KittenBot Meowbit Card-Sized Retro Game Computer Codable Console for Microsoft Makecode Arcade & Python Video Game Compatible Micro:bit Expansion Board for Robot Building with Battery

Super fun educational toy. Works great and easily with makecode arcade. My 8yo son loves it and is self-motivated to explore programming, with the meow bit as a sweetener that lets him see and play his games on “real” hardware.

After leading a programming camp for kids that utilized the Raspberry Pi, the most common request was the ability to code games. After looking at what is out there to get kids into coding, MakeCode Arcade came up as a viable platform. Making a game, just go to https://arcade.makecode.com/ and start coding or look for an example. It's a spectacular tool.Where the Meowbit comes in is it enables learners to download the created games onto a handheld device. This was easily done on my laptop using usb. No drivers to install. Sending the code to the Meobit worked directly from the web browser. When school come back in session, my 8-year-old son will be able to take this to school and show the other kids his creation.As a bonus, the pins on the bottom of the Meowbit can be connected to servos and sensors using its micro:bit compatibility. The purchase also came with a battery.Sometimes, it comes down to lighting the spark in a kid to get them going. This handheld does that in a simple way. It is one of the best learn-to-code tools available today.

It is a neat little device but smaller than some of the other options out there. We are using this for an intro to coding climb with students in grades 4-6. When given the option, the kids opt for the Elecfreaks version and settle for this one as second best.Also, the rubber case is weird and the cable from the battery to the device never quite fits right.

i used this to great effect for teaching computer science at middle school level

The instructions are almost non existent due to them being in a different language from English and a search of the internet just brings up (mostly) promotional videos.If you’re new to this sort of thing you’re in for a steep learning curve. This isn’t plug and play but with a few drinks I got my son’s (aged 6) game he created into it.I will say it looks the part and does stand out but I think this dad will have to drown a few more drinks every time his son wants to learn something new on this or learn another language (I already know 3 English, Spanish and Korean).A raspberry Pi is more expensive but easier to use and has a lot more forums to learn from. I just wanted my son to be happy and show what he’d learned and made.Don’t look or expect support because it won’t be there, what you can learn and do yourself is what you’ll get.

This is a great little variation on the microbit. You can easily create your own games or creatively vary existing templates for games and upload them to the device (only one game can be onboard at a time). My 9 year old hacked on it and played with it for the entire first weekend we had it. I would highly recommend this for kids and adults. The only downside I can see is that it can't (easily) be used as a normal microbit controller - there's no radio transmitter - so it really is just for building and playing handheld games.

My teenager was thrilled to get this Xmas day, however 3 hours later we were purchasing a soldering iron to fix it. If you look at the diagram, there are two buttons (RESET and DFU Button Mode) that are teetering on the edge of the card, held in place by 4 tiny dots of solder. These broke off almost immediately. We did successfully solder them back in place several times, but this is really not a good structural hold for them. Hopefully the thing will work for a while when he uses it in his school's tech class, but I maintain low expectations.

My kid keep asked buy game console but I didn't have plan to buy at all :).My kid got some coding classes and made game her self so I bought this one.It didn't have good manual so I had hard time first but easy like USB drive.Kid love it and I'm happy to she in love coding class now.