WTF?! When Nintendo and The Lego Group announced plans to release a Game Boy replica Lego set in late July, Australian retro gaming modder Natalie the Nerd jokingly promised to build a working circuit board for the kit. On the day of its release, she unveiled a functional prototype and plans to release the project for interested modders and Lego enthusiasts.

Nintendo and The Lego Group never intended for the recently released Lego Game Boy kit to play real Game Boy games, but a self-taught modder made this feat possible – and less than 24 hours after the Lego set's release. Users will soon be able to acquire the customized printed circuit board she built to fit into the kit, or at least a schematic of it.

Unlike many retro clone systems, the working Lego Game Boy does not use software emulation, nor does it utilize FPGA-based hardware emulation – as used by the Analogue Pocket and Game Bub. Instead, Natalie the Nerd assembled a unique configuration of authentic Game Boy components that function identically to an official unit. Impressively, the modifications retain all 421 Lego pieces.

When the modder joked that she could build a PCB for the Lego Game Boy in late July, she wasn't certain whether it was possible. However, discovering that the kit has pressable buttons, a working volume slider, and openings for the screen and cartridges gave her hope.

Since Natalie started work on the prototype before the Lego set's release, she used the official measurements from the store page to guesstimate the required dimensions for the PCB to fit into the screen opening. The kit is not a 1:1 replica of the original Game Boy, so she squeezed together components from the Game Boy Pocket, which are also more readily available.

A brief clip on Natalie's blog shows the completed prototype booting up Tetris. She also shared photos of the system running Pokémon Red. Pricing and release date details for the modding kit remain unclear.

Despite being self-taught, Modded Game Boy Club founder Natalie the Nerd has become an expert in Nintendo's iconic handheld. Her website contains a wiki with schematics for every official model, as well as a shop that sells Game Boy hardware kits. In August, she demonstrated her skills by building a unique see-through Game Boy PCB, making the device completely transparent.