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GameSir Marsback Mini Game Arcade review

REVIEW – If you want to relive all of your favorite childhood Game Boy, NES, PS, and other games on your phone, you have to use an emulator, but playing these games with onscreen controls is not fun (at least I don’t think so). The GameSir Marsback Mini Game Arcade is a fun way to turn your Android or iPhone into a tiny retro gaming console. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

The GameSir Marsback Mini Game Arcade is a Bluetooth joystick controller and holder for your smartphone that turns it into a mini arcade machine.

What’s in the box?

  • GameSir Marsback Mini Game Arcade
  • 2 AA batteries
  • Instructions

Design and features

The Marsback (where’d they get that name?) is a square plastic device with a joystick and 6 control buttons on top and a slot for your phone.

On the bottom are the power switch and battery compartment (2 AA’s are included with the unit).

The device isn’t very large at only 3.25 x 3 x 3.5 inches.

Behind the phone slot is a pull-out backrest if you want to use the phone in landscape orientation with the controller.

Here we see my Pixel 2 XL resting against the backrest on top of the device. This orientation works fine as long as you are going to play the games on a flat surface. I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to hold the Marsback controller in your hands to play games as there is nothing to secure the phone in place and it could easily fall off.

And here we see the same Pixel 2 XL with a Pitaka case inserted in the phone slot. I think this is the preferred way to play games using the Marsback. Yes, the screen is smaller, but you can hold the whole thing in your hands which makes it more portable.

The Happy Chick app



The Marsback controller does not come with any games, but the instructions that come with the controller instruct you to download the Happy Chick app by using the QR code in the instruction sheet. You can see some of the errors and warnings that my Pixel 2 XL showed when I installed the app. Although these errors make the app look pretty shady, I decided to take a leap and installed it anyway. So far my phone hasn’t exploded. I also have read that lots of people use this app so hopefully, that means it’s not evil.

The app is basically an interface that lets you download and play game ROMs on your device. You can search for your favorite retro titles and find them for a variety of devices like the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, NES, and more.

If you’re thinking that downloading and playing copyrighted game ROMs (if you don’t own them) could be illegal, well yeah, you’d be right. Will you go to jail if you buy and use this device? Highly doubtful.

One of my all-time favorite retro games is Prince of Persia, so I downloaded it first. You can actually use the Happy Chick app all by itself to play games as it has onscreen controls, but when you pair the Marsback controller to your device it works perfectly with these old games.

By default, the games display in landscape orientation, but you can bring up the Happy Chick settings to switch orientations.

In portrait orientation, the layout is perfect for placing the phone in the Marsback phone slot to create a mini arcade machine.

The joystick and buttons are smaller than what you will find on a full-sized gaming controller, but they are responsive and fully functional. Holding a plastic box between your hands to play games can be a little awkward and not nearly as comfortable as using a regular controller. But the idea of the Marsback device is to be a cute nostalgic nod to the standalone arcade games from the ’80s and ’90s.

What I like

  • Cute!
  • Easy to use
  • Phone can be used in either orientation

What needs to be improved

  • Put the power button on top so you won’t forget to turn it off after a gaming session
  • Shady Happy Chick app

Final thoughts

I guarantee if you stick your phone in the phone slot of the Marsback mini arcade device and boot up Pacman, Centipede, Sonic the Hedgehog, Doom, or another iconic game from the past, that anyone who walks by is going to ask you about it and want to take a turn playing the game. The Marsback Mini Game Arcade isn’t the most fantastic gaming controller I’ve ever tested. But it is fun to use and at only $34, it won’t make your wallet cry but it will make you and your friends smile.

Price: $34.00
Where to buy: Vinpok
Source: The sample for this review was provided by GameSir.

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GameSir Marsback Mini Game Arcade review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 19, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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Turn over your Gadgeteer game night with UNO FLIP!

NEWS – Gadgeteers love games!  Mattel has launched UNO FLIP!, a new variation on UNO, one of the most popular card games ever produced. UNO FLIP!, a new double-sided card game, plays just like original UNO – try to get rid of all your cards by playing matching color or number cards on the discard pile, while also playing change-direction cards or Draw cards, forcing your opponents to pick up additional cards. UNO FLIP! ups that ante by adding a flip card.

Playing this forces everyone to flip over their cards, revealing different numbers and colors on the dark back sides.  You also flip over the deck and play the dark side cards.  There are new penalty cards including a dreaded Draw 5 card.

UNO has always been a popular game because it is simple to learn, but lets players use strategy to outwit their opponents. UNO FLIP! adds new challenges and should prove to make game night even more entertaining.

UNO FLIP! is available now for $5.99 at Target and Walmart online, is expected to hit store shelves at Target in March and be available globally later in 2019.

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Turn over your Gadgeteer game night with UNO FLIP! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 14, 2019 at 11:03 am.

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Bittboy Game Boy and NES handheld game console review

REVIEW – Back in the day I was obsessed with handheld game devices. I had the original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Atari Lynx, and the original Sony PSP. I still have several of those units but sadly, I no longer have an original Game Boy. But now I have a handheld gaming device that looks like a smaller version of the original Game Boy, but it’s superior to that iconic device because it can play Game Boy games, Game Boy Color games, and NES games. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

The Bittboy is a small handheld game console that can play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and NES ROMS.

What’s in the box?

  • Bittboy
  • Micro USB charging cable
  • RCA video cable
  • Instruction sheet

Design and features

At first glance, you might mistake the Bittboy from the original Nintendo Game Boy if you haven’t seen one in a while. But while the Bittboy is very similar, it’s significantly smaller (shorter).

The handheld gaming device has a beige plastic shell with a 4-way D-pad and a variety of buttons below the 2.4″ IPS color display that has a resolution of 320×240.

The lower right corner of the device has a built-in front firing speaker.

The back of the Bittboy has the battery compartment.

Inside is a removable and replaceable (if you can find a replacement) rechargeable 700mAh lithium battery.

The top edge of the Bittboy has the power switch and a micro SD card slot which is the pseudo game cartridge slot. A micro SD card isn’t included with the device, and neither are the games. It’s up to you “find” Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and/or NES ROM files. Hint: Google is your friend. 🙂

On the bottom edge is a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB port. The headphone jack is used for audio (duh), but you can also use it with the included video cables to connect the device to a TV to play the games on a large screen. The micro USB port is used to charge the battery.

The sides of the Bittboy don’t have any buttons or switches.

The Bittboy game console is nicely compact, which makes it a perfect travel companion since it will easily fit in a pocket or a gear bag.

Look, it’s a partial family photo showing the Bittboy beside a Game Boy Color and a Nintendo DS.

Let’s play a game!



The first thing you need to do is get your hands on a micro SD card and fill the root of the card with Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and NES ROM files (file format “.gb”, “.gbc”, “.nes”). Then with the card inserted into the Bittboy, you can turn it on. You’ll be greeted with menu page for each platform: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and NES. You have to press the A button to go into each menu to see the list of games.

The list page is basically just a scrolling text listing of the ROM files you copied to the micro SD card, but the list gives you enough info to see the game title. Then you can scroll up and down the list to pick the game you want to play and press the Start button to load it.

Games load surprisingly fast and the display on this little gaming device is just fantastic. It’s bright and crisp which makes it a joy to play these old games. Remember the Game Boy Color display? UGH! The Bittboy’s display is so much nicer because it’s so bright and vivid. And if it’s a bit too bright for you, you can use a key combo to adjust the brightness level.



I don’t know if it was the default setting or if I changed it while I was looking at the options, but you can set the display to either fullscreen or default which is a square display like the original Game Boy. Setting it to full will stretch the screen and it can make some games look weird.

You’ll also want to figure out how to adjust the volume on the Bittboy because by default it is way too loud. No worries though as the Select-A/Select-B key button combo can be used to turn the sound up and down.

I tested a half a dozen Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and NES games on this device and it was a true and happy trip down memory lane. I should admit though that I didn’t have an NES back then, so I can’t really comment on how those games compare on the Bittboy to the actual console.


I will say that the Game Boy games both look great and play/feel like a real Game Boy from the good old days of handheld video game devices. The DPad and buttons are smaller than the original Game Boy control buttons, but that didn’t cause me any problems as the buttons are responsive and didn’t stick or jam.

There’s even a feature that will let you save your game to the micro SD card. There are only 3 save game slots, so choose wisely.

The only Bittboy feature that I didn’t test was the AV out using the RCA cables. That’s because I only have one TV and it’s mounted to the wall. I’m just not that dedicated to take my TV off the wall in order to connect the Bittboy to it. Anyway, who really wants to use RCA jacks these days? The Bittboy needs to use an HDMI port! Am I right?

What I like

  • Authentic Game Boy experience
  • Small size is pocket-friendly
  • Bright crisp display
  • micro SD card (not included) can hold 100’s of games

What needs to be improved

  • Use an HDMI port for video out

Final thoughts

If you want an authentic Game Boy experience, the Bittboy will do it for you. It’s a well-built handheld game console that will let you relive all those fun games from back in the day before there were iPhones, the Xbox, or the PS4. Get one and thank me later. Just don’t blame me if your boss catches you playing Super Mario Bros. when you should be working!

Price: $39.99
Where to buy: Amazon and Aliexpress
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Bittboy.

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Bittboy Game Boy and NES handheld game console review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 31, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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BittBoy is a better version of the original Game Boy

NEWS – This little handheld game device sure brings back a lot of fond memories of playing Castlevania and Prince of Persia. I still have my original Game Boy, but the BittBoy looks like a lot more fun than that old game player due to the color display and ability to hold lots of games on a single flash memory card. The BittBoy is smaller than Nintendo’s Game Boy, features a 2.4 inch IPS display, a micro SD card slot and it can play 99% of Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and NES games (.gbc, .gb, and .nes rom files) that you can find with some creative Googling. They are sending me one to review soon (Yay!), but you can pre-order a BittBoy for $39.99 until 12/20/18 on Bittboy.com. After that date, the price goes up to $59.99.

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BittBoy is a better version of the original Game Boy originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 19, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Rubik’s Cube too hard? Try the 3D puzzle ball instead!


NEWS – The V-Sphere 3D puzzle ball is actually for kids and is considered an introduction to brain teasers and puzzle cubes for them.  I don’t do well with those cubes myself, so maybe I should try a V-Sphere.

The V-Sphere puzzle ball is made of plastic and has a 4″ diameter.  The objective is to slide each individual piece or complete row on the V-Sphere to match all pieces to the colored triangles.  Solving the puzzle takes logical thinking and is said to be great for stress relief.  The puzzle is intended for children 8+;  small pieces makes it unsuitable for children under 3 years of age.

The V-Sphere 3D puzzle ball is $24.95 at The Grommet.

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Rubik’s Cube too hard? Try the 3D puzzle ball instead! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 23, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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