LEGO Game Boy’s Cartridges Are Stumping Old-School Gamers

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The LEGO Game Boy has been incredibly popular, offering a fun build for both LEGO fans and retro gaming enthusiasts at a reasonable price of $59.99. However, some builders are running into a frustrating problem – and it’s not necessarily their fault! The instructions on the box itself are incorrect, leading to confusion during assembly.

In early January 2025, Polygon noticed that many LEGO Game Boy builders were assembling their kits incorrectly. It’s understandable for those unfamiliar with the original Game Boy, but surprisingly, even veteran gamers are making the same mistake. The error involves the top piece of the LEGO cartridge – many are centering it, when it should actually have a small notch in the top-right corner, just like the real Game Boy cartridges. It seems the issue stems from incorrect assembly shown on the product’s box art.

LEGO Game Boy Cartridges Are Being Constructed Improperly

Looking at the image, you can see the Super Mario Land game cartridge on the left is assembled incorrectly – the top piece is centered instead of offset. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening cartridge on the right is built correctly, with a notch on the top-right. This notch was important because it held the game in place when the Game Boy was turned on. When you slid the power switch, a small plastic piece would lock over the cartridge slot, and the notch allowed this to work. Because LEGO put so much detail into accurately recreating these games, your set isn’t quite right if the notch isn’t there.

The Game Boy Lego set is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

— Joel (@b0bsondugnut) January 3, 2026

It’s amusing that so many people are still making the same small mistake with this LEGO set, even months after it came out. There’s even a Reddit thread dedicated to it, with people sharing pictures of their actual Game Boy cartridges alongside the LEGO version. It’s an easy error to make, and honestly, as someone who grew up playing the original Game Boy for hours, I fell for it too! I checked my LEGO set and made the same mistake. I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but it seems like a lot of other people did as well.

Honestly, at the end of the day, how you build your LEGO is up to you! But I recently got the LEGO Game Boy, and while it’s awesome, a lot of us discovered a tricky part with how the cartridge is built. Some figured it out during the build, and I was one of those who finished it, put it on display, and moved on. But it really highlights how cool it is that LEGO is making these retro gaming sets – clearly, fans like me are loving them, and that’s what matters most!

Did you also run into this issue? Share your experience in the comments below and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/this-new-lego-set-is-a-treat-for-gamers/embed/#

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2026-01-06 00:46