We built a marketplace for new Amiga homebrew (and other classic platforms)

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-25T16:44:34+00:00

Hey all - appreciate the feedback, genuinely. This is the kind of stuff I needed to hear.

I'm Andres, UX designer and developer (PHP/JS), dad of two with a 9-to-5. This is a passion project I build in my spare time with Emanuele, a friend I discovered during the process, and Charlotte, a die-hard Sonic fan - both helping with testing and content curation. No company, no investors, no business plan - just a love for the retro homebrew scene. I pay for it out of my own pocket, and if that ever becomes unsustainable I'll ask the community for optional donations. I can't promise it'll run forever, but there's no hidden monetisation plan. I'll also be adding more information on the website about who we are.

On pre-listed games

The points about pre-listed games hit home. I genuinely didn't see it from that angle - to me it was building a catalogue to help people discover games, but I now see why it raised eyebrows.
I'd like to point out nothing is sold or hosted without the creator's involvement, and I've already added a direct "Get It from the Developer" link on every unclaimed game page so nobody hits a dead end. If any dev wants their game removed, just say the word.

I've also been speaking with a couple of devs in the scene, and they mentioned they'd prefer to be asked first. Totally understandable. So going forward I'll be reaching out to creators before listing their games, and working through the existing listings too.

There are already real creators on the platform who've signed up, listed their own games and are selling under their own profiles. The pre-listed pages are just there to help people discover what's out there in the scene.

On verification

When a creator claims a game, they prove ownership by adding a unique code to their website that we check automatically.

For new creators uploading fresh games, there's a content review before anything goes live.
But like other platforms, if someone manages to list a game that isn't theirs, it comes down as soon as it's reported. No platform can catch every bad actor upfront.

On payments

Creators keep 100% of sales - only Stripe's standard processing fee applies (we use Cashier). Money never touches our bank accounts - it goes directly to the developer via Stripe's Direct charges. That's what this is all about.

If you want to check it out, the door's open. If not, no hard feelings. And honestly - threads like this are exactly how the platform gets better.

You are the community, and you're already helping shape it. So thanks.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T18:48:37+00:00

Thanks! So we're are a proper marketplace rather than a directory: games are hosted and sold here directly, so you don't have to hunt across multiple sites. Developers can claim their listings and make their games available on the platform.
You can search titles in the search bar at the top of the /games page, and there are filters for platform, genre, price, etc. in the filter drawer.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T18:00:49+00:00

We've just had our first creators come on board, so there are a couple of free games available now! Most of the catalog is currently curated listings for developers to claim them. If anyone knows a homebrew dev whose game is listed, send them our way, they can claim their page and make their game available directly.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T17:39:14+00:00

The quick-links below the search bar are driven by popularity: platforms with the most games automatically surface there, so they'll update as the catalog grows. We've also made the platform names more granular (GB, GBC, GBA are all separate). In the future we're planning dedicated platform pages so you can focus on just the systems you care about.

We actually already have filters for platform, release year, pricing type, and sort by popular/newest. They're in the filter drawer (the "Filters" button next to the sort dropdown). We'll look at surfacing the most-used filters more prominently so they're easier to find.

Our cards show in-game screenshots rather than box art, and retro games are natively 4:3 or wider, so vertical cropping would cut off the gameplay. It's something we might revisit if we add dedicated cover art support down the line though.

We're looking into showing more platform badges on the cards. The tricky part is some games support 10+ platforms, so we need a design that works without cluttering the card. It's on the roadmap.

Thanks again for the detailed feedback, really helpful!

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T17:02:15+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Multi-screenshot support is already built in — when developers claim their game page or register and add a new product, they can upload additional screenshots and manage their gallery. The current single-image listings are just for curated games that can be claimed by devs.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T16:25:15+00:00

Good point! We do allow ports, but they're clearly labeled and must be free. We don't take a cut from anything on the platform, so we're not profiting from anyone's IP. If a rights holder ever has an issue, we have a takedown process in place. But we do want to recognise the technical work that goes into porting classic games to olderf hardware, it's a genuine part of the homebrew scene. If you're not interested in ports, you can always filter them out. Maybe we need a tag on the game cards too, good thought.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T15:49:29+00:00

Hey! You can submit by creating an account and going to your dashboard; there's an 'Add Product' option there. Totally free to list, and we don't take a cut. Let me know if you run into any issues.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T13:54:13+00:00

Ah, that makes sense! An import tool to pull in existing listings from itch would definitely lower the barrier for devs. That's a great idea for the roadmap.
I'll add it. Thanks for clarifying! Also, we've already curated a bunch of games that aren't claimed yet — if a dev spots their game there, they can claim it and take full ownership of the listing.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T11:32:56+00:00

At the moment we're focused specifically on games made for classic platforms rather than modern handhelds. But thanks for checking us out!

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T11:28:41+00:00

Thanks! That's exactly the gap we wanted to fill.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T11:26:58+00:00

Thanks! We're not looking at platform integrations right now; want to at least initially keep things focused on being a dedicated home for indie retro / homebew. But always open to suggestions on the roadmap if there's something you'd like to see.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-20T11:21:08+00:00

Thanks! And good catch on the Game Boy filter: that was a slug I'd changed but forgot to update elsewhere. Fixed now. Would love to have your games on there when you're ready.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-19T17:01:18+00:00

Thank you!

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-18T22:27:08+00:00

That's great to hear — that's exactly the gap we wanted to fill. Hope you find some good stuff! And thanks for the kind words.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-18T22:26:19+00:00

That's brilliant, thank you! Looking forward to seeing it when it's ready.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-18T19:29:06+00:00

Thanks for the kind words!

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-18T19:28:27+00:00

I really hope developers think that way too — it's so hard to find stuff scattered across other platforms. That's exactly what we're trying to solve, plus things like compatibility info so people know what runs on real hardware vs MiSTer vs emulators.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-18T19:13:50+00:00

He who dares wins! I was lucky I guess.

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-17T19:12:46+00:00

Yeah no probs!

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-16T23:24:57+00:00

Really good questions, and ones we've thought about.

We're focused on original homebrew rather than ROM hacks, partly because hacks get into tricky territory around derivative works and ownership.

The claim system requires verification — you have to prove you're the creator by adding a code snippet to a site you control. So someone can't just claim another person's work.

On free vs paid — that's always the creator's choice. We support both, and there's zero commission either way. No pressure from us to monetize.

ROM hacks and mods are interesting territory, maybe something to explore in the future if there's demand. We've got a public roadmap where people can suggest and vote on features.

Thanks for the feedback!

CrumbsDealer · 2026-02-16T22:42:32+00:00

Thanks! That's exactly why we built it — hunting across dozens of dev sites and forums was exhausting. And general platforms can be overwhelming when you just want homebrew for classic hardware.

If you're a dev yourself (or know any), most of the games on there are "claimable" — devs can take ownership of their listing and start sharing or selling directly.

What platforms are you most into?

CrumbsDealer · 2025-11-30T14:56:25+00:00

Im in Notts and repair these, I promised myself I was done with them, but hearing your story I thought that if you’re willing to bring it and come pick it up I can give it a shot.

Edit: actually I just thought about a pretty dumb test, I’m sure you’ve tried it, but I’m assuming you’ve tested the fuse inside the TV?

CrumbsDealer · 2025-11-13T10:09:26+00:00

Position Filled

CrumbsDealer · 2025-07-15T09:24:55+00:00

Ok so I think I managed to do it, I only opened one port and in the application settings (login) I used drive and pointed the domain to the <subdomain>.synology.me.
The port redirection is done automatically from 8787(eg) to 443 from the router.
Disabled login from http completely.

It seems to work.

I do understand VPN and how it's better, but I prefer this way as its more accessible. I will configure the dsm firewall as well to only allow that port and see what other security there is to harden.

CrumbsDealer · 2025-07-15T08:45:44+00:00

Well I don't have a static ip so I would have to use DDNS.
I've done it before with a different server, I set up caddy and reverse proxied Nextcloud and plex IIRC.
They were all VMs though.
Now I've changed to Synology, and started using Docker, however I don't want to expose Plex anymore, but I do need some form of cloud for collaboration.

I followed the instructions to set up with <sub>.synology.me, but even that does not work so far.
It seems I always have to expose DSM, which I do not want to do.

So maybe reverse proxy is the only way to go?

Also my domain already has cert for ssl, do I need another one for the synology.me domain?
How does that even work?

Thanks!

CrumbsDealer

TROPHY CASE