Merlin (console)
A handheld electronic game with six built-in games and a music sequencer.
Merlin—also called Merlin The Electronic Wizard and often written as MERLIN—is a handheld electronic game that Parker Brothers first released in 1978. It was created by Bob Doyle, a former NASA employee, along with his wife Holly and brother-in-law Wendl Thomis. The device is roughly nine and a half inches long and three inches wide, with a red plastic body that resembles an oversized touch-tone telephone. Its main play area consists of 11 buttons arranged in a matrix, each containing a red LED that can light up or flash. Four game-selection and control buttons sit at the bottom, while a speaker occupies the top section. Inside the shell, a simple microcontroller and other electronics power the unit.
Merlin’s button-and-light array supports six different games, some playable against the computer or another person. These include Tic Tac Toe, Music Machine, Echo (similar to Simon), Blackjack 13, Magic Square (a pattern game like Lights Out), and Mindbender (similar to Mastermind). In Music Machine mode, each key produces a musical note, and sequences can be recorded and played back, making Merlin one of the earliest digital sequencers and an early consumer-level electronic synthesizer.
The game appeared on the cover of the Christmas 1978 issue of Newsweek and the October 1978 issue of Boston, alongside Milton Bradley’s Simon. Parker Brothers’ most successful product by units and revenue until Frogger in 1982, Merlin was named the best-selling toy and game SKU in America by the Toy Manufacturers of America in 1980, with 2.2 million units sold that year. Over its initial run, total sales exceeded 5 million units. Parker Brothers later released “Master Merlin,” which added more games, and the rarer “Split Second,” where all games involve time and feature a more advanced display with line segments around the dots. Both shared the same general case shape and appeared a few years after the original. A re-release of the game came in 2004 from the Milton Bradley Company.
In 1995, Parker Brothers redesigned Merlin as a one-player device with more challenges, called Merlin: The 10th Quest.
Quick Facts
- Aka
- Merlin The Electronic Wizard
- Developer
- Parker Brothers (formerly) / Hasbro (currently)
- Manufacturer
- Parker Brothers
- Generation
- First generation
- Release Date
- 1978
- Units Sold
- >5 million
- Power
- Batteries: / 6 AA batteries / Power supply: / AC adaptor (nominal: 9 Volt DC at 75 milliamps / maximum: 10.5 Volt DC at 5 milliamps / minimum: 7.5 Volt DC at 150 milliamps)
- Cpu
- Texas Instruments TMS1000
- Memory
- 48 bytes of RAM
- Display
- Matrix with 11 LED buttons
- Sound
- Played through internal speaker
- Input
- 11 LED buttons + 4 buttons + on/off switch
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Merlin was invented by former NASA employee Bob Doyle, his wife Holly, and brother-in-law Wendl Thomis. The device has a rectangular form about nine and a half inches long and three inches wide. Its play area consists of a matrix of 11 buttons, each containing a red LED, encased in red plastic housing resembling an overgrown touch-tone telephone. Four game-selection and control buttons sit at the bottom, and a speaker occupies the top section. Supporting electronics, including a simple microcontroller, are contained within the shell.
Merlin supports six games: Tic Tac Toe, Music Machine, Echo (similar to Simon), Blackjack 13, Magic Square (a pattern game similar to Lights Out), and Mindbender (similar to Mastermind). The Music Machine mode functions as a musical instrument, assigning each key a musical note and allowing sequences to be recorded and played back, making Merlin one of the earliest digital sequencers and an early consumer-level electronic synthesizer.
In 1995, Parker Brothers redesigned Merlin as Merlin: the 10th Quest, a one-player game with nine challenges including Swords & Shields, Seek the Grail, Castle Keep, Spell Bender, Mindcaster, Magic Square, Singing Sword, Ghost Walk, and Dragon Dance. After completing all nine, a tenth quest begins: a dungeon maze with three rounds of increasing difficulty. Solving the maze in record time prompts Merlin to say "Congratulations, you are a master" and display the time.
Reader's Guide
Merlin was Parker Brothers' most successful product in terms of units and revenue until Frogger in 1982. The Toy Manufacturers of America named Merlin the best selling toy and game item (SKU) in America in 1980, with 2.2 million sold that year. Over its lifetime, it sold more than 5 million units. In 1978, Merlin appeared with Milton Bradley's Simon on the cover of the Christmas issue of Newsweek and the October issue of Boston. Parker Brothers later released Master Merlin with more games, and the rarer Split Second, which involved time-based games with a more advanced display. Both shared the same general case shape and came out a few years after Merlin. The game's simple array of buttons and lights supported play against the computer or another person. Its music machine function made it an early digital sequencer and consumer synthesizer. A version was re-released in 2004 by Milton Bradley Company.
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