Play Simple 2960 Vol. 1 - The Table Game Collection (J)(Mugs) Online

Game Overview

Simple 2960 Vol. 1 is one of those GBA carts I picked up on a whim, thinking it’d just be a forgettable minigame compilation. But there’s something weirdly satisfying about booting it up—the menu’s all pixel-perfect, with that slightly crunchy early 2000s charm. You get a handful of classic tabletop games (think chess, shogi, maybe hanafuda?), though I can’t read Japanese well enough to confirm all of them.

What surprised me was how tactile it feels—the sound of virtual cards being dealt has this ASMR-like crispness, and moving pieces around with the D-pad just clicks. It’s not flashy, but there’s a quiet pleasure in playing a quick round of something while waiting for the bus. The kind of game you forget about for months, then rediscover and sink another hour into.

If you’ve got a soft spot for GBA oddities or need offline time-killers that don’t demand much brainpower, this one’s worth the shelf space. Just don’t expect fireworks.