Retro Arcade 1.0
A tabletop retro arcade — the same retro gaming, in a desk form with the screen angled up on a base.
Retro Arcade 1.0 is the tabletop member of the Retro Series. It plays the same retro games as Retro Pocket — a color screen, a full gamepad, and a microSD library — but in a desk form: the screen angles up on a base, like a little arcade cabinet you set on a table and play.
Same screen, gamepad, sound, and storage as Retro Pocket; what's different is the shape. Instead of holding it in your hands, it stands on your desk at a comfortable viewing angle.
Looking for the build spec?
The exact module set, dimensions, weight, and assembly are on the Retro Arcade datasheet.
What you can do with it
- Play classic games through a retro-gaming firmware
- Load games onto the microSD card and carry your whole library
- Hear game sound through the built-in speaker
- Control with a full gamepad — D-pad, A / B / X / Y, and shoulder buttons
- Set it on a desk at a viewing angle, like a tabletop arcade
What's in it
- Core: ESP32 1.0 — the host: 2.0-inch color touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Expand: Media I/O 1.0 — microSD storage for games plus a speaker for sound
- Control: Gamepad (Bottom) 1.0 — a full gamepad: D-pad, A / B / X / Y, and shoulder buttons
- Power: Standard Cell 1.0 — the rechargeable battery
- An Arcade Frame that holds the modules together and stands them at an angle, plus the linking cables
What it's for
Retro Arcade is for retro gaming at a desk — a bedside table, a shelf, a workbench. It stands on its base at a viewing angle, so it's ready to play without holding it, like a tabletop arcade cabinet. Want to take it with you instead? That's Retro Pocket.
It's built for retro gaming: flash a retro-gaming firmware, put your games on the microSD card, and play with the gamepad. Retro-Go is one retro-gaming firmware you can run on it — see Firmware for the options.
The gamepad
The bottom module is a full game controller:
- A direction pad (D-pad) on the left
- Four action buttons — A, B, X, and Y — on the right
- Four shoulder buttons — L1 and L2 on the left, R1 and R2 on the right
- Four function buttons (two on each side) for menus, modifiers, save states, and whatever else the firmware maps
Each shoulder button sits in two places — one on the top edge and one on the front — so it stays reachable once the module is assembled into the build and the top edge is covered.
Close-ups of the gamepad module — the same controls on every Retro build.
Power it on
An Attaky has two power buttons — one on the battery and one on the host (Core). Switch the battery on first, then the Core.
These are close-ups of the modules — the power buttons are the same on every build.
Set it up
Good to know
A tabletop arcade form. Same retro gaming as Retro Pocket, but it stands on a base with the screen angled up — made to sit on a desk and play, not to hold.
Games live on the microSD. Your library is on the card in the Media I/O module; swap or add games by copying files to the card. Sound comes out of the module's built-in speaker.
Built in two sections. The Core with the Media I/O module forms the screen unit; the gamepad and the battery sit in the base. The battery connects to the Core by a 7-pin power cable and the gamepad by a 12-pin FPC cable — all held in one Arcade Frame. The datasheet has the full breakdown.
Keep it dry and cool. It isn't waterproof — keep it away from rain, splashes, and damp. Operating temperature is 0–40 °C (32–104 °F); keep it out of direct sunlight and prolonged heat, and do not leave it in a parked car.
Size — 68 × 58.5 × 72.4 mm, 132.8 g.
Get one
Browse the Retro Series for all its builds, or Series for every Attaky build.