Some products provided for the purpose of review (emoji and Atari 2600).
There is something genuinely special about the charm of retro hardware, and the My Play Watch lineup taps directly into that pure wave of nostalgia. I’m a very connected tech guy, so the fact that these watches do not connect to your phone and pull in notifications and such is actually very cool. And I’m sure it kept keep prices down. Built around a “Selective Tech” philosophy, these are entirely non-connected wearables. There is no Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or an app store to upsell you. These watches display time, track steps and heart rate, and allow you to play games. That’s it, and they rock!
When it comes to the actual gaming, expect a bit of a learning curve. Navigating a classic 8-bit layout by spinning a digital crown on a compact watch display can feel a little tight and difficult at first. However, once muscle memory kicks in and you get used to the unique touch and crown dynamics, it transforms into an incredibly fun, turn your wrist and play experience perfect for quick sessions throughout the day.
Colors and Industrial Design
Each watch acts as a physical tribute to its specific license, utilizing a robust hardware build that feels premium on the wrist.
- Tetris: Pops with a bright, eye-catching white chassis and dark band with pieces that mirrors the shapes and style of classic Tetris branding. It features a stainless-steel crown, which sports a textured, stepped edge for a retro grip and features the iconic “T” tetromino piece etched directly onto its face. It’s hard to see, but once you do see it, you’ll love it. I find Tetris to be the easiest of all the watch games to play. More on that later.
- Atari 2600: A gorgeous piece of industrial design that directly honors the legendary late-70s console. The dark metal casing is highlighted by subtle wood-grain on the rubber band, reminiscent of the original console’s front panel. It’s capped off with a striking red accent crown and a tactile paddle button. Of the four watches, this is the only one with a second button.
- emoji: Takes a much cleaner, bright, and modern lifestyle approach. It features a sleek matte casing paired with a signature classic yellow silicone strap. The look is distinctly playful, minimalist, and focuses heavily on self-expression.
- Mega Man: I originally purchased this as a collectible piece of Capcom memorabilia. It features a sleek, high-quality metal case finished with a custom enamel coating that perfectly captures the bold, iconic blue hues of the Blue Bomber.
All four watches feature vibrant, highly responsive TFT color touchscreens protected by a durable front glass, offering excellent outdoor legibility. They all utilize comfortable, interchangeable 22mm silicone bands and an IP67/IP68 water-resistance rating that handles daily splashes with ease.
All four watches also feature sound control so you can make adjustments as needed. To access the volume/mute, however, you must go to the main settings of the watch.
Gaming on the Watches
Tetris
- The Game & Modes: It features 1 game (the classic 1988 arcade version) split into 2 modes: Marathon for the traditional, escalating high-score endless run, and Puzzle for a quick puzzle fix where you must complete the scenario using the tetromino provided.
- How It Plays: You slide falling tetromino blocks left and right across the touchscreen, while tapping handles your rotations.
Atari 2600
- The Games & Modes: It packs 4 games: Pong, Super Breakout, Centipede, and Missile Command.
- How It Plays: The rotating crown acts like a classic analog paddle controller from the 2600.
- For Pong and Super Breakout, spinning the crown to move your paddle is incredibly responsive and easily the best way to play on the device.
- Missile Command shifts completely to the touchscreen, allowing you to simply tap the screen exactly where you want to fire your anti-missile batteries, making it the most accessible of the bunch.
- Centipede is the hardest to master; dragging the trackball character around a 2.02-inch display while avoiding fleas and spiders takes a lot of getting used to.
emoji
- The Games & Modes: It includes 2 custom touch-based games: emoji MERGE! and ASK emoji.
- How It Plays: This watch skips physical crown gameplay entirely and relies 100% on fast touchscreen swipes.
- emoji MERGE! plays like a fast-paced action-puzzle matching game where you swipe matching icons together to build combos before the screen fills up. It’s responsive, bright, and the easiest to pick up and play without a learning curve.
- ASK emoji functions less like a twitch-reflex game and more like a digital Magic 8-Ball, giving you animated, randomized emoji predictions based on touch inputs.
Mega Man
- The Game & Modes: Features a built-in game built entirely from the authentic 8-bit sprites and chiptunes of Mega Man 2, divided into 2 gameplay modes: Classic (where you select from the original 8 Robot Master stages, beat the bosses to use their weapons and progress to Dr. Wily’s Castle) and Arcade (a score-attack endless runner).
- How It Plays: To make a precision NES platformer work on a smartwatch, the gameplay has been re-engineered into an auto-runner. Mega Man automatically dashes forward through the level, completely freeing you up to focus on timing and combat. A rapid tap on the screen fires your Mega Buster, a short tap triggers a small hop, and a tap-and-hold controls your jump height to clear pits. It transforms a complex retro platformer into a snappy, one-touch rhythmic action game that fits perfectly on a wrist.
Each watch also comes with an additional strap.
Menu System and User Interface
Operating on the proprietary, lightweight MyPlayWatch OS, the menu system across all four devices is built entirely around snappiness and immediate accessibility. Because there is no phone syncing or complex app ecosystem to manage, navigating the UI is entirely refreshing. Although at times, I feel like the touchscreen does not detect my swipes as I intend.
Waking up the devices brings you to the customizable main clock face. To swap your style, swiping up or down on the panel lets you cycle through the library of pre-loaded static, animated and interactive faces. These types vary by watch. Mega Man, for example, has interactive watch faces. Meaning you can swipe left or right to change the suit Mega Man is wearing. Clicking the physical side crown opens up a streamlined, grid-based carousel menu. From here, you can seamlessly jump between native apps like the step counter, heart rate monitor, timers, and the dedicated gaming menu. The interface avoids nested settings or bloated sub-menus; everything is kept a mere tap or swipe away. The OS boots up instantly, operates lag-free, and handles system navigation with clean, crisp, pixel-perfect retro transitions.
Value and Market Opinion
At their standard retail price of $80 each, the My Play Watches offer a decent value proposition. For the price of a basic, generic fitness tracker, you’re getting an officially licensed, beautifully constructed piece of wearable nostalgia that functions as a fantastic conversation starter.
It is also worth noting that three of these watches were recently just $40 on Amazon during the Prime Day sale event. If you manage to catch them at that 50% off sweet spot, they become an absolute steal and an easy recommendation for any retro gaming enthusiast, tech collector, or anyone looking to enjoy a bit of distraction-free timekeeping. They also make a great gift!