Ridiculously Tiny, Incredibly Cute, Easily Programmable
- A game system the size of your thumb with a bright OLED display
- Operational 4-way D-pad and two gameplay buttons
- Sturdy plastic case with a built in rechargeable battery and buzzer
- Preloaded with 5 retro games, instantly playable out of the box
- Multiplayer support via Thumby Link cable
- Easily programmable using MicroPython in a web browser – create your own games!
Thumby™ is an itty-bitty game system at the tips of your thumbs, a best friend for your keys, and an easy learning tool all-in-one. Start playing right away with preloaded games, download more games from our website and learn to program your own games.
Thumby comes fully assembled and ready to play!
Modern games have come so far in terms of graphics and, well, everything else too. With advances in hardware, we are now able to make the same gaming hardware from the late 80s into something thumb-sized and adorably tiny. It was possible to make, so we did it, and now you can play it for yourself!
Thumby comes pre-loaded with 5 retro games. All games published for Thumby are free, open-source and ready to be edited by you! We plan on creating many more games and will be hosting a place on our website where other Thumby users can share their own games.
Preloaded Games:
- TinyBlocks – A classic puzzle game
- Space Debris – A space shooter, similar to asteroids
- Annelid – A snake game, collect the food to grow your annelid
- Thumgeon– A dungeon adventure game, collect and buy weapons, battle monsters
- Saur Run – You are a small running and jumping dinosaur, side scroller
Thumby Menu
Thumby includes a built-in menu system which allows you to select the game to be played when you power it on, and can store many games in its internal memory for you to choose from.
Programming
Thumby allows for the easy creation of your own games using the MicroPython programming language.
We’ve created an easy-to-use browser web IDE to draw in-game images and program games all in one tab. All you need to get started is your Thumby, a micro USB cable, and one of our step-by-step game writing tutorials. The Web IDE also includes a fully functional Thumby emulator, so you can create and run games directly in the browser.
- Processor: Raspberry Pi RP2040 Processor
- Memory: 2MB total storage
- Connectivity: micro USB for programming & multiplayer using Thumby Link cable
- Outputs: 72×40 Monochrome OLED, Piezo Speaker
- Inputs: 6 tactile buttons (4-way D-pad, 2 action buttons)
- Power: Power switch, 40mAh Rechargeable LiPo Battery, ~2 hours of gameplay
- Dimensions: 1.2″ X 0.7″ X 0.3″ (29.5mm x 18mm x 8.5mm), 4.7 grams
- Programming: MicroPython or Arduino IDE
Thumby Link – Multiplayer Thumbys!
Compete head-to-head with your friends by connecting two Thumbys together over a Thumby Link cable! Thumby Link uses the micro USB port of the Thumby and a special Thumby Link cable to allow multiplayer action.
Who’s Talking About Us?
“I can’t believe it, absolutely incredible! Well done TinyCircuits” – The Retro Future
Gizmodo – “Even photos of it can’t prepare you for just how small the Thumby is when you first pick it up”
Nintendo Life – “Probably the World’s Smallest Game Console”
Nintendo Wire – “How small is this… roughly the size of the D-pad”
“Bzzz, Bzzz, Bzzz” – Fred, the Carpenter Bee at The University of Akron Blackledge Lab
Classic Light Gray Thumby
At the base levels ($9 early-bird and $19 level), your Thumby comes in a classic light gray plastic color.
Color Options
You have your choice of Thumby colors at the $24 reward level and up. Choose from the classic light gray, light blue, magenta, green, teal or clear.
Note: The colors shown may be different than the final color shades & tints used.
Thumby Link Cable
A special cable to allow two Thumbys to connect together to play head-to-head multiplayer games.
Commemorative Keychain
A commemorative keychain to go with your Thumby, made out of printed circuit board (PCB) material, with the Thumby logo on one side and the main circuit design on the other.
We are TinyCircuits and we specialize in making small electronics for makers and hobbyists. In 2012 we launched the TinyDuino project on Kickstarter which greatly exceeded our expectations (and raised about 1100% of the goal). This let us set up our own manufacturing operation in Akron, OH, where we assemble, test, and ship all of our products.
I guess you could say we’ve done this a few times. In 2014 we launched the TinyScreen on Kickstarter, which raised over $128,000. In 2015 we launched the Tiny Arcade on Kickstarter, which raised over $75,000. Both were shipped out completely in under 6 months. In 2019 we launched our Wireling Platform on Kickstarter, even tinier boards that remove the hassle of breadboarding so that you can prototype projects fast and easy. Wireling raised over $34,000.
Outside of our Kickstarter campaigns, we’ve released over 100 new products (mostly add-ons for the TinyDuino and Wireling platform), learned a tremendous amount about manufacturing quality and reliable products, and have fine-tuned our production process. Thanks to this amazing Maker community we’ve manufactured and shipped out over 150,000 boards since starting operations in 2012 to thousands of customers in 60+ countries.
TinyCircuits is a supporter of open-source hardware and software and believes collaboration leads to faster innovation. By backing this campaign you too support open-source hardware and software. Our TinyDuino, TinyLily, and Wireling products are all open-source and released under the Creative Commons Share-Alike 3.0 License. We are a proud supporter of the Open Source Hardware Association and have helped sponsor the Open Hardware Summit since 2013.
Okay, we’ll be honest. We made the first Thumby prototype more than 5 years ago, and it has come a LONG way since then!
“Thumby started out as my personal project, but when we saw people’s reactions to the prototype, we knew we wanted to make it into a new TinyCircuits product so that more people could put it on their keychain, enjoy playing it, or create their own games.” – Ben Rose, Principal Engineer at TinyCircuits
We tested many different printing options to try and find one that was affordable and could withstand everyday keychain use. Though expensive, we settled on injection molding, the only option deemed good enough for our standards.
Timeline
- May 2016: Ben Rose shows off his Thumby project at the Bay Area Maker Faire
- April 2021: Completed redesign using the Raspberry Pi Pico processor, the RP2040
- Summer 2021: Testing and Prototyping, preliminary injection molding
- Aug / Sept 2021: Thumby Beta units sent out to testers
- September 2021: Crowdfunding Campaign Begins
- October 2021: Finalize Injection molding, begin electronics production
- Early 2022: Shipping Thumbys to all backers
Funding / Budget
By backing this campaign, you support open-source hardware and software. The good news is we’ve done most of the hard work – all hardware and software designs are complete. All that’s left to do is the final production, and your funding helps us with this process.
With your support, we’ll be able to start production and get Thumbys out to you quickly. Your contribution will help to fund:
- Production tooling & test fixtures
- Large production component ordering
- Production of the boards
Spread the Word
Thank you for your support! We hope you love Thumby as much as we do! We would be forever in your debt if you would share Thumby with your audience to help this project come to life!
Download the Press Kit Where you can find high resolution images, tech specs, and content for your articles.
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