Like many, we couldn’t believe it when the LEGO Game Boy set was announced back in July. It felt like this should have been released ages ago, but thankfully, it’s officially here. And as you might suspect, it didn’t take long for someone to figure out how to turn the LEGO Game Boy into a handheld that you can actually play games on.
We’ve covered a couple of Natalie’s previous projects, such as the Game Boy Color that is completely transparent, including the PCB. Well, shortly after the LEGO Game Boy was released, Natalie revealed they managed to get a Game Boy DMG PCB working within the LEGO version, including the ability to use your own cartridges.
Naturally, many of us began wondering whether this would be easily attainable, and Natalie responded with a resounding YES. Build A Boy is the name of the project, with Natalie partnering with Crowd Supply for the eventual release. Arguably the best part is that unlike some other retro handheld modding projects, this one won’t require any soldering.
As for pricing, Natalie shared with The Verge: “I am aiming for $99 USD but y’know how the world is at the moment.” It was also revealed that there could be different versions made available, such as one for those who have a “donor Game Boy Pocket,” along with one that “only requires the CPU and RAM for around $60,” and finally “a completely DIY version for the ‘soldering iron pros’ out there.”
There’s currently a landing page over at Natalie’s website, but you can’t buy the kit just yet. It’s not expected to begin shipping until “early 2026,” but you can sign up to be notified when the project launches.
There’s Another Option for Your LEGO Game Boy
As luck would have it, Natalie the Nerd’s Build A Boy isn’t the only option you’ll have to play games on the LEGO Game Boy. BrickBoy is another one that we found out about courtesy of The Verge, but this one takes a slightly different approach.
While Build A Boy embodies the idea of playing physical games using PCBs based on the original hardware, BrickBoy is for those who don’t have a massive collection of Game Boy cartridges. The kit consists of a screen, speaker, buttons, control board, and a cartridge.
The “brains” of the BrickBoy are housed within the cartridge, which looks more like an N64 memory card, slots into the back of the LEGO Game Boy. Cables sprawl from the bottom of the cartridge, providing the necessary connection between the control board and the display so everything will work the way we expect it to.
Although we don’t yet know how much the BrickBoy will cost, we also don’t have too much longer to wait. The Kickstarter campaign is slated to commence on October 28, and you can hit the link below to sign up to be notified when it’s live.
Oh, and do yourself a favor. If you have any intentions of picking up a LEGO Game Boy for yourself, but haven’t yet, don’t wait. I suspect this will be one of the hot commodities of the 2025 holiday season, flying off of shelves faster than they can be restocked. So be sure to grab one now, even if you just hold onto it until either of these projects arrives on your doorstep.
LEGO Game Boy | Amazon LEGO Game Boy | Direct
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