Which retro console should you choose for a child?

“My granddaughter is eight, she loves Mario, what should I get her?” The question lands in our inbox every week, and the answer has very little to do with spec sheets. A child doesn't play like an adult collector. They don't compare processors, they don't read forums, they have no wish to spend an evening configuring an emulator. They want to switch on and play. And they drop their console, regularly. So the right choice for a child is almost never the most powerful model in the catalogue. It is the simplest, the sturdiest and the longest-lasting. Here is how we think it through with the parents and grandparents who write to us.

Article updated on 11 September 2026.

The three criteria that really matter

For an adult, the number one criterion is the level of emulation reached. For a child, it comes last, far behind three others.

Sturdiness

A child's console falls off the table, the sofa, the car seat, and ends up at the bottom of a sports bag. Two things matter: a protected or small screen, and no protruding parts. Clamshell models have an obvious advantage here: screen closed, screen protected. Very small form factors too, because a device weighing 125 to 160 g survives a fall much better than a 400 g machine.

Simplicity

This is the deciding criterion, and the most underestimated. A child's console should switch on to a list of games, full stop. No home screen to figure out, no password, no update to confirm, no choice between four emulators for the same system. If the child has to call you to start a game, you bought the wrong thing, and you will get that call at 7 a.m. on a Saturday.

Battery life

A Paris–Marseille trip is three hours by train. The battery life figures announced by manufacturers are measured in favourable conditions (low brightness, 8-bit games, sound off), and real-world use is often below that. Allow a generous margin, and pack a spare cable, or batteries for the models that use them.

What about power?

It doesn't matter, or hardly at all. The catalogue that appeals to a child aged 6 to 12 fits almost entirely on 8-bit and 16-bit systems, plus the Game Boy Advance: easy-to-read platformers, short sessions, obvious rules. All our Linux consoles run this library and the PlayStation 1; the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo DS run with compromises, depending on the model. Paying more to target the PlayStation 2 means buying a more complex, heavier machine with shorter battery life, for games the child won't ask for until years later.

Two families suited to children

For a child, two types of console make sense: the licensed mini console, ready to play with its built-in games, and the Linux emulation console, supplied without games, which you fill yourself. The first is the simplest; the second, the most open.

Play straight away: the licensed mini console

If you don't want to prepare a memory card, this is the most direct solution: the games are in the console, licensed from their publisher, and the list never changes.

• The Evercade Super Pocket carries 14 to 50 games depending on the edition and charges over USB-C. On the Taito, Atari and Technōs editions, an easy mode sets each game to its lowest difficulty: invaluable for younger children. Its cartridge slot lets you add official Evercade cartridges later.
• My Arcade handheld consoles, such as the Pocket Player Pro (Pac-Man, Galaga, Tetris depending on the edition) or the Pixel Pocket Tetris, often run on batteries. On several models, the cover opens with a small screwdriver, not included: the batteries stay out of reach of little hands.
• For multiplayer on the TV, the Evercade VS-R supports up to four players, and the Atari Gamestation Pro comes with two wireless joysticks.

The whole family is gathered in our licensed handheld consoles range.

Choosing your own games: why a Linux console, almost always

Our emulation consoles fall into two families. Linux consoles boot straight into their game interface: lists by system, a cover image, a button to launch. Nothing to install, nothing to update, no account to create. Many firmwares even offer a sleep mode that resumes the game exactly where it left off.

Android consoles, on the other hand, are smartphones without a SIM card. They have a desktop, apps, a store, notifications, updates, and you have to choose and then configure an emulator for each emulated system. That is excellent for a curious adult. It is a constant source of friction for an eight-year-old, and a big job for the parent who has to set everything up. We go into these differences in our Android or Linux comparison.

There is one exception: the 13- or 14-year-old who already has a phone and is after PSP games. There, an Android console makes sense. Below that age, Linux wins every time.

No store, no account, no ads

This is the argument parents discover last, and it often wins them over. On a Linux retro console, as on a licensed mini console, there is nothing to buy. No app store, no in-app purchases, no loot boxes, no virtual currency, no ads, no messages from strangers. The content of the device is the manufacturer's, or whatever you put on the microSD card, and it doesn't change on its own.

On connectivity, let's be precise. Most Linux consoles do have a WiFi module: it is used to transfer files from a computer, not to browse the web. There is no browser, no messaging, no social network, and it can be turned off in the settings, which extends battery life. The Anbernic RG28XX goes further: no WiFi, no Bluetooth. It is the most thoroughly offline machine in the catalogue.

However, don't expect parental controls in the sense Nintendo or Apple mean it. To our knowledge, none of the common firmwares for these consoles offers a play-time timer, an access code or an age filter; this software evolves quickly, so check the version. The control lies elsewhere: it is editorial, because you decide what goes on the card, and it is physical, because the console can be put away in a drawer. For many families, that is easier to stick to than an app dashboard.

The Linux consoles we recommend

The battery life figures below are those announced by the manufacturers. They are for comparing the machines with each other, not a promise of duration.

For ages 5 to 8, we point towards the RG28XX or the RG35XX SP: small, light, hard to break, and one of the two closes. For ages 8 to 12, the Miyoo Mini Plus and the RG35XX Pro offer a grip closer to a controller. If the child struggles to read small text, the RG 40XXV and its 4-inch screen is the comfortable choice. The TrimUI Brick is aimed more at a preteen who cares about image quality and accepts shorter battery life. These four models are priced between around €100 and €130; the current price is shown on each product page. The specifications can be compared line by line in our comparison tool.

What else to plan for

Three accessories genuinely make life easier with an emulation console, and none of them is a gimmick.

• A hard case. It is the best-value purchase of the lot. It protects the screen from keys and pencils at the bottom of the school bag, and it gives the child a dedicated place to keep it. Our models are in the cases and pouches collection.
• A quality microSD card. It is the part that fails first on these machines, and a low-end card causes freezes that look like a console fault. A branded card of 128 or 256 GB is more than enough for a child's library: see our guide to choosing a microSD card and the microSD cards collection.
• A second USB-C cable. One for home, one for the bag. All these consoles charge from an ordinary phone charger.

Games: what you can legally put on it

This is the question parents ask least and that causes the most problems. An emulation console is a playback device; it is supplied without games, in compliance with the law, and downloading a ROM of a commercial game is counterfeiting, even if you own the original cartridge in a drawer. We are retailers, not lawyers, and this page is not legal advice: the sources we consider safe are listed on our where to play legally page.

For a child, one source is particularly well suited: homebrew. These are new games, written today by independent creators for old systems, and distributed by their authors, free or for a few euros, on sales platforms such as itch.io. The Game Boy scene has been very active since the arrival of the GB Studio tool, and the output is mostly small platformers, puzzles and short adventures. That is the format that suits a child: ten-minute sessions, little text, no violence. And it's a healthy habit: you buy, the author gets paid, you copy the file to the card.

A second option if you have kept your cartridges: copy them yourself with a USB reader. The legal framework is specific and we explain it in our cartridge copying guide.

Age and screen time, in a nutshell

We are not here to tell you how to raise your child. Just one reference point: the 3-6-9-12 guidelines of psychiatrist Serge Tisseron, the most widely circulated in France. No screens before three, no personal digital device before six, no supervised internet before nine, no unsupervised internet before twelve. A console with no browser or store raises fewer questions than a connected tablet, but it is still a screen.

The experience of the families who write to us converges on one point: these machines cause fewer conflicts than mobile games, because a 16-bit game session has an end. No daily event not to miss, no login streak to keep, no online friend waiting. You switch off without losing anything. This difference doesn't come from the console, but from the way these games were designed.

If you are still torn between two models, write to us with the child's age and intended use. Otherwise, the machines mentioned here are in our Linux retro consoles and licensed handheld consoles collections.