MGA GAME WIZARD FAQ
(A/K/A Answer to Questions You Probably Weren't Going
to Ask About the MGA Game Wizard Handheld)

REV 0.6BETA

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Legal Stuff:

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by any means provided the copyright and contributors sections remain
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The data contained here in is provided for informational purposes
only. No warranty is made with regards to the accuracy of some
information.

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By Charles Morgan 
ventrra@yahoo.com
or
ventrra@hotmail.com

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The information contained in this document is not organized
into any specific order. Therefore it may take a few moments
for you to find any specific piece of information.

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The Game Wizard was a series of LCD cartridge interchangable
handheld units introduced in 1994. There were many incarnations
of this system based on different themes. For example, the 
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers version is yellow.

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Physically, most of the systems are reasonably sized (fairly
close to the size of the original GameBoy. 
Height: 14 cm / 5.5 in
Width: 9.5 cm / 3.75 in
Depth: 2.5 cm / 1 in

The cartridges are somewhat larger than GameBoy games and 
feature an LCD screen roughly in the middle.
Height: 8.5 cm / 3.5 in
Width: 7 cm / 2.75 in
Depth: 1 cm / .33 in

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Graphically, all of the games that I've seen are roughly on
par with the standalone LCD handhelds made by Tiger
Electronics and many other companies.

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CARTRIDGE PINOUT DIAGRAMS:

| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
| [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
|_______________________________________________________|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 

Cartridge Front pinouts (Left to Right Facing you):
1 = RESET
2 = Power
3 = Speaker
4 = <Unused>
5 = Ground
6 = ACTION
7 = (Connects to pin 8 on the back)
8 = SOUND
9 = MODE
10 = <Unused>
11 = RIGHT
12 = UP
13 = ?Common?
14 = LEFT
15 = DOWN
16 = <Unused>
17 = <Unused>
18 = ???

| |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
| [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
|_______________________________________________________|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 

Cartridge Back pinouts (Left to Right Facing you):
1 = ?Power?
2 = <Unused>
3 = <Unused>
4 = <Unused>
5 = ???
6 = ???
7 = ???
8 = (Connects to pin 7 on the front)
9 = <Unused>
10 = <Unused>
11 = <Unused>
12 = <Unused>
13 = <Unused>
14 = <Unused>
15 = <Unused>
16 = <Unused>
17 = <Unused>
18 = <Unused>

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There were several formats for the Game Wizard that are listed
below. When I know the specific names of cartridges in a set
I have listed them below the theme:
Ace Ventura Pet Detective
All Star Sports
Bible Stories
Fairy Tale Fun
Goosebumps
Mask, the
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Attack on Megazord
Battle for the Power Morpher
Goldar's Revenge
Star Wars
Darth Vader's Revenge
Princess Leia's Rescue
X-Wing Attack
Universal Monsters
VR Troopers, Saban's

Note that there is also a Barbie version that may be different
from the versions listed here. A UK version (that, may or may not
be compatable) is also known under
the name Grandstand Game Player which has at least 3 known games:
Invader, Minefield, and Football. Also of note is the fact that
some of the systems have 1 button and others have 2. I do not know
at this time whether or not any of the 2 button systems were
released in the US, however in taking apart my systems I have
seen that there is a place for another button inside.

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Russ Perry Jr (slapdash@enteract.com) added:

I saw your FAQ at http://digitalpress.5u.com/faq/gamewizard.txt and I
thought I might be able to help you with it a little bit...

First, I can add to your list of titles:

> All Star Sports

Slam Dunk Basketball
Touchdown Football
All Star Soccer

> Bible Stories

Noah's Ark
Jonah And The Whale

> Fairy Tale Fun

Aladdin
Beauty And The Beast
King Of The Jungle

> Goosebumps

#4
#7
#16

(really...)

> Mask, the

The Mask's Escape
Milo's Rescue

> Universal Monsters

Frankenstein
Dracula
The Wolfman

> VR Troopers, Saban's

Jeb's Rescue
Ryan's Challenge
JB's Battle

I've documented the actual bundles I've seen as well. My list is at
the bottom.

> Note that there is also a Barbie version that may be different from
> the versions listed here.

It definitely is different, at least for the size/shape of the carts.
I also noted that the Bible Stories one looked similar and may be
the same as the Barbie one, but I don't believe I was ever able to
pick one up.

As to titles:

In-Line Skating
Falling Hearts
Beach Adventure
Volleyball
Horseback Riding
Birthday Surprise
Mountain Bike Riding
Word Guess
Soccer
Hearts & Stars
Softball
Shopping Adventure

> A UK version is also known under the name Grandstand Game Player which
> has at least 3 known games: Invader, Minefield, and Football.

I wanted to ask if you were sure that the GameMaster is compatible
with the Game Wizard, or just assume it is. Have you tried it?

-- bundles list --

Micro Games Of America Game Wizard 2 Games In 1 [all come with 2 carts, LCD screen is in carts themselves] (94)
Micro Games Of America Game Wizard 3 Games In 1 [all come with 3 carts, LCD screen is in carts themselves] (94)

[There are two styles: the basic rounded rectangle shape used by all the MGA-3?? systems below, and a fancier shape used by the Barbie and Bible systems]

Micro Games Of America
229636 Goosebumps 3 Games In 1: #4 + #7 + #16
BRB-165 Barbie For Girls Portable Arcade Game 2 Games In 1: In-Line Skating + Falling Hearts
MGA-320 Star Wars 3 Games In 1: Darth Vader's Revenge + Leia's Rescue + X-Wing Attack
MGA-330 Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers 3 Games In 1: Attack On Megazord + Battle For The Power Morpher + Goldar's Revenge
MGA-331 Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers 2 Games In 1: Attack On Megazord + Battle For The Power Morpher
MGA-331? Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers 2 Games In 1: Attack On Megazord + Goldar's Revenge
MGA-331? Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers 2 Games In 1: Battle For The Power Morpher + Goldar's Revenge
MGA-336 All Star Sports 3 Games In 1: Slam Dunk Basketball + Touchdown Football + All Star Soccer
MGA-362 Fairy Tale Fun 3 Games In 1: Aladdin + Beauty And The Beast + King Of The Jungle (2 Games In 1s too?)
MGA-382 Universal Monsters 3 Games In 1: Frankenstein + Dracula + The Wolfman (2 Games In 1s too?)
MGA-3130 The Mask 2 Games In 1: The Mask's Escape + Milo's Rescue
MGA-3140 Saban's VR Troopers 2 Games In 1: Jeb's Rescue + Ryan's Challenge
MGA-3140 Saban's VR Troopers 2 Games In 1: Ryan's Challenge + JB's Battle
MGA-3160 All Star Sports 2 Games In 1: Grand Slam Baseball + Touchdown Football
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 2 Games In 1
Barbie For Girls Portable Arcade Game 2 Games In 1: Beach Adventure + Volleyball
Barbie For Girls Portable Arcade Game 2 Games In 1: Horseback Riding + Birthday Surprise
Barbie For Girls Portable Arcade Game 2 Games In 1: Mountain Bike Riding + Word Guess
Barbie For Girls Portable Arcade Game 2 Games In 1: Soccer + Hearts & Stars
Barbie For Girls Portable Arcade Game 2 Games In 1: Softball + Shopping Adventure
Bible Stories 2 Games In 1: Noah's Ark + Jonah And The Whale
Fairy Tale Fun 2 Games In 1: Aladdin + Beauty And The Beast
Star Wars 2 Games In 1: Darth Vader's Revenge + Leia's Rescue

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SYSTEM ILLOSTRATION:

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| |
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| |~)
| _______________ | | (
| | | | | )
| | | | | (
| | | | | )
| | | | | (
| | | | | )
| |_______________| | | (
|_______________________| |_)
| |
| GAME WIZARD /---------| |
| _____________/ | |
| | | |
| | O MODE SOUND REST| |
| | / \ (__) (___) o | |
| | O O ACTION | |
| | \ / ___ | |
| | O | | | |
| | |__| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | | 
| |_______________________| |
| |
| \\ \\ \\ \\ o |
|_____0_\\_\\_\\_\\_________|


CARTRIDGE ILLOSTRATION:

/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
| --------------------- |
| --------------------- |
| |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | |_______________| | |
| | | |
| | GAME TITLE HERE | |
| | | |
| |___________________| |
|_______________________|

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Additional info is welcome.

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