Retro Games Coding Advent Calendar
Game your way through the holiday countdown with an inventive calendar that tasks techies with building a new electronic challenge every day.
Previous Price $30.00
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Ages
Recommended for 14+
Made from
paper, resistors, pet plastic, metal wire, led lights
Measurements
15.4" L x 8.8" W x 1" D
Notes
Requires 3 x AA 1.5 V batteries (not included).
Item ID
59177
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2.11
2.11 stars out of 5
based on 18 reviews
17%
of respondents would
recommend this to a friend
recommend this to a friend
3 users rating this 5 stars
0 users rating this 4 stars
1 users rating this 3 stars
6 users rating this 2 stars
8 users rating this 1 star
- 1 star out of 5
- Amanda
- South Carolina
Quit working
Quit working but the third day of the build
Response from merchant
Thank you for sharing your feedback. I’m sorry to hear that the Retro Games Coding Advent Calendar stopped working on the third day of the build. That’s definitely frustrating and not the experience we want for our customers. We found we had issues with a small selection of these in our inventory, and our team has taken steps to correct that. We want to make this right; we’ve reached out directly to offer assistance
- 1 star out of 5
- Gift giver
- Undisclosed
Could not even get started
Even the first day makes no sense. They show an inscrutable diagram and their entire instructions are literally "assemble the circuit exactly as shown in this diagram". The diagram shows two different pictures that don't match. One of them has blue lines that are impossible to interpret as there is nothing blue in the kit for day one. There is no legend or explanation what the blue lines mean. It says to cut the wire, but not how long. Literally impossible for me to do. Perhaps someone with strong experience in electronics could interpret these diagrams, but I can't.
Response from merchant
Thank you for your review. We found we had issues with a small selection of these in our inventory, We're taking the necessary steps to get this corrected with our team. We want to make this right; we’ve reached out directly to offer assistance.
- 1 star out of 5
- LynJ57
- Mooresville, NC
Faulty product
I purchased this for my 13 year old son's advent calendar and it stopped working on Day 6. My husband and son have tried everything they can think of to repair it, even spending one evening taking the entire thing apart and restarting with Day 1 and it still doesn't work. I do not recommend.
Response from merchant
We’re very sorry to hear about this experience—especially since this was meant to be a fun and exciting advent project for your son. We can only imagine how frustrating it must have been to have it stop working so early, even after all the time and effort your husband and son put into troubleshooting and rebuilding it. We’ve discovered that a small number of these kits had connection and wiring issues, and we’re already taking steps to resolve this. To make things right, we’re reaching out directly to offer further assistance and help get this resolved for you as quickly as possible. Thank you for sharing your feedback. We truly regret the disappointment this caused and appreciate you bringing it to our attention.
- 2 stars out of 5
- JSP
- Connelly Springs, NC
Was hoping for a really cool project but…
This could have been a really cool project for my electrical engineering son to have fun with over his winter break from college, if only the microcontroller worked. He said it's really the "brain" of the entire thing so without it, there's really nothing you can do. If it did work, he said it would've been a pretty cool advent calendar.
Response from merchant
We’re truly sorry to hear about this experience, especially when this was meant to be a fun and engaging project for your son over his winter break. You’re absolutely right that the microcontroller is the “brain” of the kit, and without it functioning properly, the experience falls far short of what we intended. We’ve discovered that a small number of these kits were affected by connection and wiring issues, and our team has already taken steps to address and resolve this. To make things right, we’re reaching out directly to you to offer further assistance and ensure you receive the support you deserve. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback—we truly appreciate it, and we hope to have the opportunity to turn this around for you.
- 2 stars out of 5
- KK
- Boulder, CO
This is not a great system.
Item was much cheaper than expected and did not work as per the instructions.
Response from merchant
Thank you for sharing your feedback. I’m sorry to hear that the Retro Games Coding Advent Calendar did not meet your expectations and did not work as described in the instructions. We found that a small selection of these kits had issues, and our team has taken steps to correct that. We’d like to make this right and are reaching out directly to offer assistance.
- 2 stars out of 5
- No Lights, No Fun
- Undisclosed
Faulty Parts?
Bought this as the first advent calendar for my partner, a mechanic by trade. We had fun putting it fogether and got going on the first few days withouth issue. However, the parts stopped responding at day 4, no matter the troubleshooting.
Response from merchant
We appreciate your feedback. We discovered that a limited number of these kits had some component issues, and our team has already addressed the problem. We're committed to making things right and are reaching out personally to offer assistance.
- 1 star out of 5
- Shayla
- Philadelphia
Faulty Day 2 Components
Cannot recommend this to anyone. I gave this as a gift to my husband, who has some background in electronics, and could not get the Day 2 part of the project to work. He believes it's likely do to a faulty micro controller. I requested a replacement, which to Uncommon Goods's credit, was shipped promptly. But even with the replacement components, he still could not get it to work.
Response from merchant
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback. We're truly sorry to hear about the difficulties you and your husband experienced with the kit, even more having background in electronics. We understand how frustrating it must have been, especially after the effort of giving it as a gift. Thank you for your patience in allowing us to send a replacement, but we’re sorry that even with that, the project still didn’t work out. We’ve discovered that a small number of these kits had some connection and wiring issues, and we are already taking steps to resolve this. To make things right, we’re reaching out directly to offer further assistance.
- 1 star out of 5
- MHC
- Boston, MA
This is terrible - do not buy
It was incredibly disappointing and killed what we hoped would be a fun addition to our advent season. The directions were unclear. After spending too much time with a lot of frustration, it simply did not work.
Response from merchant
Thank you for sharing your feedback. I am sorry to hear that the Retro Games Coding Advent Calendar did not work as expected and that the unclear instructions caused so much frustration. We found that a small selection of these kits had issues with components, and our team has taken steps to correct that. We would like to make this right and are reaching out directly to assist.
- 2 stars out of 5
- TM
- Philly, PA
Would not buy again.
I received this as a gift, and was very excited to try it. Day two, I double and triple checked the setup and it was a no go. Even pulled out a multi meter and checked it out. The IC controller, must be dead, because everything else is good. No IC means that I can't do any of the other games.
Response from merchant
Thank you for sharing your feedback. I am sorry to hear that your Retro Games Coding Advent Calendar stopped working on day two. We found that a small selection of these kits had issues with certain components, and our team has taken steps to correct that. We would like to make this right and are reaching out directly to assist.
- 1 star out of 5
- Emma
- Colorado
Does not work
Two 30-something relatively handy adults could not get the system to work on day 1 or 2. Either the components or the troubleshooting instructions are inadequate. Very disappointed. As a side note, even if it functioned I was hoping that there would be explanations for how the connections work or what the inside of the breadboard looks like/does. Not as good of an educational toy as it seemed like it might be.
Response from merchant
Thank you for sharing your feedback. I am sorry to hear that the first two days of the Retro Games Coding Advent Calendar did not work as expected. We found that a small selection of these kits had issues with components and connections, and our team has taken steps to correct that. We appreciate your note about the educational content as well and will share this with our team for review. We are reaching out directly to offer assistance.
customer photos
photos from reviews
- CW
- Washington
Can you perform any of the games once you have completed the coding?
Verified reply from Iriscelis
Yes, all of the games can be played once it's built.
