Who doesn’t dream of having their own retro gaming arcade machine, complete with classic joysticks and buttons? While fitting a full-sized arcade would be a challenge, I thought, why not build a bartop arcade instead? There’s just one big issue: I have no professional experience working with wood. But where there's a will, theres a way, and that only means one thing: it's time to consult with the holy grail of search engines: Google.

After searching Google like a madman, I discovered that ThinkGeek and ION Audio used to sell these awesome little iCade machines for iPad 1 and 2, and there was already a whole community of people using them to build mini retro bartop arcade machines with a Raspberry Pi. This was all great news, but I had two problems.

Problem 01: How do I get one of these Icade Machines when theyve been discontinued for years already?

Problem 02: What is a Raspberry Pi and how do I get one?

I really lucked out when I found someone on OfferUp selling his old iCade for just $15—what a steal! Next problem: how do I get a Raspberry Pi with the current chip shortage caused by the pandemic?!

Using a Raspberry Pi 3A+ (the only SBC I could find due to the pandemic shortage) and RetroPie, along with some janky woodwork, I transformed that old iCade into a fully functioning mini bartop arcade machine.