Willie!

Some of my favorite things in my collection

Some of my favorite things in my collection

Some of my favorite things in my collection

Raw Thrills the people behind Galaga Assault, Worlds Biggest Pac Man, Aliens Armageddon and many other cool modern arcade games comes this awesome Pac Man Premium L.E.D. desktop clock!
 
This is an officially licensed product from Bandai Namco and is a limited edition item.   Comes in a nice sturdy well decorated cardboard box with instructions, power supply and the clock.
 
The clock does not have sound, but does feature two neat animations from the Pac Man arcade game - ghosts chasing Pac Man and then Pac Man chasing the scared blue ghosts.
 
The display is made up of multi-color L.E.D.s and are very crisp and bright.  On the back of the unit are two buttons, one to get into the time setting mode and the other to set the time (12/24, Hours, Minutes)
Pros:
Bright full color L.E.D. display Pac Man arcade animations Compact size for desk - 8x4 Cons:
No sound effects No clock memory of power is removed Overall a really nice desk top clock, especially for all us Pac Man nuts!
Visit Raw Thrills webpage for purchasing info and what other cool things this company does!
 
Rating:  (4 out of 5 MiniCades)
 

 
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Raw Thrills the people behind Galaga Assault, Worlds Biggest Pac Man, Aliens Armageddon and many other cool modern arcade games comes this awesome Pac Man Premium L.E.D. desktop clock!
 
This is an officially licensed product from Bandai Namco and is a limited edition item.   Comes in a nice sturdy well decorated cardboard box with instructions, power supply and the clock.
 
The clock does not have sound, but does feature two neat animations from the Pac Man arcade game - ghosts chasing Pac Man and then Pac Man chasing the scared blue ghosts.
 
The display is made up of multi-color L.E.D.s and are very crisp and bright.  On the back of the unit are two buttons, one to get into the time setting mode and the other to set the time (12/24, Hours, Minutes)
Pros:
Bright full color L.E.D. display Pac Man arcade animations Compact size for desk - 8x4 Cons:
No sound effects No clock memory of power is removed Overall a really nice desk top clock, especially for all us Pac Man nuts!
Visit Raw Thrills webpage for purchasing info and what other cool things this company does!
 
Rating:  (4 out of 5 MiniCades)
 

 
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Love my system!  Got a cool Multicart for it as well and a Homebrew game (Death Race).
 
I like the KC games, Smithereens, Turtles, UFO and Cosmic Conflct (was the first game I ever played on a odyssey 2 at a service merchandise)
 
Its well worth having in a collection!

I think I need something signed by Willie. 

Developed by Konami and released by Stern, Turtles features the player taking the role of a mama turtle trying to rescue her babies in a 8 story building.
 
The game features four different mazes that change every 2 levels(floors) in the building.   The play field has eight mystery boxes scattered about the maze that the mama turtle must open.   six of the eight boxes contain a baby turtle, while the remaining  two contain additional enemies!  As the mama turtle opens the boxes, if a baby turtle is inside it will climb up on mama's back.  At that time a home graphic will appear in the maze, this is the safe area to drop the baby turtle off.
 
Enemies in the maze are beetles that will change color depending on how long it is taking to complete the maze.  Beetles start of a light tan color and just randomly wander the maze, then they will turn into a brown color and will pursue the mama turtle if they catch sight of her, finally the beetles will turn blue and will actively pursue the mama turtle.   However the mama turtle is not defenseless, she has bug bombs she can drop that will stun the beetles.  Only one bug bomb can be on the screen at once and additional ones can be obtained from the center of the maze.  A good strategy is to stockpile bug bombs early in the game.
There were some limited ports of this game to the home consoles as well!
 
Turtles! - Odyssey 2 - Very good home port of the arcade game.  has only six mystery boxes but all the gameplay elements from the arcade are represented.   If you have "The Voice" module attached to your Odyssey 2 you can enjoy some neat music while you play the game. this music changes as you progress through the levels as well.
 
Turtles! - Emerson Arcadia 2001 - interesting port of the arcade game, does have all eight mystery boxes however the enemies are now delivery trucks.  This is from another arcade game called Turpin or 600, but the gameplay is still the same.   This version also allows you to drop multiple bombs in the maze and there is no bomb pickup like the arcade version.  The intro screen looks like the arcade version with what sounds like Morse code playing as the mama turtle enters the building.   Once a maze is complete a door will open at the edge of the maze for the player to pass through.
 
Turtles! - Entex VFD game - This is a very good VFD (Vacuum Florescent Display) version of the arcade game.  The gameplay and maze are represented quite well from the arcade game.  This version of the game is what first made me aware of the actual arcade game!  A neat twist this version of the game has is its two player feature, one player controls the mama turtle while the other controls a beetle!
 
Turtles! - Entex Adventurevision - A very well done version of Turtles for this obscure LED (Light Emitting Diode) tabletop game system.   the maze is compressed vertically, but all the elements of the arcade game are there.  Has all eight mystery boxes, the bug bomb pickup in the middle and numerous enemies (that look like centipedes instead of beetles in this version).  I was able to play this game at CGE (Classic Gaming Expo) in 2014 and really fell in love with it and the system.
So how would I rank these ports?
Adventurevision Odyssey 2 VFD Handheld Emerson Arcadia 2001 My high score for the Arcade Game 11,490 points.   If you ever see the arcade game or use Mame, give it a try and post your high score below!

Most of us Gearheads are familiar with the name Haynes that publishes auto repair manuals.  Now they are getting into making electronic kits in that same style!  From retro radio kits to visible engines, these kits from Haynes are both educational and fun!
 
Being a avid gamer, I could not resist buying this kit when I came across it.  The build is quite simple and can be done in under a hour.  Just needs a small screwdriver, soldering iron and wire strippers.  The actual box is the game case, it is very sturdy and has magnets to hold the lid down.  It runs on three “AA” batteries and features a working “coin slot” to coin up the game!
 
The instruction manual is very well written (as you would expect from Haynes) and features lots of pictures to help put the kit together.  It also gives play tips and describes other play modes you can activate on the device (1 player versus computer, 2 player mode or computer versus computer mode).  Activating the computer player is simply done by placing one of the paddles at the bottom of the screen then coin up.  That paddle will flash to indicate it is now going to be a computer player.  You can do this with either paddle or both (for computer head to head play).
 
In playing the game it is quite challenging to play against the computer.  The paddle and ball animation are very good and scoring is displayed as individual dots on the players side of the screen.  Once a game is over, the unit will go to sleep and power down waiting for another coin.
Pros:
Easy assembly Minimal parts Very clear and concise assembly instructions Challenging gameplay Fun! Cons:
No hold down for the battery tray (I used double sided tape) Getting the coin detect working can be tricky while setting it up. Little pricey for what it is (39.99) Overall I really enjoyed building this kit, playing the game with my wife we found ourselves giggling and enjoying playing this little device!
 
Rating: (4 out of 5 minicades)
 

 
Retro Arcade Kit – Build Your Own Arcade
Some cool hacks for this device!
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Released in 2005 by Excalibur Electronics, this mini arcade machine is loosely based on the classic Coleco Tabletop Mini Arcades of the 80’s.    Although it does not have the “classic” VFD (Vacuum Florescent Display) screen, it does have a back lit LCD screen that kind of simulates that VFD look.    Four “C” sized batteries are required to power the unit.
 
Playing the game you will find that you simply cannot hold the joystick to one side to have your base continue to move, rather you have to release the joystick and push it again.   The control panel also has a on/off, pause, mute and start/fire buttons.  controls are responsive but the sound effects are lacking.   The screen is divided in two parts (Left and Right) so as the invaders disappear of the right hand side of the screen you can follow them with your base.   This gives you six total bunkers to hide behind and each bunker can take five hits before disappearing (they do show damage).   The overall game play is kind of slow and the early levels are not much of a challenge.  The invaders will not start marching down until you get up into the higher levels.
 
I did notice that it appears Excalibur Electronics has updated the graphic display.  I had a 2005 released version that shows a much different play screen than what this unit is showing.   The older units had the same graphics as the other hand held space invaders games Excalibur Electronics has made, whereas this newer unit has graphics that look like the original Taito Space Invaders!
Pros:
Very well built Nice artwork Backlit screen Improved gameplay graphics Cons:
Smaller than the original Coleco minicades Repetitive joystick motion to get base to move Playfield is divided into two screens Sound effects are “tinny” at best Overall this is a  fairly nice electronic game to add to a collection, especially if you like Space invaders and these little minicades.
 
Rating:  (4 out of 5 MiniCades)
 

 
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Released in 2005 by Excalibur Electronics, this mini arcade machine is loosely based on the classic Coleco Tabletop Mini Arcades of the 80’s.    Although it does not have the “classic” VFD (Vacuum Florescent Display) screen, it does have a back lit LCD screen that kind of simulates that VFD look.    Four “C” sized batteries are required to power the unit.
 
Playing the game you will find that you simply cannot hold the joystick to one side to have your base continue to move, rather you have to release the joystick and push it again.   The control panel also has a on/off, pause, mute and start/fire buttons.  controls are responsive but the sound effects are lacking.   The screen is divided in two parts (Left and Right) so as the invaders disappear of the right hand side of the screen you can follow them with your base.   This gives you six total bunkers to hide behind and each bunker can take five hits before disappearing (they do show damage).   The overall game play is kind of slow and the early levels are not much of a challenge.  The invaders will not start marching down until you get up into the higher levels.
 
I did notice that it appears Excalibur Electronics has updated the graphic display.  I had a 2005 released version that shows a much different play screen than what this unit is showing.   The older units had the same graphics as the other hand held space invaders games Excalibur Electronics has made, whereas this newer unit has graphics that look like the original Taito Space Invaders!
Pros:
Very well built Nice artwork Backlit screen Improved gameplay graphics Cons:
Smaller than the original Coleco minicades Repetitive joystick motion to get base to move Playfield is divided into two screens Sound effects are “tinny” at best Overall this is a  fairly nice electronic game to add to a collection, especially if you like Space invaders and these little minicades.
 
Rating:  (4 out of 5 MiniCades)
 

 
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