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A $3 Microcontroller With a Screen? I Had to Try This

15.8K views
Jan 11, 2026
10:03

In this video, I’m testing one of the cheapest ESP32 boards you can buy — an ESP32-C3 with a built-in 72×40 pixel OLED display, which I found on AliExpress for just $3. The ESP32-C3 is a single-core microcontroller running up to 160 MHz, designed to be low-power and affordable. I had never used the C3 before, so I decided to give myself a challenge: 👉 make a playable game on a 72×40 pixel OLED screen. In this video you’ll see: A quick look at the ESP32-C3 board with OLED What I like (and don’t like) about this board How the tiny display can still be useful A simple game inspired by my old X-Wing vs Death Star project The game is controlled with a potentiometer for movement and a push button for shooting. The goal is simple: shoot the enemy and drain its health bar. If you enjoy small microcontroller projects, ESP32 experiments, or creative uses of tiny displays, feel free to subscribe and check out my other videos. ☕ Support the channel If you found this video useful, please leave a like and a comment — it really helps the channel. If you’d like to support my work: Patreon →https://www.patreon.com/VolosProjects Ko-fi → https://ko-fi.com/volosprojects YouTube Membership → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCit2rVgOvhyuAD-VH5H_IHg/join Or use YouTube’s Thanks feature 📌 Code & examples https://github.com/VolosR/esp32C3Oled #ESP32 #ESP32C3 #Microcontroller #Electronics #DIYElectronics #Arduino #Embedded #Maker #OLED #GameDev #IndieGame #AliExpress #TechProjects #CheapTech #BudgetElectronics #TechUnder5 #DollarTech

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A $3 Microcontroller With a Screen? I Had to Try This | NatokHD