It’s constantly a possibility having a bet on fresh video game hardware from barely-identified firm: what if game developers by no intention show camouflage up? But the $50 Thumby Color, on sale this week, is a simpler promote — the two-slither handheld is adorable as a button, fits for your keychain, and lets aspiring programmers design and post games factual on the on-line, and I’m discovering it so mighty simpler to play than the tinier $30 fresh!
Here’s my video comparing the two and exhibiting off playable takes on Tetris, Connect Four, Minesweeper, Doom, Bust-A-Switch, 2048, and more, besides a groovy 3D-printed gaze holder for the Thumby Color by 3DSage!
The set the fresh Thumby makes employ of a 133MHz Raspberry Pi RP2040 to strength a murky-and-white camouflage measuring staunch 0.Four inches diagonally, with a mere 1.4MB of space for games, the fresh Thumby Color can double the clockspeed with its RP2350 chip, has double the camouflage at 0.Eighty five inches, and virtually 10 cases the storage at round 14MB usable space.
As it is seemingly you’ll also beget staunch considered, that isn’t a lot of strength, nonetheless it’s passable to wow within the kind of cramped kit. (Drag, there’s legitimately a exact, playable reproduction of Doom working on the fresh Thumby thanks to Graham Sanderson, with tweaks by James Brown, and it is seemingly you’ll set up it here yourself!)
The distinctive Thumby changed into once so sophisticated to play. Omit thumbs, I needed to make employ of my thumbnails to press its buttons and D-pad, and I practically wished a magnifying glass to explain the tetrominoes (Tetris shapes) apart on its 1-bit OLED.
Luckily, the Thumby Color’s D-pad in truth has a tangible pivot point. It’s stiff, nonetheless I will in truth roll it with a thumb! Now all those fresh Thumby games (the coloration is backward-acceptable!) and fresh Color games beget barely usable controls — and in case you add the Sixteen-bit coloration LCD camouflage at 128 x 128 resolution, it’s a long way simpler to fabricate out those pixels. Especially when every tetromino will get its admire coloration.
The Thumby Color additionally has fresh shoulder buttons a la Game Boy Advance — which may perchance maybe be so mighty simpler to actuate than face buttons at this size that I hope TinyCircuits will allow us to remap them to A and B for fresh Thumby titles. For now, they’re underused by fresh games, as are the fresh rumble motor and speaker.
One glaring bewitch is a fresh USB-C port for files and charging; no more digging out a micro-USB cable admire the fresh. And you’ll prefer that cable. TinyCircuits estimates a battery lifetime of staunch two hours, and I seen the Color’s LED indicator tag low battery on every occasion I took it for an prolonged play session.
I won’t faux there’s a lot to play on a Thumby Color but, any greater than there changed into once on an fresh Thumby when it first got here out. But I didn’t want to look at hard to bag fun.
I’d no doubt whip one out for a short game of trick shot pool (ComboPool for Thumby Color), the enjoyable zen of my cramped sand and water backyard (Sand for Thumby Color), or the novelty of tough somebody to the tiniest game of two-participant Pong (2pddl42ppl for OG Thumby). You may perchance well browse previews of every Thumby Color game here and every OG Thumby game here, and even try playing the latter titles in a web emulator (click on the sport, then click on “commence”) so you gape what you’re getting. The on-line characteristic additionally handles updates and loading games onto your Thumby, and strength customers can connect and add files with Thonny as correctly.
It feels admire the Thumby Color is launching a contact early. It’s slower than the fresh Thumby in addition, and its UI is slower to scroll through games than I’d admire, which may perchance well be priceless inquisitive about what number of more it is going to fit. Some fresh Thumby games additionally crashed at open for me. “I hear your criticisms, we cease beget an update planned for later this summer season that take care of these form of,” TinyCircuits founder Ken Burns tells me. However the Thumby Color is now entirely shipping to fresh orders; he says all Kickstarter backers beget already been fulfilled.
Name them novelties, call them stocking stuffers, nonetheless the Thumby and Thumby Color are cool; admire the firm’s TinyTV, I’d gladly be talented one, and I’d also gape buying one if I loved programming and wished to acquire a cramped game of my admire. I’m additionally alive to to gape what other shenanigans Thumby Color house owners organize to pull: the RP2350 chip is technically good of SNES and Game Boy Color emulators in diversified locations, besides a like a flash bulky-coloration version of Doom.
Even supposing whenever you’re wanting to beget emulation in a Game Boy Advance kit, and don’t mind doubtlessly supporting piracy, there’s additionally Anbernic to look at at.