Are you really worried about using your phone during bathroom breaks? Are you worried that you won't survive three hours of Hamilton at the theater? Scouts say, "Always be prepared." If boredom rears it's ugly head, keep the Asterisk close to hand with bandaids and a pocket knife.
As pick-up-and-play games go, it doesn't get much simpler or more satisfying than the classic falling- block puzzle game, like the one in this case. From the first tetromino falling down the screen, your brain goes into planning mode, scheming an organizational strategy for optimal stacking density and line clearing that will distract and occupy your mind. The simplest of electronic gaming platforms can be used to execute the game.
Kevin Bates was able to shrink an officially licensed version of the game onto the MicroCard platform, but the Asterisk doesn't get it down very well. The itty-bitty handheld is powered by an ATtiny85 microcontroller with a 0.91-inch screen that has enough space to display the game and the current score.
The game is played using four buttons, two for moving the tetromino left and right, one for rotating it, and one to instantly drop it on the stack, all of which are powered by a single CR2032 coin battery. Unlike a lot of electronics available through that site, the Asterisk arrives fully assembled, completely soldered, and ready to play.
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