Click below to enter Daves Game Room
All logo's remain the copyright, trademark, and property of the respective companies, and are used for illustration purposes only.
HANDHELD ELECTRONIC GAME MUSEUM
My personal collection
This section is dedicated to handheld electronic games, which were originally very popular in the late 70's and early 80's.It was at this time, when arcade videogames were most popular and of course everyone wanted a way to be able to play these at home, but with the then home computers and TV games consoles being so expensive, and everyone bored of the 'pong' style TV games, people needed an alternative.Handheld electonic games were the solution, compact, no need to connect to a TV (important since most of us only had one TV back then), and more importantly affordable.Although the games were not as detailed as the computer and console games, they became very popular, especially when popular arcade games were licenced and released as handhelds, and also because many were styled to look a little more like small arcade games.However each game was a dedicated unit, capable of playing just one game, although sometimes with variations (The exception being MB's Microvision, the world's 1st programmable handheld) mainly because the graphics were etched onto the display unit, and so it wasn't until the release of the Gameboy, that handhelds were able to play different games, simply by changing a cartridge.Handheld games originally started out using mechanical systems, usually involving clockwork, or electric motors, but when electronics becoming cheaper and more versatile, games then started to use solid state, and eventually 4bit microprocessors.
It's the latter 2, which is my interest, as these were the closet many of us ever got to owning a videogame cabinet in those days.So in this section, you'll find games which are either in, or have been, in my personal collection.I didn't actually have many of these as a child, but that and the fact that I used to love the arcades, is what perhaps has fuelled my enthusiasm for retro games in general.I started collecting these around 14 years ago, when I rediscovered some of the games I'd owned as a child in my loft.Unfortunately with space and money for new games sometimes being an issue, some have unfortunately been sold and are no longer in my collection.Here I hope to eventually display my entire collection, which currently stands at around 70 games, but since this will take sometime, and it's always changing, this section is very much 'under construction' as they say, so please visit again soon, and hopefully you'll always find something new.
I've decided to split my collection, by display type, and then manufacturer, so before you start browsing, it'll probably help, if I just first explain what the different types of display used are.This is just a basic overview of what and how each display was used, however for a technical explanation of how each type actually works, I'd suggest using Wikipedia (since I'm only familiar with LCD technology), which covers LCD, LED, and VFD displays very well.
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display - Originally used on early calculators and watches, these eventually found their way onto handheld games, as they were cheap to produce, needed very little power, and could generate quite complex displays.By the mid 80's all games were LCD.Dot matrix LCD displays were also used, which instead of using glass etched with graphics, used dots, or pixels as you'd refer to them now, this mean't that graphics could be generated by a pattern of these pixels, in the same way that everything is being generated on the LCD monitor you are probably looking at now, and indeed this is where LCD technology is now most popular, for creating TV monitors, so at last the dream of a 'hang on the wall TV', is a reality.
LED - Light Emitting Diode - The first digital watches and calculators used this type of display, before it was used for the first electronic games.The earlier ones did not have very bright displays, and so were quite difficult to play, except in the dark!.The graphics, were well, non existent, and basically the LED illuminated an etched shape on the screen, in the same way earlier games had used regular light bulbs.This type of display didn't survive long in handheld games, but did find many other uses, especially more recently, as they have very low power consumption, and reliability, so much so that even Christmas lights are starting to convert to LED's
Electromechanical - These were used on the earliest games, and consisted of using clockwork, or electric motors and gears to create moving displays, such as a moving roadway.This system was also used on the early arcade games, before videogames came along.Tomy managed to create some amazing games with this system, including the famous Pocketeers 'pocket money' range, and even recently on their ride-on motorbike arcade game for children.They also created a whole range of home robots in the 80's, all of which were extremely advanced for their time, and yet consisted usually of just one or two motors, using a very complex system of cams and gears.It may be of no surprise to those reading this that I also collect those, as well as some early tin robots, with the price being the main prohibitive factor
VFD - Vacuum Fluorescent Display - These were initially used on early calculators, as they were much brighter than the earlier LED types displays, and so eventually they were used in tabletop games.Due to the high manufacturing cost at the time, and high battery consumption these type of displays were often quite small, and usually mangnified via fresnal screen.The early displays also copied an idea from the early monochrome arcade videogames, in using coloured film over sections of the display to create a colour game.The way the screen created animation was very similar to LCD, in that the display was made up of segments, each of which could be individually illuminated.To see a VFD in action, just look at the front of your DVD player or VCR, almost all of these use a VFD display, mainly because they are easier to see, cheap to manufacture (now), and are not affected so much by temperature.
OK, select a category to browse..
LCD Games - Choose manufacturer from list below, then click on thumbnail image to enlarge
Tandy (Radio Shack/Intertan)
Hamburger Shop
Las Vegas
Grandstand (sourced and renamed many of their games from Tomy / Epoch in Japan)
Mini Munchman
This another of the few games I actually had as a child, although the one I have now is not my original.The one on the far right would appear to be an earlier version, called Pocket Pac Man, which I would assume they renamed due to the implications of using the Pac Man name, without officially being licenced, or maybe it was the later version, and was licence, I'm not sure.If you look closely you'll see that the maze layout overlay is identical, but used rotated.
Thunderbirds: Blast Into Outer Space
Not a great game, but worth having just for the Thunderbirds tie-in.
This is one very collectable game, or should I say console, because actually, it was the worlds first handheld LCD games console, in otherwords, the game could be changed by plugging in a new cartridge, sound familiar? yes, you probably thought Nintendo's B&W Gameboy was the first didn't you?.Actually you didn't change a cartridge as such with this game, you replaced the entire front of the case, in much the same way as a mobile phone fascia.The new front would have simple graphics printed onto the clear screen covering the LCD display, in this case for the Pinball game.The display itself, was very advanced, especially for the 70's, and was a low resolution dot matrix LCD display, which meant that different graphics could be made using a number of small blocks or pixels, just like the Gameboy years later.Also notice the control dial at the bottom, which was an analogue dial, which like the Pong TV games, allowed more precise movement.
Mario's Cement Factory (Game & Watch, Widescreen)
Donkey Kong (Game & Watch, Multiscreen)
Donkey Kong Jr (Game & Watch, Widescreen)
Mario's Cement Factory (Tabletop)
Although a tabletop, this still uses an LCD screen, it is illuminated via an opaque panel on the top, which works as a natural light source, in the same way that the Tomytronic 3D games work.
Super Mario Bros (Watch & Game)
Sea Battle
This was released under Tandy's GO series of electronic games, with this one being a rather good version of battleships, which I'm sure we've all played at some point, even if only on paper.What was quite good, is that the wall between the players is formed by the lids which protect the screens and controls, so it all folds away very nicely.
3D Stereo Skyfighters
This was part of an update to the original Tomytronic 3D games, this time not only offering the 3D effect, but also stereo sound, which although very limited, did add somewhat to the game, more so because of the way in which you view the game, and so the speakers are naturally close to each ear, wheras a tabletop with stereo sound would make very little difference to be honest, as the speakers are too close together.
Thundering Turbo's
This was probably the most popular of Tomy's 3D game series, and most people would be suprised to see it in this section, as they are sure it's VFD game, however it's a very clever LCD display, in which the the LCD sections, simply reveal parts of the background picture.It appears nice and bright looking through it, because it was one of the first back-lit LCD displays, but in this case by natural light, let in through the opaque panel you see on the top, so not a game you can play in poor light.The 3D effect actually works quite well, in a primative sort of way, which I'm pleased to have been able to capture by placing the camera, up close against the eye cup, and shining a torch through the panel, as you can imagine this was not easy to do, but was important, because otherwise you'd have no idea of how the display's on these Tomytronic 3D games worked.
VFD Games - Choose manufacturer from list below, then click on thumbnail image to enlarge
Bandai
CGL (sourced many of their games from Gakken / Konami)
Gakken
Grandstand (sourced and renamed many of their games from Epoch & Tomy in Japan)
Milton Bradley
Tandy (sourced and renamed games from many companies)
Basketball
Like all Bambino games, you have to give them 10 / 10 for case design, and this is no exception, being very futuristic.It plays a simple Basketball game, with a fairly small single green colour VFD display, and is quite difficult due to the use of buttons, but then in this case, it's not about the game.This particular game is probably one of the best condition games within my collection, almost mint, which is remarkable when you consider it's vintage!
Amidar
A very good licenced version of the Konami arcade game, again with all the main elements of the game in place.The case is also quite unique, with the fresnal screen display not only magnifying the small but colourful VFD, but folding down when not in use, maybe that's why this games is in such good condition, with very little scratching.Another rare, but useful feature is the volume switch, which gives the ability to switch between off, low or high, something parents must have been pleased about at the time.
Frogger
Another Konami licence, and again a very good version, funny enough with the display looking identical to the Coleco mini arcade version, the only real difference is that on this one, the screen appears larger, because of it's use of a fresnal screen.
Puck Monster
A very good version of Pac Man, with a large maze, power pills etc.It gets more difficult, with additional ghosts appearing on later levels.It's funny it should be called Puck Monster, not Pac Monster, as Pac Man, was originally called Puck Man, and was only changed, because they feared the obvious vandalism, replacing the P with a F.So, one of the better Pac Man style games, and of course there are quite a lot, since all the electronic game manufacturers wanted to cash in on the success of the coin op version.
The Mini Arcade series is by far, one of the most collectable of all the handheld games, and therefore also one of the most expensive to buy, and for a very good reason, they look so good.Each was an officially licenced arcade game, and not just any games, these were the biggest arcade games around at that time, and because of this, each of these was like a minature version of the real game, with all the same artwork, so imagine how great it would have felt to have got one of these for Christmas? it was about as close to getting the real thing, as you get, as far as handheld games were concerned.
Frogger - Mini Arcade Series - 1981
A very good version of Konami's Frogger, with all of the main elements present, however it appears to be almost identical, to the CGL version, and so they must share the same VFD unit, bear this in mind if looking to obtain one for playing, as the CGL version, will be vastly cheaper.Question is, who got it from who?
Galaxian - Mini Arcade Series - 1981
This is one of my favourite arcade games, and to be honest Coleco have done an outstanding job, in creating a game which looks and plays very much like the arcade version, and so for that reason, I'd say this is the best of the series, but then I haven't been able to get a Donkey Kong Coleco yet.This game also plays an alternative game, which is actually a pretty good version of Space Invaders
Pac Man - Mini Arcade Series - 1981
Hmm, no doubt one of the biggest selling arcade games of all time, and this Coleco version, was probably the most popular of the series simply for that reason, because the game itself, although good, could have been much better, and so from a gameplay point of view, there are better versions of this game around, but as a collector, that's not such an issue.Because it is the most popular, you should be able to buy one fairly easy, however it'll cost you for a good one.
Defender (licenced version)
There are 2 versions of this, both by Entex, this being the official one, and as you can see they've managed to cram all of the controls from the arcade version into this handheld, although this has the addition of a speed control, and volume mute switch.This is a difficult game to produce as a handheld, but whilst the VFD doesn't resemble the arcade version that well visually, the gameplay is very good, although like the original, quite hard to play well.
Pac Man 2
The maze on this version is probably closer to the real thing than any of the others, and so is actually a lot of fun to play, especially being a rather unique 'cocktail' version for 2 players.
Astro Wars
Astro Wars, what can I say, probably the most popular of all the handheld games, and therefore quite obtainable.The game itself is great, it's a cross between Moon Cresta and Galaxians, played over multiple stages, and with colourful graphics.Despite the limitations of a VFD, it really does manage to offer something different with each stage, especially the docking sequence, highly recommended.
Firefox
This was perhaps one of the more technically advanced of all these games, having better sound/music effects, which were in stereo, and the 3d effect of the screen display, was done very well, albeit not very colourful.The gameplay is based very much around the Star Wars film, but of course there was also a film with the same Firefox name as this, released I think a year after this game, which starred Clint Eastwood.
Invaders From Space
This was a very popular game in it's time, I certainly remember a lot of my friends at school owning one, and of course was based on Space Invaders, and was actually quite difficult, mainly because the screen was only 4 characters wide, so not a lot of room to avoid missiles, but perhaps the most unusual thing about this game, is how loud it is, and would certainly have annoyed most parents at the time I'm sure.
MunchMan
This would have to be the ultimate PacMan game, if only it had used a joystick, instead of buttons.The case is styled like PacMan himself, with the the black screen and control areas, resembling PacMans open mouth, and with a nice bright VFD, it really is a very cool and fun to play game.
Scramble
He we have Grandstands Scramble, which was licenced from Epoch, but there was also a more basic version made by Tomy, called Alien Attack.Both are based on the Scramble arcade game, but this one is the most authentic, having seperate bomb and fire buttons, and joystick control, just like the arcade game.This game is housed in the deluxe Granstand/Epoch case, similar to the Firefox game, wheras the Tomy licenced games, came in a smaller generic case, with more limited controls, and less detailed VFD, although personally I think Alien Attack is also a great game, which even manages to include the maze level.
Alien Attack
Here is the other version of Scramble I mentioned about, and as you can see the controls are much more basic, simply up and down, and with a single button for bomb/fire, however the screen graphics are actually very well done, with all the segments used to create the various levels from the arcade game.The only problem with this game, and most to be honest is the sound is limited to various low pitched beep noises.
Cosmic Combat
A rather rare game, which as you can see is yet another space invader type game, using a single colour VFD.If you look closely at the screen, you can see all the etched graphics of the VFD, unfortunately it's a very bright and fast moving screen, so it was hard to photo very well, hence a lot of glare.
Tomy Pro Tennis
This is quite a large game, and is actually a very good version of tennis, using a single colour VFD, however it is let down, in the same way as Tomy's much earlier mechanical Blip, in that it's quite hard to play using lots of buttons for player movement.
LED Games - Choose manufacturer from list below, then click on thumbnail image to enlarge
LED based games are those which either use single diodes, or those which use LED's to illuminate through a on a mask sheet with graphic cut outs.
Coleco
Champion Racer
A very rare model indeed, in the same case as the Missile Invader game, it has a mini speed selector, and plays a little like Sega's Monaco Grand Prix, in that it's actually quite hard just getting out of the Pit lane.
Missile Invader
One of the first truly popular electronic games, I remember boxes of these piled high in woolworths for £9.99, in what must have been 1979.Not a bad game actually, although it does have a bug, which with perfect timing allows you to get a perfect score of what I seem to remember being 250.It only has a 2 digit display so to show this, once it gets past 99, it shows something like A5 (like hex code), with the letters representing units, so a confusing, but novel and inexpensive way of generating higher scores.
Space Invader
Well like the Pac Man games, there are an awful lot of versions of Space Invaders, and this one, is in my view one of the best, as the movement is very close to that of the original game, in that the aliens work there way to your base shields, shame they didn't use green LED's, would have looked even better.
Mattel were one of the first companies to produce electronic handheld games, mostly based around American sports, such as hockey and soccer.The very early ones used single diode LED's, and so although the games were different, the screen displays looked much the same, tiny red dots.Some of them had interchangeable overlays, but didn't do much to hide the fact that the display was very primative.
Soccer
Bank Shot
For those budding Steve Davis's, and Alex Higgin's wannabe's, that didn't have the room for a snooker table, there was always this game from Palitoy.The display was up of a matrix of round LED bulbs, enough to give some detail and skill to the game, which actually is pretty good.
Split Second
This was a very unusual looking game, which reminds be of a phone handset, but obviously looked quite space age at the time.It actually plays not one, but a few different games, using it's LED segment, and round bulb display, and as the name suggests, all the games are based around completing in a short time.The example shown, is a simple random maze game, in which you navigate to the home in the shortest time, which to look at is very simple, but bear in mind it was designed for younger children, and children back then were not used to using computers and direction keys.
Electromechanical Games - Choose manufacturer from list below, then click on thumbnail image to enlarge
Since I don't have many of these type of games, I'm not going to bother listing by manufacturer, although I may well do so, if this part of my collection increases, esepcially if I start collection Tomy Pocketeer's!
Castle Electronics - Newport 500
This was actually one of the only electronic games I actually got as a child, and sadly no longer in my collection.I decided to place it here as it is quite unique in the way that it works.It's a racing game, which has a 4 speed shift, an LED counter display, a model car which is controlled via the mini steering wheel, and the cars themselves are images illuminated by standard light bulbs, all 12 of them.This sort of system is very similar to way in which early 70's mechanical arcade driving games worked, although they used either a roadway drum, or projected track in place of the bulbs.
Mego Corp - Fabulous Fred
This was a very rare find, boxed complete with the game boards, and the box of play pieces still sealed.It's a bit like an advanced Simon game, which has more lights, which are used to play other games, music, or in which the lights are used like a sort of colour dice, in conjunction with a regular play board and pieces, the best example of which is shown, roulette, in which the lights, light in sequence and then stop at random, just like an electronic roulette wheel.The case is very well styled, and obviously designed to give the appearnace of a computer of the time, like a CBM PET.