I think this will be my last handheld arcade game for a while, but it’s going to combine ALL of my knowledge from previous builds. You can download all the files for this project at the Play & Clock GitHub Download Page

• 3D printed shell, recreated to look like the Game and Watch Tabletop games
• Two original games, created to emulate Game and Watch type games – starring Fix it Felix
• New artwork
• Running a full Windows 10 pc, with full versions of MAME
• Interface with an Arduino for controls and LED light effects
• Shared files so you can build your own

The cabinet and game will be called, “Play & Clock: Felix’s Construction Site”. A play on “Game & Watch: Mario’s Cement Factory”. In another one of my false histories, we’ll pretend Tobikomi came out with their own LCD based games, after a brief partnership with Coleco, and called them Play & Clocks. Poor Tobikimo, always emulating Nintendo but never quite as popular!

Felix’s Construction Site Game

Like any Game and Watch title, this Play & Clock game has to tell the time. Well, the game does that and so much more. This game is very similar to the Game and Watch title, Helmet. You run across a field trying to avoid tools being tossed at you by Wreck It Ralph. I my head, this game actually stars Felix Sr., and the rumor is, this is where he got his magic hammer from to give to his son! You can see a gif below with some early gameplay.

Additionally, I created all new sounds similar to other Game and Watch titles. Many Nintendo arcade games would play some classic piece of music so I went with a portion of “Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart, recreated in a 2-bit sound style using BeepBox.co The other sounds are simple beeps and boops.

Arduino Interaction

Additionally, the game has some extra cool features! It can send data to an Arduino to light up an LED based on game play. I’ve designed the game to use an Arduino Leonardo for controls, but you can use any keyboard input.

Play & Clock Shell

The case of the game is a replica of the Game & Watch tabletop games. It can be 3D printed easily enough, just drill out some holes for controls. It’s the single, and exclusive, Play & Clock Tabletop game (until someone out there downloads the files and makes their own that is)! Technically, this is sort of a lie. I made a bonus game for my unit – but that will remain just for me, I won’t be sharing the files for that game. Gotta have something unique. See it in the final video.

The shell comes in 5 parts and snaps together with small friction pins. It’s designed to hold a specific screen, a 5″ LCD from adafruit. That connects with an interface board, which uses HDMI to connect to the computer.

You can download the .stl files from the GitHub page.

Computer Hardware

For the guts of this game, I’m using a LattePanda. I recently learned about this single-board computer, and really think it’s ideal for mini arcades. It’s more powerful than a raspberry pi, runs a full version of Windows 10  and has GPIO pins – including a full-on Arduino Leonardo. That means I can program those pins to act as a keyboard and connect my controls directly to it. No keyboard encoder necessary.

The LattePanda Arduino pins can also control simple LEDs, so I designed Felix’s Construction Site to send signals to light up an LED based on gameplay.

I also made a very simple circuit/PCB to go along with it. It distributes power to the computer and sound amp. It also expands the GND with a ground plane for all the switches (an arduino only contains a single ground pin). Lastly, it has the resistor and pins for the LED. Again, nothing fancy, but it will make wiring easier later.

Artwork

The Nintendo tabletop games were quite simple in design. Just two solid colors, black and one other with white lettering. So, I did the same. I did flourish JUST a bit though by creating optional side art. It mimics the box art the original games had. You can see below the artwork I created, just print it out and you’re ready to go. Download the full-resolution pdf