Neat collection!
posted by wanderingmind at 9:09 PM on August 18, 2011

I've often wondered if it would be possible to print your own segmented LCD displays at home given the state of the art of screen printing or stencils today, and the ready access to things like laser cutters.

I'm not entirely sure how they deposited the LCD segments, but I'm guessing it's a thin metal or foil stencil since most LCD segment objects that I've seen don't support "islands" in the element, and they use metal foil screen printing in other areas of electronics, like solderpaste on contact pads or fine pitch printed circuits.

I guess even for bespoke hackers and hobbyists that would be overkill since you can get a plain LCD matrix display for a few bucks and just use pixel graphics.

Kind of like making a very simple IC or semiconductor in your kitchen. A neat trick, but laborious, expensive and probably rather toxic.
posted by loquacious at 9:34 PM on August 18, 2011

I googled for my childhood and found a more extensive website.
posted by shii at 10:29 PM on August 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Hey, I know someone who knows this guy! He's cool and is really helpful on doom9 if you want to learn how to author Blu-ray for reals.

Plus this website helped me remember my favorite handheld game from when I was a kid.
posted by infinitewindow at 11:34 PM on August 18, 2011

I've still got a few Nintendo Game & Watch games to help relive all of those childhood days spent in the back seat of a Buick Lesabre. My son has to wait six more years before he can play with one of the ones I have twice (Mario Cement Factory).
posted by furtive at 3:29 AM on August 19, 2011

Oh man, I played the absolute hell out of the Double Dragon handheld. I think I actually might still have Dracula someplace, although it's very likely that 9-year-old me left the batteries in it and it's corroded to hell.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:34 AM on August 19, 2011

When my folks brought this back from a visit to Singapore. I thought it was absolutely amazing and played through many sets of hard-to-find batteries. The thing probably had a total of a dozen LCD images, but it was fun and had neat sound effects.

Fun to see this stuff again.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:10 AM on August 19, 2011

The Casio page is a great crib sheet for band/album/child names. "Funky Pierrot"? "Lovely Koala"? "Money and Bomb"? The enigmatic "Game 401"?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:22 AM on August 19, 2011

Love it. I had Mattel Hockey, my sister had Mattel Football, and another relative had Mattel Baseball. I can picture them perfectly (little thrill to see them here) and hear the sound effects like they're in front of me.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:24 AM on August 19, 2011

RobotVoodooPower, that's a GREAT idea! Now if only my last name were "Hunter", I could name my speculative daughter after my favorite childhood game. Marine, Maureen, what's the difference?
posted by tigrrrlily at 8:16 AM on August 19, 2011

Coleco Electronic Quarterback provided weeks of fun until I hit on a sequence that resulted in a guaranteed touchdown every time. Once that got encoded in muscle memory it just wasn't as fun anymore.
posted by rocket88 at 1:31 PM on August 19, 2011

I had the Donkey Kong tabletop and regret losing it until this day. Also had:

Bo Jackson Baseball / Football
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Super Mario Bros.
Ninja Gaiden (watch)
Baseball (Tiger)
Gauntlet
Pinball (Tiger)
Simpsons Cupcake Caper -- I think.

A person who used to babysit me had the Coleco Football game, and something else I can't remember. Shocked I could play these things for hours . . .
posted by haroon at 2:59 PM on August 19, 2011

Looking back, I can't believe these were real and that anyone ever paid actual money for them.
posted by hermitosis at 8:34 PM on August 19, 2011