Description

LEGO Boy – Core Kit

A working Game Boy that lives inside a LEGO set.

Genuine Game Boy Pocket architecture on a custom motherboard, engineered to fit inside LEGO set 72046. Real silicon, real cartridges, real hardware you assemble yourself from custom instructions.

This is an electronics kit for people who solder. Please read the whole page before you order.

Before you buy: three purchases, not one

This kit is the electronics. To end up with a working handheld you also need:

1. LEGO set 72046 (Game Boy) — $59.99, purchased separately from LEGO.

The custom build instructions included with your kit build the 421 pieces into a functional enclosure. That one set is all the LEGO you need — no BrickLink orders, no hunting loose parts. The handful of extra pieces the build calls for are custom LEGO-compatible bricks, 3D printed and included in your kit.

2. A donor Game Boy Motherboard — $40-$60 depending on condition.

The kits motherboard does not include a CPU or SRAM. You source a donor Game Boy Pocket motherboard (MGB Motherboard), de-solder the MGB CPU and SRAM yourself, and install them on the motherboard.

*THIS WILL NOT COME FULLY ASSEMBLED. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE DESCRIPTION*

This is an advanced build

Harvesting the CPU means fine-pitch QFP removal from a 30-year-old board, then fine-pitch installation onto a new one. There are no replacement chips if it goes wrong — you lose the donor and potentially the main board.

If you haven’t done that kind of rework before, this is not the project to learn on. We’d rather you skip this run than have a bad time with it.

The complete CPU and RAM assembly steps for the Lego Boy – Core Kit are located here. This is the most challenging step in the build process and is required to successfully build a core kit. Please read the first section that covers the CPU and SRAM installation before ordering. This kit was featured on Macho Nacho productions youtube channel and it gives a great overview of what to expect with this build.

Features

• Game Boy Pocket architecture on a custom PCB.
• IPS backlit display — adjustable brightness and adjustable color palettes
• Full audio — working speaker with volume control
• Single-cell Lithium ion battery with USB-C charging
• Genuine LEGO enclosure built from set 72046 using included custom instructions

Limitations — please read

• DMG cartridges only. Pocket architecture means original Game Boy games. Game Boy Color titles are not supported.
• No link cable support in this revision.
• No headphone jack. The board has provisions for it and we’d like to support it down the road, but it is not part of what you’re buying and we’re not promising a date. Buy this kit for the feature list above.

In the box

• Main motherboard (CPU and SRAM unpopulated)
• Populated sub-boards — USB C, A/B Super Pad, volume, power switch, start/select, D-pad, screen brightness and color adjust rocker switch
• Cable assemblies
• Display module
• Lithium Ion Battery
• Custom 3D printed LEGO-compatible bricks
• Custom LEGO build instruction PDF for converting set 72046

Not included: LEGO set 72046, donor Game Boy Pocket Motherboard, cartridges.

Tools you’ll need

Hot air station / fine-tip soldering iron / flux / desoldering braid / tweezers / multimeter