Seven Crazy Gaming Presents (for yourself)
Not all gifts have to be for someone else
We are teetering on the tail end of the holidays, but I thought it would still be fun to send out a list of some of the cooler things I’ve been playing around with over the course of the year and call it a gift guide.
Maybe there’s not enough time to order any of this and get it to your home in time to wrap and give away.
But there’s plenty of time to pick some of this up and keep it for yourself.
Trust me, it’s all pretty cool.
Ollee
I’m not just a big fan of handheld gaming systems; I’m also a big fan of watches that can run games. Of course, you can just use an Apple Watch or an Android Watch these days to play some pretty neat things. But if you want to go retro, it’s going to set you back quite a bit to pick up a functioning game watch from the likes of Nelsonic, Unitrex, Alba, or Casio.
That’s where Ollee Watch comes in.
Ollee Watch is the product of an electrical engineer who loves to tinker. That tinkering eventually led to an amazing little do-it-yourself mod that can convert the classic Casio A158W (a $20 watch) into a sleek little smart watch with—you guessed it—some built-in games.
The mod, which will set you back $55 if you can get one, takes about half an hour to apply to one of the watches and delivers world time, snooze alarm, timer, stopwatch logging, sunrise and sunset tracking, step tracking, heart rate and temperature measurements, and two games.
It also syncs with your phone to keep the time correct and save what you’re tracking.
The best bit? There’s a whole roadmap of coming features, which includes more games.
Atari Gamestation
I talk and think a lot about the history of retro video game handhelds. But that doesn’t mean that the formfactor is stuck in the past.
Of course, we have modern handhelds like the Switch 2, the PlayStation Portal, and the Xbox Rog Ally X, but there are also some real standouts that aren’t designed for modern gaming.
These classic retro-focused wonders are hitting all year.
One of my favorites of 2025, though, is the smashing bit of electronic kit from My Arcade. The Atari GameStation Go ($179.99) isn’t just an Atari-themed handheld; it’s a handheld that manages to cleverly support most of the main controllers found in those old Atari games on consoles and arcade machines.
The system has a 7-inch screen absolutely surrounded by different controllers, including a spinner, a roller ball, a D-Pad, and—yes—even the number pad.
It’s a delight to play and is smartly designed. Check out my full write-up and interview if you’re interested.
Evercade
I’ve been fascinated with the entire Evercade ecosystem since the first handheld hit the market back in 2020.
The key differentiator with Blaze Entertainment’s approach to retro gaming is that the company sells licensed retro and indie games on cartridges that work with all of their systems.
It’s neat to have a little cartridge collection that includes Atari, Arc System Works, Interplay, Mega Cat, Intellivision, Commodore, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, and on, and on, and on.
The best part is that the cartridges work on almost all of the systems that Blaze sells. So, for instance, you can slap your copy of the Taito Arcade 1 collection into the diminutive Hyper Mega Tech Super Pocket ($25) handheld and play it there. Or move over to the slightly bigger and more comfortable Evercade EXP-R ($99.99). If you’re hanging out in your office, you might want to move that cart into the Evercade Alpha ($279.99) mini bartap machine you have down there. Or, if you want to game on the couch, just bring the cartridge up to your VS-R ($99.99), which comes with two controllers and supports 1080p on your television.
It’s a great way to encourage cartridge gaming across a spectrum of use, and it also enables some indies to get a bit of that cartridge love.
MyPlay Watch
While the Ollee Watch Mod is a great way to show off your love of retro watch gaming, there haven’t been a ton of new watches designed to play games recently.
The one standout is the MyArcade line of watches ($79.99).
The not-so-smart watch launched as a Kickstarter for a Space Invaders version back in 2024. I chatted with Floor 84 Studios founder Jeff Hardy about the thinking behind the watch that I labeled “selective tech.” It’s an interesting philosophy, but the more interesting thing is the watch (now watches) itself.
One of the big differentiators behind the watch is that it doesn’t actually connect to your phone or the internet. Instead, it just chugs along doing it’s own thing. And that thing is diving deeply into specific games or publishers with not just gameplay, but also a cool take on the look of that era.
For instance, the Space Invaders watch includes the game (with shockingly accurate sound design from the original), but also has a slew of watch faces and interchangeable bands built around the iconography of the original game.
Beyond telling time and playing games, it can also track fitness data, but that’s it. It’s also enough if you’re a big fan of these titles.
Tetris is very similar to the Space Invaders watch, focusing in on the single title. And then the Atari 2600 watch features four games from the classic system: Pong, Centipede, Super Breakout, and Missile Command.
ModRetro
If you can come to terms with ModRetro’s backstory, the Chromatic is a well-crafted, hardy version of the Game Boy featuring a magnesium shell, a sharp, authentic color screen, support for Link cable play, native video streaming, and can play Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles.
The Founder’s Edition is mostly gone, but ModRetro has a new line of colors out for the Chromatic ($199.99).
I’m more focused now on some of the post-launch goodies the company is putting out. The company has about 20 original or remastered titles available on cartridge that you can pick up for the system. They include indies and remakes of Croc, Rayman, and a collection of Atari games. Each runs about $45.
Alongside the typical swag of crossbody bags, link cables, and headsets, ModRetro also has a Rechareable Power Core ($29.99) and—most intriguing- a little Mod Kit ($14.99).
The Mod Kit comes with a selection of D-pads and colored buttons along with the tools you need to swap them out on the system to make it more personal. It’s a great idea that I’d love to see more handhelds adopt.
Pac-Man 45th Anniversary Pocket Player Max
I’ll just rip the band-aid off: yes, we’re all very old.
Pac-Man is now 45 years old, and that makes you and me … well, let’s not talk about it.
To celebrate, the handheld-obsessed designers over at MyArcade put together this bundle of Pac-Man-themed handheld and travel case.
It’s clearly for the Pac-Man fans out there, featuring a colorful little zip case, screen protector, and lanyard, as well as the handheld itself.
What makes Pac-Man 45th Anniversary Pocket Player Max ($69.99) stand out for me is the choice of games the company decided to include.
Pac-Man and Pac-Man Speed-Up mode: Of course!
Super Pac-Man: While Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani may have called this a boring game, it’s a fun take on the old formula featuring a big (some say too big) Pac-Man.
Pac-Man Plus: Another 1982 title that skips the Pac-Man relationship games (Ms., Mr & Mrs., and Baby), but OK, that’s fine. It’s not a game you typically find outside of an arcade or TV game, and let’s face it, there was no way they were bringing a mini-pinball meets video game title to a handheld. (Oh, we miss you, Baby Pac-Man)
Pac & Pal: OK, the inclusion of this oddity is, well, genius. Released in 1983, Pac & Pal was a genuine Pac-Flop. It’s not that it was a bad game as much as it was a weird game. Fortunately for all of us, some wunderkind over at My Arcade saw this and decided to include it in this marvelous collection. Now you too can make your way through the maze, gobbling up icons from other Namco titles and hoping that your “pal” Miru doesn’t screw things up for you.
BuildaBoy
The LEGO Group is the master of breaking down cultural touchstones into little plastic bricks, and then teaching you how to build them up again—complete with fun Easter Eggs.
The LEGO Game Boy is such a product, with authentic details like the D-pad, Select, Start, A, and B buttons. Two included Game Paks, and even matching lenticular screens that mimic those games’ start screens.
What’s better than a LEGO Game Boy? How about a fully functioning LEGO Game Boy?
That’s right, modder Natalie the Nerd figured out a way to cram a Pocket CPU into the LEGO-brick-built handheld and get it to function. It doesn’t play Game Boy carts, but don’t let that stop you.
Natalie has a website set up for the Build A Boy to start taking orders once it’s ready (which sounds like early 2026) The kit will come in three flavors: completely pre-soldered drop in and play (aka the Brian version), Everything soldered, but doesn’t include the CPU or RAM. and 100 percent DIY, meaning you buy all of the components yourself.
The estimate is that the completely pr soldered version will run about $100. Sounds like a steal!
While it isn’t ready yet, you can pre-build your LEGO Game Boy to prepare.
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