Merlin The Electronic Wizard

YEAR: 1978
ITEM: Childrens' Comp./Game
COMPANY: Parker Brothers
COUNTRY: USA
IN OUR COLLECTION: Yes

Merlin The Electronic Wizard was invented by former NASA employee Bob Doyle, his wife Holly, and brother-in-law Wendl Thomis Merlin is notable as one of the earliest and most popular handheld games, selling over 5 million units during its initial run, as well as one of the most long-lived, remaining popular throughout the 1980s. A version of the game was re-released in 2004 by the Milton Bradley Company.

Merlin came with 6 programmed games and a vocabulary of 20 different sounds. The games Merlin comes with are tic-tac-toe, music machine, echo, blackjack, magic square and mind bender. This handheld gaming device required 6 AA-size batteries or an AC adapter. The device is all red with a maroon back. It is in the shape of an old house telephone as it has 4 option buttons on the bottom portionof the device, along with 11 action buttons in the middle with a speaker on top where Merlin would correspond from.

Tic-tac-toe is your classic strategy game where whoever can line up 3 of their Xs or Os in a row first wins the game. Music Machine was a music composing software. It allowed the user to tune up to 48 notes and rests that Merlin would play back to you. Echo was a memory testing game, as you were required to repeat a sequence of notes played to you by Merlin. This game was different because it allowed you to set your difficulty level of the game. Blackjack is the classic card game where Merlin was the dealer. Magic Square is a game where you had to form a square of 8 lights by breaking Merlin's secret code. This game would constantly change the electronic puzzle as you played. Lastly, Mindbender, was a guessing game where you had to figure out what Merlin's myster number. Parker Brothers claim this is the ultimate game of logic challenge, as you had to reach Merlin's mind to win.

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