Tim H

I gave my kids' R36S physical game cartridges. Insert a card, the game starts. Pull it out, back to the menu. It's called BirdBoy, and the DIY build files are now out 🐦

Agree. The modding scene is already bringing the physical feel back in its own way. I built NFC cards and printed carts for the R36S, so you slot one in and it launches a game from your own library. Ownership and the feel of it both matter.

Love this. Holding a cart really changes how you pick what to play. I went down a similar path on the R36S: printed cartridges with an NFC tag inside, slot one in and that game boots from your own library. Curious what the bigger idea is!

Same here. Having every ROM at once somehow made me play less. That's partly why I built NFC cartridges for my R36S: you pick one game, slot it in, and actually stick with it. Pull it out and the game closes, just like swapping carts back then.

The blowing ritual was peak engineering 😅 I missed that feeling so much I built NFC cartridges for my R36S. No pins to blow on this time, you just slot one in and the game starts.

Honestly my favorite "physical media" lately is one I made myself: little printed cartridges for my R36S that launch a game when you slot them in.

The cheap handhelds are where the fun modding happens. I ended up putting an NFC reader in my R36S so games launch from cards and 3D-printed cartridges. Turned a budget emulator box into something that feels like a real console again.

Slot in a card, the game boots. NFC mod for my R36S. DIY build pack at playbirdboy.com (intro price until Nov 8)

That yellow shell looks great. Funny how much the Game Boy form factor still matters. The one thing these handhelds lose is swapping cartridges, which is why I ended up building NFC game cards for my R36S.

EarthBound on the R36S is such a good pick. I got so attached to mine that I built little NFC cards for it, so you slot a card into the back and the game boots. Makes it feel like a real cartridge again.

This is so real. Having 3,000 games on one SD card turns the menu into the game. What fixed it for me was putting single games on physical NFC cards for my R36S: you pick one off the shelf, slot it in, and you actually play it.

This is so real. Having 3,000 games on one SD card turns the menu into the game. What fixed it for me was putting single games on physical NFC cards for my R36S: you pick one off the shelf, slot it in, and you actually play it.

Love this. I would need that for my 3d printed cartridges too 😃

Smart move with the JP carts. There's just something about holding the actual cartridge. Been trying to get that feeling on my emulation handheld too, with little NFC carts that launch the game.

"Not enough free blocks" is burned into my brain 😅 Funny how much of the magic was in the physical stuff. Cards, carts, swapping them with friends. Been chasing that feeling with NFC cartridges on my R36S lately.

Cartridges you can carry between devices would be great. Kids especially get it instantly: game in, game on. I built a tiny DIY version for a retro handheld with NFC carts.

Wild what this little handheld can do now. I've been modding mine the other way around: physical NFC cartridges so you slot a "cart" in and the game starts. The R36S is a fun platform to hack on 😄

The fact that people keep building cartridge-shelf UIs says a lot. We miss the object. I took it off the screen: real NFC cartridges for the R36S, slot one in and the game boots.

Love this. Printed cartridges are such a good excuse to bring the physical feel back. I went a step further and put an NFC tag in mine, so inserting the cart actually launches the game on my R36S

Honestly the "physical object = game" thing works so well. I did a small version of this on a €30 R36S handheld: tap an NFC card or cartridge and the game launches, pull it out and you're back in the menu. My kids love it.

~ $11.99 intro price until Nov 8, then $17.99 (€9.99 / €14.99 + VAT in the EU). Every pack helps fund REV B, a thinner single-PCB version. 👉 playbirdboy.com