Parker Brothers Wildfire Pinball

   In 1979 Parker Brothers released Wildfire, The Electronic Pinball Game. It was created by the same gentleman who created the Merlin, Bob Doyle. Wildfire runs on a whopping 6 AA batteries or optionally on a 9v ac adapter that was not included, but could be ordered through a mail in coupon offer for about 10 dollars.
   Gameplay is pretty standard pinball action. You have four flippers controlled by two buttons on the sides of the game. The button on the lower right of the unit powers up and then launches the ball based on how long you hold it down. The score is kept on a red digital screen at the top of the game. The power switch on the right allows you to choose soft or loud sound effects, but no choice for silence. The game has 3 modes of difficulty which affect the speed of the ball. Up to 4 players can play the game together.

   This game and I go way back. I don't remember how old I was but I used to own it as a child and loved it. I'm guessing I had a later model because I was only two years old in 79, and this game would have obviously been to difficult to play. I recently purchased a used one(pictured) off ebay for a very fair price. I loved this game and used to play it nonstop. I'm not sure what happened to my original, it just sort of disappeared like all my favorite games. The fact that no sound is no option makes me suspect my mom may have made this one disappear in order to maintain her sanity.

Mattel Electronics Baseball

   This is Mattel Electronics Baseball. The game was originally released in 1978. It runs on one 9 volt battery. When playing the game you assume the roll of the hitter. You press the red button for the pitch. When the ball enters the strike zone, you press the bottom right blue button to swing. If you connect, you press and hold the top right blue button to run the bases. The top left blue button is used to increment innings and check the score.
   The game has two modes of play, Pro 1 and Pro 2, you choose your game mode with the switch in the middle of the unit. Pro 2 is the more difficult of the two. On the right hand side of the game there is some kind of port, I'm not sure if it's a headphone jack or a power port for an ac adapter.

   I'm not sure why but this particular model is different than most that can be found online. It's possible that this is an 80's model and not an original 70's model. This specific unit belonged to my wife's father who has passed away. She thinks it was purchased in 1981 or 1982. 

   The major differences are the port on the right hand side, and the red button. Most models I've seen online show the red button on the right hand side of the unit, this one is on the left. I haven't found any others online like this. 

   This one has seen a lot of action and has some pretty major signs of use. The button labels are all worn off, the sides have cracks, and the case is kind of loose where the front and back face connect. However, after 30 years, this game still works and is very much playable!

SongHao LCD Game Soccer

This is SongHao LCD Game Soccer. It was made in 2011 according to the engraving on the back of the case. You play a goalie and have to block the soccerballs from entering your net. After blocking enough shots you move to the next level. This repeats 4 times before you are declared the winner.

This game shares the same case style as many others in the series that was released. The two buttons on the left side actually do the same thing, move the player left, while the large button on the right move the player to the right. I'm guessing it was cheaper to make them this way. This game was purchased at Wal-Mart for a 1.00$. 

SongHao LCD Game Basketball

This is a very simplistic and small game made by SongHao Electronic. It was made in 2011 according to an engraving on the back of the game. The object is to shoot the basketball while avoiding the opponents who have their hands in the air. After getting a certain amount of shots you proceed to the next level. After four successful rounds you win the game.  

 

This game is one of many that I found at Wal-Mart for 1.00$, They all share very similar casings and button configurations but have different stickers on the front depending on what game they are. 

Mattel Electronics Classic Football

Front facing view.

Classic Football by Mattel Electronics is a replica made in 2000 of the Football handheld electronic game originally made in 1977. The screen uses red blips to represent players. The goal is to move the ball down field while avoiding the opposing teams players in order to score a touchdown. This game was hugely popular when it originally came out and is still held in high regard by many.

Back facing view.

Year 2000 C-date

There are only a few differences between the 2000 replica and the original 1977 model. Notably the 2000 model has the words Classic Football where it originally said Mattel Electronics, And the word Football was replaced with the word Mattel under the image of the football player. The original also ran on one 9volt battery, the replica requires two AA batteries. The last significant difference is the addition of a Sound on/off switch located above the directional buttons.

The Collection Has Begun.

   Ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved handheld electronic games. My dad died when I was young and one of the few things I remember about him was his love of video games. This was back in the late 70's to about the mid 80's, so his console gaming system was intellivision. He also had a few of the old Mattel Electronics handheld sports games. Baseball and Football are the two I remember him owning. This is probably why I love these kinds of games so much. I personally owned a Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch by Nintendo and a game called Go Sprout that was released as a promotional item for Green Giant vegetables. I had others but I can't really remember them.
   I've thought about collecting handhelds many times over the years but I never actually got around to doing it, until now. I don't know why now exactly, but I figure this is as good a time as any to start. I'll be using this blog to document and display the games I get my hands on. I'm thinking pictures, a short write up and maybe some videos of each game in action. I'll start with the few games that I already have in my possession, a replica Mattel football game and some really cheap games I found at Wal-Mart.
   I really like the Nintendo Game & Watch series but they tend to be pretty expensive, so I'm not gonna be picking any of them up anytime time soon. But I do plan on seeking them out when I have a little more cash flow or if I can get a crazy good deal. Another game I really wanna get my hands on is the Dungeons & Dragons handheld. I like the style of the late 70's early 80's games the most. Tomy Tronic and Mattel Electronics both have some really cool stuff floating around.
   So that's the basic game plan, hopefully I'll stick with it long enough to get a nice collection going. Or the A D D could kick in and I'll be on to the next project. We'll see what happens.

Pilgrimage

  A few post's back I mentioned how Lake Wallenpaupack is like my sacred place. Last night we finally had some free time and a vehicle so we made the pilgrimage north. I had checked the weather reports and things we're all clear. Cold, some clouds, and more cold. No problem that's what hats and gloves are for.

  We left the apartment and didn't really hit much traffic, but when we got to Mt. Pocono, we started noticing the streets were a little slick and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. Not much, just enough to make it look pretty. San and I commented on it, and I mentioned I had checked the weather so maybe the snow was from the day before. 

  As we continued on it started flurrying, by the time we got to the lake it was full on snowing. Thing's were getting a little slick but still not to bad. It made the landscape unfamiliar enough that we thought we missed our turn even though we hadn't. When we finally got to the spot, the side roads were coated with snow. We slowly crept down the hill and parked the car.

  We only stayed for a little while at the lake. Most of the time we just looked out across the darkened lake and listened to the silence. It's a completely different place in the off season. No people, no boats, not even docks. I really didn't want to leave, but it was snowing pretty hard and I was worried we wouldn't make it off the mountain if we stayed much longer. 

  When we got to the car we noticed how different the snow was here. At home we get the standard wet flakes that quickly dissolve. Here the flakes looked more like rough cut salt crystals. Real big, chunky, and dry. The snow was so dry in fact that we didn't even need windshield wipers. It just didn't seem to stick to anything but the ground.

  We made our way very slowly up the hill and finally got out to a main road. We left just in time, if we had stayed much longer we would have gotten stuck. The snow was really coming down and road conditions were getting really sketchy. As we headed toward Greentown, there was one spot where the roads were horrible. 

  We were going really slow an still sliding a bit. On the left side of the street there was an emergency response vehicle and a girl with her car all smashed up in a ditch. About a hundred yards up, another car on the left was flipped, and on the right there were two vehicles smashed into poles. This was easily the scariest part of the whole excursion. 

  The snow never let up until we got past Mt. Pocono and even then we saw a few smalls bands. But for the most part it was a standard ride home after that. It was pretty crazy how fast all the snow had fallen. We were only at the lake for about a half hour. If I had known it was gonna snow I wouldn't have gone but I guess it's good we did because I think the next trip will have to wait until spring.