Ever seen those weird little cards with barcodes for the GBA? That’s what the Card e-Reader was all about. You’d slide these special cards through the slot on the cartridge, the scanner would read the barcode, and boom—mini-games, unlockables, even extra levels for stuff like Mario Party or Animal Crossing would pop up.

Honestly, half the fun was just collecting the cards—some came with magazines, others in packs like trading cards. The tech felt kinda magical at the time, even if half the games were simple rhythm taps or memory puzzles. If you’ve still got a stack of these lying around, dusting off the e-Reader is a weirdly nostalgic trip.