A free, interactive look back at pocket electronic games from the 1980s is coming to two cities this spring. From February 6 to March 6, St. Petersburg will host the event, and from March 13 to April 9, the Moscow branch of the Paveletskaya Museum will continue the experience. Visitors will see a hands-on exhibition that isn’t about nostalgia alone; it showcases the lineage of portable gaming and how it paved the way for today’s pocket consoles.
The display centers on more than 25 artifacts that illustrate the evolution of miniature game PCs. Expect original Nintendo Game & Watch devices, Soviet-era Electronics handhelds, and several rare items from the same era. The collection provides a tangible sense of how these devices fit into daily life, entertainment, and computing culture during their time.
The first handheld console in this family appeared in 1980, created by the Japanese company Nintendo. It offered two game modes with a third that added a clock display. By 1984, Soviet adaptations began arriving, including titles such as Wait!, Mickey Mouse, and Avtoslalom. Among the notable highlights are rare cartridges like Biathlon and Arithmetic. All items on display are functional and ready to be tried by attendees. (citation: Paveletskaya Museum)
In addition to these early portable machines, visitors can explore the Soviet chess computer Electronics IM-01, accompanied by a real chessboard for live play. The 1990 Electronics Space Adventures IM-27 model appears here in a 3D-glasses presentation, offering a playful glimpse into how game design intersected with emerging 3D visualization. Other later handhelds on view include the Nintendo Game Boy and a Brick Game variant known for variants of Tetris. (citation: Museum catalog)
The exhibition emphasizes the social and technological arc from simple LED displays to more capable portable systems, highlighting hardware, software, and user experience through the decades. It invites guests to reflect on how these devices influenced gaming habits, childhoods, and even early tinkering culture among hobbyists and collectors. (citation: Event organizers)
Earlier programming and design milestones tied to this era are also framed within broader historical context, underscoring how the convergence of microelectronics, mass production, and international exchanges shaped what people carried in their pockets. By presenting a spectrum of devices—from basic clocks-and-games to more sophisticated handhelds—the show offers a compact, insightful narrative about portable gaming’s roots. (citation: Exhibition notes)