hasbro – Foxes Den

What the listing stated:

The Vintage Monopoly Electronic Handheld Game from Hasbro (1999) is a classic electronic game that allows players to enjoy the iconic Monopoly game on the go. With its handheld design, this game is suitable for players aged 4 years and above, making it a fun and engaging activity for children and adults alike. Although untested, this nostalgic piece of gaming history is sure to bring hours of entertainment to anyone who enjoys the challenge of a good game of Monopoly.

EBay.

The good old EBay get out of jail free card (How appropriate 😂) of untested. This item takes three AA type batteries, just what does it take to pop three battery in and turn on the unit. Why am I so sceptical about this item? I just have a feeling that it’s going to be riddled with issues and I bet one of them involves battery acid.

But, miracles do some times occur, so let’s just await its arrival so I can carry out a full assessment, in the meantime here is a little bit about this game.

The 1999 Hasbro Monopoly Handheld game is a classic electronic version of the board game designed for solo or multi-player action. It features computer-controlled opponents, a virtual LCD board, and an interactive narrator (Rich Uncle Pennybags) who guides you through buying, trading, and auctioning properties.

Gameplay Features

The 1999 handheld faithfully recreated the full experience of the classic board game in a portable format. Key highlights include:

Computer Opponents: Play against up to 3 to 5 distinct, computer-controlled characters (like Diamond Jim or Greedy Granny), all of which operate at different skill levels.

Full Board Mechanics: You can buy, sell, mortgage, trade, and even auction off properties.

Audio & Visuals: Features a custom LCD display, physical buttons for menu inputs, and fun real-sound effects.

Power Requirements: The unit typically requires 3 AA batteries to operate.

T’internet

Assessment:

Well, my suspicions in this case are correct. It has arrived and for a unit that is now 27 years old I must admit that cosmetically it is in a good looking condition, with all labels intact, minimal marking on the screen, and all buttons appear to be clicking. All body screws are present and do not appear to have been tampered with at anytime.

But hold on, what’s that I can see through the speaker grill on the front?

Battery contaminant viewed through the speaker grill.

I open the battery company and as I previously thought there are signs of battery contamination.

Bugger. Ok I’ll put three batteries in but I’m pretty sure I know the outcome. Yep, it doesn’t power on. The unit is dead.

An untested unit. It’s taken me 30 seconds to test and confirm the issue. Wouldn’t have hurt to be honest and to have done the same would it?

I paid £7:90GBP for this unit, it was probably the least expensive of all those available at the time, I guess I can’t complain really, I just detest people’s deliberate dishonesty. Ok, whinge over let’s open up the unit to delve a little deeper.

I open the case and can breath a slight sigh of relief. Yes there are obvious signs of battery contamination, but not as bad as previously thought. As I had seen signs of contamination in the external speaker grill, I’d thought the insides were rotten. In fact the contamination in the speaker grill was only a few grains of contamination that had broken away from the battery compartment.

The wires near to the worst points of contamination in the battery compartment were pretty much rotted and covered in old battery acid. One jumper that would complete the continuity of the battery/power flow had rotted off and one of the very thin speaker cables was also broken.

Repair:

I’ve given the mainboard a good clean with IPA and set about removing all the battery connectors from the battery box.

I’ve reattached the jumper cable with some fresh wire, I’ve trimmed the rotted wires down to some good unaffected wire and reattached these to the new battery connectors. The speaker wires are freshly soldered back into place.

With everything now connected up I put three batteries in to place and can instantly hear the computers electronic voice welcoming me to Monopoly, Rich Uncle Moneybags lives again.

Time to reassemble the unit.

So the issue was here was the result of battery contamination. Four battery contacts, and one wire, were all that were additionally required along with a lot of cleaning and some re soldering to secure some weak connections. It’s now a complete working unit.

Result:

As usual, this would have been a prime target for the tip as it’s just one of those disposable units we have created as the wonderful guardians of this little planet we reside upon. It’s taken probably about 30 minutes of time to repair (and about the same to clean internally) to bring this unit back to life. A good polish externally and it’s now ready to be put back into use.

And my chief tester for these type of items is my wife who absolutely adores the game of Monopoly.

The only real issue with these units is that they never came with an on/off switch. You had to put the batteries in and then remove them when you were finished, this is very strange. However when you read up on line you can see that many people have made modifications to put volume controls (even though there is a three press button version built in) and on/off switches on the unit. I will probably put a switch in myself when I come across a suitable one to use.

In the meantime we now have a working unit, the wife gives it her nod of approval and that’s good for me.

A simple repair, very little outlay and only a little time was all that was required to save another item from landfill. Wouldn’t it be good if we could all take the time to repair rather than dispose.

Thanks for passing by, as always it’s always very much appreciated.

Remember this? Everyone had one around 1978 apart from me that is. Well, now I’ve got one, only 47 yrs late and it doesn’t work. But hey that’s what this site is all about, and that’s how I roll. Always late to the party, and even then you’ll probably find me in the kitchen 🥳

What the listing said:

Cosmetically in very good condition but does not work. Please see attached pictures to judge condition for yourself.

EBay

Another one with all battery covers! I’m shocked. And what’s that screwdriver there for?

The guy was after £17:00GBP and that included postage, but I put in a cheeky bid and managed to get it with postage for £9:80GBP. Anything under a tenner is good in my eyes.

Here’s some history:

Simon is an electronic game of short-term memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, working for toy design firm Marvin Glass and Associates, with software programming by Lenny Cope. The device creates a series of tones and lights and requires a user to repeat the sequence. If the user succeeds, the series becomes progressively longer and more complex. Once the user fails or the time limit runs out, the game is over. The original version was manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley and later by Hasbro after it took over Milton Bradley. Much of the assembly language code was written by Charles Kapps, who taught computer science at Temple University and also wrote one of the first books on the theory of computer programming. Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and was an immediate success, becoming a pop culture symbol of the 1970s and 1980s.

Wikipedia

From what i can see in the pictures the item seems good, cosmetically. I may be able to see just a little contamination around the battery contacts but I can’t be sure. It worries me when i see a picture that shows a screwdriver alongside the item you are buying, it just screams at me that the seller has been in side and is not being truly honest about its issues. Let’s just wait until it arrives to do a full assessment. I’m genuinely excited about getting this working, as my age veers ever closer to the higher numbers. I need something to stimulate my mind, what’s left of it. 😂

Assessment:

The unit has arrived and on first impressions looks clean and tidy cosmetically. The pads are not very responsive and the battery contacts are seriously corroded. The unit is a power hungry beast, taking two ”D” cell 1.5v batteries and one PP9 9v battery. The unit does not work with its batteries in place, and i’m not surprised really, and to round it all off two screws are missing from the case, and one screw mount is broken. All four plastic springs that sit under the coloured pads are broken, and just to clarify someone has already been in here and it doesn’t bode well. My previous concerns of a screwdriver being in the original photos have been confirmed. It’s been tampered with.

Pads unresponsive due to broken plastic spring mounts

The board is a typical of many circuit boards from this era that were produced for MB. I had a similar circuit board on this item here: MB – Computer Battleship

In the picture above you will see two arrowed points. These points are the power contacts that make contact with the two seriously corroded battery contacts you can also see above. No wonder there is no power getting to the board. I suspect this might be the cause of our electrical problem.

Repair:

First thing to do is to get those battery contacts cleaned, as well as having a good clean of the main board. This has now been done. I’ve repaired the broken screw post by simply using a rubber washer that has been sufficient for this repair.

A friend of mine has kindly offered to print me off four of the “Double Y” springs to replace the ones that are already in place and broken. He owes me a favour or three and needs some subject matter to run through his new 3D printer so I’m very pleased to help him, as pending the outcome I may well buy one myself, as I have been threatening to do so for a while now. This should sort out the issue of the unresponsive pads, first found in the assessment of the item. He’s panicking that they might not be smooth and beautiful, I’ve told him not to worry as they are hidden inside anyway.

What I currently have on the left, what I’m expecting on the right

He’s just supplied me with five double “Y” pieces just in case one is damaged in some way. Let’s get these put in place to see the difference these make.

With the new springs in place the pads are working as they were originally designed to, now with some springiness in their operation. The battery contacts have now also been put back in place.

When assembled, the buttons are a little erratic and not always responsive so I decide to look into this further. A quick Look at the board shows that the solder contacts on the board for all of the button connections are worn, the solder has failed so I decide to reflow all these solder joints to improve the contacts. This appears to have worked as the unit when reassembled, now has uninterrupted operation. This is an age related issue. A simple fix.

Old solder joints that have failed and needed re-flowing

Result:

Another 47 year old saved from the scrap heap, it’s been an interesting and sometimes confusing repair and I thank my friend who stepped in to save the day by utilising his 3D printer to make some parts. Without his assistance this repair would not have been achievable.

It’s just another old piece of retro history to add to my ever growing collection and much to my wife’s dismay. Bless her.

Now working

Thanks for passing by, as always it’s very much appreciated.

Tag: hasbro

MONOPOLY ELECTRONIC HANDHELD GAME

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MB – Simon

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