premise to make one’s own console did not only entice Prans but the over 1500 people who successfully backed MAKERbuino’s Kickstarter campaign last year. Moreso given the fact that to build the MAKERbuino, no prior experience with working with electronics is required. Just a little bit of soldering practice is needed but other than that, the official website provides a very comprehensive step-by-step guide for the whole building process. For the more curious, there are even tidbits about each parts’ function while the DIYer solders them in place.

The makers of MAKERbuino (heh) estimate that an 11-year-old child should be able to assemble the MAKERbuino with a tiny bit of help from an adult. Indeed, rather than have your child spend hours on Fortnite or any other game, gifting him/her a MAKERbuino kit can prove to be a very rewarding experience and potentially further spike their interest in electronics and/or coding. As the saying goes, it’s about the journey, not the destination. However you’d be mistaken if you’d think that the MAKERbuino is only aimed at kids, as Prans can attest. Sure, it’s a great way to dabble with soldering and STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathemetics) but once assembled, there’s a myriad of options that open up. One can customize their MAKERbuino by 3D printing parts like cases or buttons, hack/mod/customize the console with the optional breakout header and even program their own game!

Actually, the MAKERbuino circuit is based on ATmgea328p-pu – the same chip used on Arduino UNO board and is programmed in Arduino IDE (based on C/C++). It is as such compatible with Arduino UNO software libraries available online. There’s even a growing community of MAKERbuino-ers sharing their experience, mods and games for fellow DIYers to discover.

Price-wise, the base kit currently costs €61.25 while a kit with included tools is priced at €73.75. There’s also a pre-assembled version at €73.75 but assembling it yourself is much more recommended. However daunting the process might seem, it is actually much easier than it looks like, just practice soldering a bit! There are even more sales options on the MAKERbuino Shop for tinkerers, multiplayers and even educators.

Now back to Prans’ console-building experience. Was it satisfying, was the joy as great as prophesied? Most of what he needed to get started were actually in the sample box but he had to get a hold of some additional, inexpensive tools beforehand:

• Soldering iron
• Solder
• Diagonal cutter pliers
• Regular screwdriver
• A piece of insulating tape or some super-glue

At the beginning, Prans was a bit weary about his soldering skills and fearing that he might mess up the whole process, he proceeded slowly. But as he progressed by following the official instructions, he felt more confident and completed step #3 of the guide. And then came the first functionality test… Connecting the device to the battery, Prans could only see the backlight light up but no text showed up!

What Prans' console-conception workbench looked like

Fearing the worst, Prans contacted MAKERbuino and the latter quickly responded, advising him to check for bridged joints and desolder them. Despite doing that, there was no improvement to the console. The most likely issue was improperly soldered joints underneath the screen on the microcontroller socket but for a novice at soldering, it would be tough to fix. Nevertheless, the MAKERbuino team offered a helping hand and fixed the issue, sent it back to Prans who was then able to complete the rest of the building process, successfully! (Tip: don’t apply excess solder!)

Success!

The feeling when the MAKERbuino was finally assembled, powering up and ready to play was unlike anything else Prans had experienced. At its core, the whole process is very much about soldering and some more soldering. But looking back, it was indeed a very rewarding and educational process. Even if the journey had some hiccups, it has been a memorable experience, one that Prans very much recommends to any fellow gamers, irrespective of age.

The finish looks very DIY-y, with a transparent but tough front and back case which nevertheless is prone to catch dust with the open ends on all sides; but it does show off the maker’s sweet soldering job! The whole thing is pocket-sized at approximately 13.5cm x 6.5cm x 2.4cm but this size makes the screen look small at 3.4cm x 2.6cm. But hey, if you’d prefer something else, you might as well start a new project and design and 3D print a closed case or attach a larger screen to it! Here lies the beauty to the whole DIY, open-source and modular aspect of the device as it enables a plethora of possibilities for your imagination to go wild. As mentioned before, on its outset building the MAKERbuino is very much about practicing soldering but if you want to take your game further, then you can learn about programming or designing custom cases/modules for 3D printing!

Some examples of what has and can be done to customize the MAKERbuino

Once successfully assembled, the MAKERbuino is ready to boot the pre-loaded games in the included SD card. Prans’ faves include titles like MicroHexagon, Asterocks, Super Crate Buino, Maruino and Tetrino, to name a few. The games library feels limited for now but there are ongoing projects among the existing community. The tiny device even packs an adjustable backlight and a headphone jack to listen to the chiptunes with your best headphones in all glory. There’s even a multiplayer option to challenge another MAKERbuino owner at Pong with a link cable. Theoretically, up to 128 MAKERbuinos can be linked together! That would make one heck of a Guinness World Records-worthy multiplayer Pong party! And the included rechargeable 650mAh Li-Po battery (per console, of course) will provide enough juice to power all that up for several hours.

True, while its tiny low-res screen, ATmega328, 2kB of RAM and chiptunes, the MAKERbuino won’t replace Prans’ Nintendo Switch or even his PS Vita (R.I.P.). but there is a certain charm to this pocket retro console with clicky buttons that he built himself that gives Prans a sense of pride and accomplishment. As for Prans’ next step? Creating his own game for the MAKERbuino (sometime^TM).

This brilliant, laudable endeavor to make console building fun and educational sprouted from teenage entrepreneur Albert Gajšak’s mind. Rather than resting on his laurels, Gajšak is keeping his startup company CircuitMess growing with more DIY projects in the pipeline. Stay tuned for more info!