Gaming • 11-Year-Old Designing a Custom Raspberry Pi Handheld – Looking for Advice and Support!

Hi everyone!

I'm an 11-year-old maker who’s really excited about Raspberry Pi and retro games. I want to build my own custom handheld gaming console using a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, the Adafruit 2.8" PiTFT display, and the Adafruit Joy Bonnet for controls.

Here’s what I’m working on:

Designing a 3D-printed case from scratch

Adding space inside for a battery and an on/off button

Installing RetroPie so I can play retro games on the go

Making the whole thing portable, kind of like a Pi-powered Game Boy

Right now, I don’t have the Pi or the other parts yet because I’m saving up and trying to figure out how to get support. I’m doing all the design work first, using Tinkercad for the case. I’d love advice from people here on:

How to make sure the PiTFT and Joy Bonnet stack correctly

What kind of battery and power switch I should use

If there are people who’ve done something similar

Or if there are groups, makerspaces, or sponsors that support young inventors

I’d also love to hear what you think of my idea.
This is my dream project, and I really want to learn and build it myself. Thank you!

Statistics: Posted by Jbm1331 — Mon May 26, 2025 1:33 am

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