c/vintageads · by EnmebaraGuesser@piefed.ca · 5d

Merlin (date unknown, probably late 1970's or 80s)

These came out in 78 and were sold through the 80's. For some reason, inflation calculators for pounds sterling differ a lot, but looks like £22 in 1980 might be in the £90-122 range today.

Wikipedia says they could play these games,

Tic tac toe
Music machine
Echo, a game similar to Simon
Blackjack 13
Magic square, a pattern game similar to Lights Out
Mindbender, a game similar to Mastermind

And about the music machine,

The music machine game functions as a musical instrument; in this mode, each key is assigned a musical note, and sequences of notes can be recorded and played back. This makes Merlin one of the earliest digital sequencers as well as an early consumer-level electronic synthesizer.

101 points · 15 comments · view on lemmy.world

15 Comments

corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 5d (2 replies)

1970's

1970s

Save the apostrophes from overuse before they go extinct.

elevenbones@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 5d

-Who's Merlin is that?
-Oh that? That's the 1970's.

EnmebaraGuesser@piefed.ca · 3 pts · 5d

Haha, yes. I almost never make that mistake with words, but I got into a bad habit with numbers and it's hard to break. I guess I need to read Strunk and White again.

EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 5d (4 replies)

The kerning on that ad is so painful I went blind for a moment. Seems like a cool device though.

calliope@retrolemmy.com · 9 pts · 5d (2 replies)

I actually think it’s some of the worst kerning I’ve ever seen. For no reason, too. It doesn’t fit the shape of the ad or anything.

Remark able!

pdxfed@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 5d (1 reply)

Remark....................................................able.

An adult thought that was reasonable.

calliope@retrolemmy.com · 8 pts · 5d

apowerfulcomputerbrain

I feel like this could be in a textbook about what not to do.

elevenbones@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 5d