Related systems:

FAQ - ColecoVision FAQ Version 4.00

*ColecoVision FAQ* *
Version 4.00*

Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005 Martijn Wenting, Kevin
Bowen, Thomas J. Crugnale, Joseph M. Huber and James Carter

All rights reserved. This document may be copied, in whole or in part,
by any means provided the copyright and contributors sections remain
intact and no fee is charged for the information. Contributors retain
the copyright to their individual contributions.

The data contained herein is provided for informational purposes only.
No warranty is made with regards to the accuracy of the information.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional contributions always welcome! Please mail additional
information, opinions, and comments to:

Martijn Wenting - info@colecoworld.com 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

/Last update: December 28, 2005/

*Revision History:*

*Version 4.00:*

After a long period of silence, the ColecoVision FAQ has been revived
and is now maintained by Martijn Wenting of www.colecoworld.com
.
Numerous additions are made, broken links and obsolete adresses are fixed.

Here is a small list of changes:
- Additions to 1.0 What is ColecoVision and the ColecoVision timeline.
- Reorganised the game releases, added re-releases and modern releases.
- Reorganised the hardware section.
- Fixed/added European game-numbers
- Removed WWW links section 5.0, moved to section 15
- Updated emulators section
- Added new hardware developments
- Updated Colecovision/Adam vendors, Added vendors for modern game releases.
- Removed obsolete user group/vendor addresses. Contact me if you have
updates.

Also, an HTML version of the FAQ is now online at:
http://www.colecoworld.com/faq and mirrored at:
http://www.classicgaming.com/colecofaq

Contributors:
MW) Martijn Wenting
KB) Kevin Bowen
JH) Joe Huber
JC) James Carter
TC) Thomas J. Crugnale
01) Noel Tominack
02) Tony Mason
03) Jeff Lodoen
04) Jonny Farringdon
05) Sean Kelly
06) Gary Carino
07) Charles Cafrelli
08) Scott Marison
09) Greg Kam
10) Joshua See
11) Ralph A. Barbagallo III
12) Joey McDonald
13) Geoff Oltmans
14) Gregg Woodcock
15) Allan Liscum
16) Greg Chance
17) Tris Orendorff
18) Scott Stone
19) David Strutt
20) Jeff Coleburn
21) Lee Seitz
22) Jerry Greiner
23) Bill Loguidice
24) Norman Sippel
25) Kevin Slywka
26) Ben Lott
27) Ken Arromdee
28) Swampthing
29) Bruce Tomlin
30) Christian Puryear
31) Patrick Lessard
32) Matt Burback
33) Brad Ensminger
34) Thomas Farrell
35) Ken Kupelian
36) Blue Sky Rangers
37) Craig Pell
38) Chris Smith
39) Kevin Horton
40) Curtis J.
41) Bill Esquivel
42) Greg Hunter
43) Kyle Snyder
44) Roger Fulton
45) Phil Stroffolino
46) Daniel Stevans
47) Marat Fayzullin
48) The Piper
49) Frank Groeten
50) Dennis Brown
51) Lawrence Schick
52) Robert Merritt
53) Jason Weesner
54) Sam Etic
55) Stephan Freundorfer
56) Dave Johnson (Director of Video Graphics at Coleco)
57) Howard Prince
58) Marc Boyer
59) Greg Roth
60) Jason Mazure
61) Pascal Blancaneaux
62) Keith Henrickson
63) Gary Cianciosi
64) Marcus (Garrett?)
65) Jim Wolf

*TABLE OF CONTENTS*

1.0) What is ColecoVision? <#1.0>

2.0) ColecoVision and ADAM Specs <#2.0>

3.0) Hardware List <#3.0>

      3.1) The Hardware <#3.1>
      3.2) Third party accessories <#3.2>
      3.3) Unreleased Hardware/Prototypes <#3.3>
      3.4) The Adam computer <#3.4>
      3.5) The Telegames Personal Arcade/Dina2-in-1 system <#3.5>
      3.6) Other ColecoVision clones <#3.6>
      3.7) Hardware Tidbits <#3.7>

4.0) Cartridge List <#4.0>

      4.1) US Game releases <#4.1>
      4.2) European/CBS Game releases <#4.2>
      4.3) Unreleased games <#4.3>
      4.4) Re-released games <#4.4>
      4.5) Modern games <#4.5>
      4.6) Cartridge Tidbits, Tips, and Easter Eggs <#4.6>
      4.7) Cartridge Hardware Cheats <#4.7>
      4.8) ColecoVision and ColecoVision/ADAM catalogs <#4.8>
      4.9) The BEST cartridges <#4.9>
      4.10) The most popular cartridges <#4.10>
      4.11) Rare gems <#4.11>
      4.12) High scores <#4.12>

5.0) ColecoVision Emulators <#5.0>

6.0) Promotional material <#6.0>

      6.1) Stickers <#6.1>
      6.2) Adverts <#6.2>

7.0) Technical Details <#7.0>

      7.1) ColecoVision Memory Map <#7.1>
      7.2) ColecoVision I/O Map <#7.2>
      7.3) ColecoVision BIOS Details <#7.3>
      7.4) ColecoVision Video RAM Details <#7.4>
      7.5) ColecoVision Programming Tips <#7.5>
      7.6) Cartridge Slot Pinout <#7.6>
      7.7) ADAM Printer/Power Port <#7.7>
      7.8) ADAM Programming Tips <#7.8>

8.0) New hardware developments <#8.0>

9.0) Separate Audio/Video Hack <#9.0>

10.0) Automatic RF Switch <#10.0>

11.0) Replacing The ColecoVision ROM <#11.0>

12.0) Copying ColecoVision Cartridges <#12.0>

13.0) Repair Tips <#13.0>

      13.1) To fix a rolling picture/video problems: <#13.1>
      13.2) To avoid an automatic level select problem: <#13.2>
      13.3) To fix an automatic level select problem: <#13.3>
      13.4) To fix a broken roller controller: <#13.4>
      13.5) To fix a poorly responding controller: <#13.5>
      13.6) To fix a dead cartridge: <#13.6>

14.0) ColecoVision/ADAM Dealers <#14.0>

      14.1) ColecoVision vendors <#14.1>
      14.2) Modern game vendors <#14.2>

15.0) Other links <#15.0>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*1.0) What is ColecoVision?*

Coleco (a contraction of COnneticut LEather COmpany) was the first
company to introduce a "dedicated chip" home video game system, with the
Telstar Arcade in 1976. (The Magnavox Odyssey, based on Analog
technology, was the first home video game system overall, debuting in
1973.) Trying to build upon the enormous initial success of the unit,
Coleco decided to bring out nine different Telstar models. But within a
year, 75 other manufacturers had introduced similar units, and combined
with with production snags, a shortage of chips, and a push towards hand
held games, Coleco skirted with disaster. While Coleco sold over $20
million of hand held games, it had to dump over a million Telstar units,
and the company lost $22.3 million in 1978. With the introduction of
units with games stored on interchangeable cartridges, Fairchild and
then Atari had eliminated any remaining market for the simple pong games.

On June 1, 1982, Coleco re-entered the fray with the announcement of its
"third generation" video game system, ColecoVision. Touting "arcade
quality", ColecoVision took aim at the seemingly unassailable Atari
2600. Coleco wanted "Donkey Kong", a very hot arcade hit, to be their
pack-in. In December '81, they went to Japan to make a deal with
Nintendo for the rights to Donkey Kong. The Coleco executive wanted to
return to the US to show his lawyers the contract before signing, but
was told to sign now, or risk losing Donkey Kong to Atari or Mattel, who
were currently going though channels to get the rights themselves. Under
the pressure, the Coleco executive signed.

In April '82 Coleco and Nintendo were threatened with lawsuits from
Universal Studios who claimed Donkey Kong was an infringement on their
King Kong. Coleco had invested a fortune in the ColecoVision version of
Donkey Kong that was only 4 months from its premiere release. Thinking
that they didn't stand a chance in court, Coleco decided to settle,
agreeing to pay Universal 3% of all Donkey Kong sales. Nintendo decided
to fight it, and some time later actually won. Coleco then filed suit
and got some of their lost royalties back.

The bulk of Coleco's library, however, was comprised of overlooked
coin-op games such as Venture and Lady Bug. With a library of twelve
games, and a catalog showing ten more on the way (many of which were
never released), the first one million ColecoVisions sold in record
time. In 1983 it topped sales charts, beating out Atari and Mattel, with
much of its success being contributed to its pack-in, Donkey Kong. The
ColecoVision soon had more cartridges than any system except the Atari
2600, and with the 2600 converter still today has more playable games
than any other system.

The ColecoVision introduced two new concepts to the home videogame
industry - the ability to expand the hardware system, and the ability to
play other video game system games.

The Atari 2600 expansion kit caused a flurry of lawsuits between Atari
and Coleco. After the dust cleared, the courts had decided that it was
acceptable for Coleco to sell the units. As a result of this Coleco was
also able to make and sell the Gemini game system which was an exact
clone of an Atari 2600 with combined joystick/paddle controllers.

Coleco was also the first home videogame maker to devote the majority of
their product line to arcade conversions, using the superior graphics of
the ColecoVision to produce nearly arcade-quality games, albeit often
missing a screen or level.

Coleco truly shocked the industry by doing so well. In a year, the stock
rose in value from 6 7/8 a share to 36 3/4. The following items were
taken from Fortune or March 7, 1983:

"Six months ago, hardly anyone expected Coleco to ride so high. [Company
President Arnold] Greenberg was known in the industry as a self-promoter
overly sanguine about Coleco's prospects. Says one security analyst: "He
was always gilding the lily. Wall Street developed a basic distrust of
the company." So did the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 1980 it
charged Coleco with misstating financial results to mask troubles."

"But almost overnight Coleco's image has changed. ColecoVision, the
video game player introduced last August, is one of the most popular
consumer products around. The trade, paying homage to its technological
advancement, has dubbed it "the third wave" - wave one being the Atari
VCS, wave two being Mattel's Intellivision - and the most discerning
critics, kids, love it. The 550,000 game players Coleco made last year
flew off the shelves by Christmas-time. Coleco's sales nearly tripled
from $178 million in 1981 to $510 million last year, and the net income
shot up 420% to $40 million."

"Coleco's charge into the market last summer was well timed. Atari and
Mattel were engaged in a multimillion-dollar mud-slinging battle on
television. George Plimpton in Mattel commercials lampooned the graphics
on Atari's VCS game player, while Atari blasted Intellivision's dearth
of hit games. Then Coleco suddenly arrived on the scene with the best of
both: good graphics and good games. With a greater amount of memory
allocated to screen graphics, ColecoVision provided a much better
picture than Atari. Although ColecoVision at $175 was $75 more expensive
than Atari's VCS, discerning video players were willing to pay a higher
price for more lifelike graphics. ColecoVision's pictures were also
better than those of Intellivision, and the retail was $35 lower."

"To make ColecoVision even more attractive the company gave away with
each unit a $35 Donkey Kong cartridge. "Donkey Kong was a very
serviceable gorilla," says Greenberg. "Once we convinced the consumer of
the merits of the hardware, Donkey Kong pushed him into buying.""

"Another popular feature has been ColecoVision's expandability.
Accessories like the $55 Turbo module, a steering wheel, gas pedal, and
gear shift used to play a road racing game, can be plugged into the
console. The company's $60 Atari adapter enables ColecoVision to play
Atari VCS-compatible cartridges. Atari doesn't approve - it's suing
Coleco for $850 million, charging patent infringement - but game addicts
do. Coleco sold 150,000 Atari adapters in just two months. Coleco's
latest add-on, the Super Game module, was shown at last week's American
Toy Fair. It adds more memory to ColecoVision and provides additional
play variations."

"Coleco's software approach was to go after licensed arcade games and to
make cartridges for Atari's VCS and Intellivision in addition to it's
own game player. Although Coleco hadn't built a single ColecoVision when
it was negotiating licensees in 1981, the licensers liked Coleco's plan
to make products for all three leading game systems. Coleco reached
agreements with five firms, landing nine hit arcade licensees. Last year
the company sold eight million cartridges."

"Flush with last year's successful foray in video games, Arnold
Greenberg predicts even more good news is on the way. "We are a terror
in the marketplace," he boasts. Greenberg proclaims that Coleco will
increase it's market share in video game players this year from 8% to
25%, supplanting Mattel as No. 2."

"Achieving such lofty goals may be difficult. Coleco last year paid only
$250,000 for the rights to Donkey Kong, but Atari later had to pay an
estimated $21 million to license E.T. for it's coin-operated and home
video games. Late last year Coleco reached an agreement with the game
maker Centuri for licenses to three arcade games: Phoenix, Vanguard, and
Challenger. Then just before the contract was to be signed, Atari won
the license by making a higher offer. Parker Brothers also outbid Coleco
for the Popeye license. "Coleco's position is still not assured," says
Barbara S. Isgur, a security analyst at Paine Webber. "They were helped
last year by the phenomenal success of Donkey Kong. What will they do
for an encore?"

"Arnold Greenberg remains optimistic. He notes that Coleco has already
signed license agreements to bring out 30 new games by year-end. In
January, Coleco made CBS the principal foreign distributor for it's
products. In return Coleco will begin developing and marketing for
ColecoVision home video cartridges licensed by CBS from Bally, a major
arcade game maker."

Unfortunately, the ColecoVision suffered the same fate as the rest in
the great video game shake-out of 1984. Coleco's unsuccessful bug-ridden
ADAM computer only complicated the problem; running behind schedule,
Coleco is rumored to have used another manufacturer's computer as the
Adam prototype at a CES show while at the same time Adam software was
being developed with the system. Some believe if it wasn't for Coleco's
Cabbage Patch dolls, they would have completely disappeared. Even the
Cabbage Patch dolls couldn't keep Coleco going forever, though; the
company went under for good a few years later. Ironically, Mattel (the
producers of Intellivision) now own the rights to the Cabbage Patch dolls.

Coleco stopped production of the ColecoVision in 1984. Their last few
titles (Illusions, Spy Hunter, Telly Turtle, and Root Beer Tapper) were
barely seen in stores.

When Coleco left the industry they had sold more than 6 million
ColecoVisions in just two years, even with the last year being troubled
by the shake-out. Many in the industry believe if it wasn't for the
videogame crash of '84, that Coleco could have gone through the 80's as
the system of choice, especially with its proposed Super Game Module. It
was clearly beating Atari and Mattel, but just didn't have the installed
base to last out the crash.

Almost immediately after Coleco stopped producing the ColecoVision,
Telegames acquired the rights to the ColecoVision and bought most of
Coleco's stock. The Britain-based company also released a few titles of
its own. In 1985, Telegames began manufacturing and distributing the Bit
Corporation-designed Dina 2-in-1 ColecoVision clone. Telegames renamed
the console the Telegames Personal Arcade, and has continued selling
them to this day. It's much smaller than the original ColecoVision and
uses joypads instead of the awkward ColecoVision stick. The pads have no
numeric keypad, which is instead built into the unit. There is only one
keypad, however, so two-player games requiring the keypad won't work on
the Personal Arcade. The Personal Arcade also has an expansion port, but
its physical configuration makes it incompatible with Coleco's expansion
units. In addition, there have been a number of claims that some
Personal Arcade machines have a defect where the screen RAM chips are
fed too much voltage. As a result, these machines can become permanently
damaged after even short periods of play. The Personal Arcade console
comes with its own built-in game, Meteoric Shower.

In April 1994, Telegames lost all of their Personal Arcade stock to a
tornado. Soon thereafter, in 1995, they released Personal Arcade Volume
One (not to be confused with its console), a collection of ten emulated
ColecoVision games for Windows 95. That same year, Coleco sold all their
remaining licenses and rights to toy giant Hasbro.

In September 2004, after years of silently supporting sales for the
ColecoVision, Telegames decided to cease support for all classic
systems, including the ColecoVision and their Personal Arcade.

Soon thereafter, in 2005, the Coleco brand wass bought by River West
Branding and the Coleco.com website is revived. This resulted in the
release of a Coleco branded product line by toy-manufacturer Techno
Source in september 2005, and the annouoncement of a new ColecoVision
system.

As you can see, with the revival of the coleco brand, and the release of
various new modern colecovision games, the colecovision is far from
being a dead system and we are having exciting times ahead.

*Timeline
--------*

   Aug 1982 - ColecoVision released
  Fall 1982 - Expansion Module #1: Atari 2600 Converter released
  Fall 1982 - Module #2, Driving Controller released

   Feb 1983 - Super Game Module announced
Spring 1983 - Super Game Module demoed (non-playable) at New York Toy Show
   May 1983 - Advertising of the Super Game Module starts; runs through July
   Jun 1983 - ADAM computer introduced
   Aug 1983 - Super Game Module schedule to go on sale
   Oct 1983 - Super Game Module dropped
  Fall 1983 - ColecoVision Roller Controller released
  Fall 1983 - ColecoVision Super Action Controllers released
Winter 1983 - The video game market begins to crash

Spring 1984 - The video game industry collapses. All production stops.

   Jan 1985 - Coleco drops the ADAM computer
   Mid 1985 - Telegames picks up where Coleco left off, putting out new titles
  Fall 1985 - Telegames starts selling the "Personal Arcade" ColecoVision clone through mailorder.

       1989 - Coleco sells all remaining licenses and rights to toy giant Hasbro.

   Apr 1994 - A tornado wipes out all remaining stock of the Personal Arcade system.

       1995 - Telegames releases the "Personal Arcade" collection for PC/Windows platform.

       1996 - First attempts at Colecovision homebrew development are done.

   Sep 2004 - Telegames USA ceases all support for classic systems, including Colecovision

   Jan 2005 - Colecovision brand is bought by River West Branding. Coleco.com website is revived.
   Aug 2005 - Techno Source launches Coleco-branded product line of LCD and TV games.
   Sep 2005 - Techno Source Coleco Toys Win 2005 Awards From Dr. Toy
   Nov 2005 - A new colecovision is announced.

- MW, JH, JC, 03, 07, 10, 13, 14, 25, 50, & 65

*2.0) ColecoVision and ADAM Specs*

        ColecoVision:

             Resolution: 256 x 192
                    CPU: Z-80A
                   Bits: 8
                  Speed: 3.58 MHz
                    RAM: 8K
              Video RAM: 16K (8x4116)
Video Display Processor: Texas Instruments TMS9928A
                Sprites: 32
                 Colors: 16
                  Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489AN; 3 tone channels, 1 noise
          Cartridge ROM: 8K/16K/24K/32K

        ADAM:

             Resolution: 256 x 192
                    CPU: Z-80A
                   Bits: 8
                  Speed: 3.58 MHz
            Video Speed: 10.7 MHz
                    RAM: 64K (128K optional)
              Video RAM: 16K (8x4116)
                    ROM: 8K
Video Display Processor: Texas Instruments TMS9928A
                Sprites: 32
                 Colors: 16
                  Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489AN; 3 tone channels, 1 noise
          Cartridge ROM: 8K/16K/24K/32K
            Disk Drives: 2 * 160K (opt)
    Digital Data Drives: 2 * 256K
                  Modem: 300 Baud (opt)
                Printer: 120 wpm Daisy Wheel, 16K buffer
                  Other: Serial/Parallel Port (opt), Auto Dialer (opt)

What really distinguished the ColecoVision from other systems of the era
was its 32 sprite capability. It made it easier to design sprite
intensive games like Slither.

Scrolling on the Coleco was sort of chunky because they did not have
special hardware for scrolling like the Atari units did - but some games
(notably Jungle Hunt and Defender) _do_ manage to scroll well, so there
was a software workaround of some kind.

All Coleco cartridges, and many third party titles, incorporated a
patience-testing twelve second delay before the game select screen
showed up. One story commonly cited (and apparently mentioned in
Electronic Games magazine at the time) is the following: before
ColecoVision reached the marketplace, Coleco invested heavily in
advertising for the system, building up significant demand. The problem
was software support. Few programmers knew the ColecoVision's quirky
assembly language, and there wasn't time to train more. So the engineers
at Coleco designed an emulator that allowed progammers to code in a far
more common and well known language, Pascal. Coleco then hired
programmers familiar with Pascal to design software for the
ColecoVision, and thus were able to provide software to meet the demand.
The only problem with the scheme was the twelve second delay the
emulator caused while starting up.

As good a story as this makes, it's incorrect. The real reason behind
the twelve second delay is a loop in the ColecoVision BIOS - the delay
was purely intentional. The way companies such as Parker Brothers,
Activision, and Micro Fun avoided the delay was to simply bypass the
ColecoVision BIOS. - JC, 08, 10, 12, 27, 29

*3.0) Hardware List*

Key:

Manufacturer -
        AM) Amiga
        CB) CBS Electronics
        CE) Championship Electronics
        CO) Coleco
        HS) High Score
        PP) Personal Peripherals
        PS) Pusher Sales
        SU) Suncom
        SV) Spectravideo
        TG) Telegames
        VP) Video Product Sales
        WI) Wico

*3.1) The Hardware*

Name                                   Manuf.   Number  Comes With...
================================================================================
ColecoVision                               CO           Donkey Kong
Perma Power Battery Eliminator/AC Adapter  CO   2298
Dust Cover                                 CO
Expansion Module #1 (2600 Adapter)         CO   2405
Expansion Module #1 Adapter                CO
Expansion Module #2 (Driving Controller)   CO   2413    Turbo
Expansion Module #3 (ADAM Computer)        CO           Buck Rogers
Roller Controller                          CO   2492    Slither
Super Action Controllers                   CO   2491    Super Action Baseball

*3.2) Third party accessories*

Name                                   Manuf.   Number  Comes With...
================================================================================
Champ Adapter                              CE   CA-340
CBS ColecoVision                           CB           Donkey Kong
Co-Stickler                                PS
EVE Voice Module                           ??
Grabber Balls                              HS
Injoy-A-Stick                              VP
Joy Sensor                                 SU
Joystick, ColecoVision                     WI
Personal Arcade                            TG           Meteoric Shower
Power Stick                                AM
Quickshot III Deluxe                       SV   SV103
Snapper                                    SU   CLC-006
Super Sketch Pad                           PP   G2500   Sketch Master

*3.3) Unreleased Hardware / Prototypes*

Expansion Module #3 (Super Game Module - wafer version) by Coleco.

    With 30K RAM and 128K "microwafers" shaped like miniature diskettes.
    The games were to have intermissions, high-score lists, and extra
    levels. It was to be packaged with Super Donkey Kong; later, that
    was changed to Super Buck Rogers and Super Gorf. It could have been
    an excellent addition to the ColecoVision system allowing you to
    play your old carts and the new Super Games, but Coleco decided to
    turn it into the ADAM computer. - JC, 25

    Kevin Slywka submits the following:

    The following is a quote from the article, One million A.C.(after
    ColecoVision) Brown, Michael William; Electronic Fun: Computers and
    Games; June 1983

    -Note: The article contains several screen shots and a what appears
    to be a mock up of the Super Game and several game wafers. "...the
    Super Games are stored on mini-cassettes (which are about the length
    and width of a business card) called Super Game Wafers... the module
    has a magnetic micro-tape drive mechanism behind a slot in the front
    left panel. Inside the wafers is approximately 50 feet of specially
    formulated magnetic tape about an eighth of an inch wide." (Brown p41)

    Brown claims to have played the system for 8 hours over two
    different days. Load time for the wafers is clocked at about 10
    seconds. Super Games Brown tested: Super Donkey Kong, Super Donkey
    Kong Jr., Super Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle. Brown further
    notes better colors and additional levels in all three games.
    Planned titles included: Zaxxon, Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom, Time
    Pilot, Turbo and Sub-Roc. Brown also notes the ability to enter your
    initials for high score, which is then stored on the tape.

    In Video Games Magazine(Feb.'84) an article on the Texas Instruments
    Compact Computer 40(a peripheral for the TI 99/4A) mentions the tape
    wafers meant for the Super Games: "...this system uses the Entrepo
    floppy wafer system that is in use elsewhere, and was almost part of
    Coleco's Super Game Module and ADAM."

    The Super Game Module appeared to not have a realistic chance of
    success at Coleco Industries. In an interview of Coleco president,
    Arnold Greenberg, by Steve Bloom (Video Games, Oct. '82) Bloom
    paraphrases Greenberg as saying, "...it is Colecos resolve to market
    a keyboard (Module #3) some time next year." In Electronic Games
    (Jan. '83): Test Lab (Cohen, Henry B.) writes that, "...Coleco is
    working on a keyboard and Ram Cram for ColecoVision which should
    turn the system into a full-scale, high powered home computer
    system." Clearly Coleco intended to develop a ADAM-like computer all
    along, but the question remains as to why they decided to develop
    the Super system in the first place. If the Super module had been
    released it likely would have insured Colecos success for at least a
    while longer. Although given the cynicism of magazine writers and
    consumers after the Super Module failed to appear it is uncertain if
    it would have been enough to save Coleco from its eventual fate.

    Description of the pictures in the Electronic Fun magazine
    article(kws):

    The module shown appears to be the real thing(although almost
    certainly a mock-up) with a slot for the super tape wafers on the
    left side of the module(even a small slot that corresponds to the
    door on the super wafer can be seen). A small LED is near the super
    wafer door, probably to indicate a read\write or power light. The
    "Expansion Module Interface" is on the lower right of the module.
    The top of the unit has the ColecoVision face-plate and a reset
    button on the far right.

    Below the module three wafers are shown: They have the appearance of
    micro-cassettes, they are all black and appear to have a door on the
    left rear of the wafer. Super Donkey Kong, Super Donkey Kong Junior,
    and Super Smurf (in fine print: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle) are
    represented. There is a game package which bears a striking
    resemblance to a CD jewel case(although it appears to be made of
    vinyl) has Buck Rogers Planet of Doom on the cover. The by-line on
    the case states:

            "For use with ColecoVision Expansion Module #3"
            "AN ADVANCED VIDEO GAME THAT"
            "PLAYS ALL SCREENS INCLUDING"
            "BEST SCORES AND INITIALS!"

    The vinyl game case carries a part number of "#2645" - 25

Expansion Module #3 (Super Game Module - CED version) by Coleco.

    A second Super Game module was also rumored. It used a format called
    CED, using video records - vinyl records with much finer grooves,
    stored in cases so as to avoid contact save by the needle of the
    system. In an interview with Ralph Baer, who worked on this system,
    he said it was really zippy and in some respects better than CDROM.
    - 11, 34

    CED stands for Capacitance Electronic Disk system, and was pioneered
    by RCA. RCA used this technology in all of there CED video disk
    players, which competed with the Laserdisc format until 1985 when
    RCA discontinued all of its players. Coleco chose the CED format
    because RCA could create a computer controllable random access
    machine that was very affordable. The Coleco CED system would have
    come with two major components: the Coleco "controller" Module (#3)
    that plugs into the front of the system, and the RCA/COLECO CED
    player that connected to the Module and the T.V. set. Reportedly the
    price would be around $395-$495 for a complete set-up.
    Interestingly, the Coleco CED system would still play all of RCA's
    movie and music video disks, which was a big selling point for RCA.
    So you would have a Video Quality arcade system, and movie player -
    all in one.

    From Video Games and Computer Entertainment, June 1991: 'Talk of the
    future reminds Baer of the aborted, ahead-of-its-time project he
    launched in 1982. The ideal interface, the ColecoVision video game
    console and an RCA CED player. "Things advanced to the point that
    RCA actually made a few CED peripherals. Then along came the ADAM
    computer and ended it all. What I'd like to see is not going to
    happen." He'd like to see CED revived, instead of the industry going
    to CD. He worries that CD will fail to deliver the full-motion video
    that people expect.' - 12

ColecoVision (THE ORIGINAL VERSION) by Coleco.

    Remember seeing the first "glimpses" of the ColecoVision system in
    Electronic Games magazine? The first pictures of the system showed a
    much more attractive looking system than what we got as a final
    product. The system itself had a white faceplate where the
    ColecoVision logo appears now and the controllers were very
    different. They had blue side buttons, orange pound and star keys on
    the keypad, and the finger rollers that were later introduced on the
    Super Controllers.

    The finger rollers, which were to have been located between the
    keypad and joystick, were supposed to be available for use as either
    speed controllers, or as a paddle controller. They were dropped at
    the last minute, though if you open up a controller you can see the
    schematic for it on the circuit board. - 07

    The finger rollers shown in Daniel Cohen's book "Video Games", page
    57, are located beneath the keypad. - 24

Intellivision Adapter by Coleco.

    Coleco had plans for an adapter that would play Intellivision
    cartridges. Supposedly there are several working prototypes of this
    adapter that were shown at electronic shows. If Coleco would have
    only gone through with production, the ColecoVision would have been
    able to play Intellivision, 2600, and ColecoVision cartridges! - JC

Modem by AT&T/Coleco.

    Not to be confused with the ADAM modem, which does exist.

    An article in Newsweek, September 19, 1983, on page 69 announced the
    following: 'American Telephone and Telegraph Co. and Donkey Kong? An
    unlikely combination, perhaps, but one that became a reality last
    week when the venerable communications giant hooked up with Coleco
    Industries, the videogame maker, in a join effort to make
    entertainment software available by telephone to 25 million owners
    of video games and home computers.' 'Under the plan, AT&T and Coleco
    will develop a "modem", an electronic device that will connect a
    home computer or video game by telephone to a central data base.
    Coleco will supply the software programs, such as Donkey Kong or two
    of its other popular video games, Smurf and Zaxxon. The service will
    be offered sometime next year for about $20 a month; the modem is
    expected to cost $100.' - 13

Sensory Grip Controller by Coleco.

    The Super Action Controllers were supposed to have a sensory
    feature, so that when (for example) Rocky threw a punch in Super
    Action Boxing, you would feel it in the handle. - 13

*3.4) The Coleco Adam computer*

The Coleco Adam was designed and built in the early 80s as a compliment
to the Colecovision video game system. The Adam computer uses a similar
internal architecture but adds four slots (that are reported to be
nearly Apple ][ compatible) as well as a peripheral ?network? to which
everything in the system is attached. The disk drives, keyboard,
controllers and printer all communicate with the CPU via this network.
Interestingly, the Adam printer (a slow and noisy daisy wheel) is the
power source for the entire system.

The Adam computer has a built-in word processor that is the default
program run when the machine is powered on. Other software can be run
from either the cartridge slot or the two high-speed tape drives built
in to the front of the unit. Being a Z-80 based machine with reasonable
memory (64K) the Adam was even capable of running CP/M. The Coleco ADAM
came in two forms. You could buy the complete system, or, if you already
owned a ColecoVision game system, you could buy an add-on for it.

*3.5) The Telegames Personal Arcade/Dina2-in-1 system*

INTRODUCTION:

TELEGAMES produced and sold a ColecoVision compatible system called the
"Personal Arcade". The Personal Arcade was originally produced several
years after Coleco stopped production of the ColecoVision. It's very
small (12"x5"x1"), white, and comes with Nintendo-like gamepads. It uses
a normal sized power supply (6' cord) which is less than 1/2 the size of
the ColecoVision's ridiculously bulky one. It also comes with a game/TV
switchbox (10' cord) like the ColecoVision. It also contains two
separate expansion ports that were never taken advantage of.

COMPATIBILITY:

The ads and box say "Compatible with over 100 ColecoVision cartridges".
TELEGAMES operators claim that it is compatible with 95% of all the
ColecoVision cartridges, but won't provide a list of which ones it won't
work with. So far I've come up with 10 after testing it on 65
cartridges. Actually, *all* the cartridges work, it's just that the
"Personal Arcade" uses different joystick wiring and any cartridge made
specifically for the Super Action Controllers, Driving Module, or the
Roller Controller will be unplayable, among others. In fact, regular
ColecoVision or Atari compatible joysticks cannot be used on the
Personal Arcade either.

GAMEPADS:

The gamepads are 1 3/4" x 4 3/4" and nicely fit into the sides of the
unit. The cables are 3 feet long and stiffer than normal. A personal
grudge is the fact that the cables attach to the side of the gamepad
instead of the rear, making it harder to comfortably grasp. They are
also slightly too small and cheaply made in my opinion.

KEYPAD:

A single keypad is built into the unit and the buttons are a smaller
3/8" square, compared to the 5/8" square of the normal ColecoVision
controller. It is made of a thin membrane that works with the slightest
touch. The keypad has no frame like on the ColecoVision controller. It
looks like the following:

      1 2 3 4 5 *
      6 7 8 9 0 #

This changed keypad size and format means overlays cannot be used. It
also means it is very difficult to play keypad intensive games where
quick reflexes are needed. Now you must take your hand off the gamepad,
and look down to press the right key, instead of the ColecoVision
joystick where you just move your thumb without looking.

NON-COMPATIBLE LIST:

The following are unplayable on the Personal Arcade due to controller
problems:

      Fortune Builder (needs 2 separate keypads in 2-player head-to-head
      mode) Front Line (Super Action Controller game) Rocky Super Action
      Boxing (Super Action Controller game) Slither (Roller Controller
      game) Super Action Baseball (Super Action Controller game) Super
      Action Football (Super Action Controller game) Super Action Soccer
      (Super Action Controller game) Super Cobra (2nd button "bomb"
      doesn't work) Turbo (Driving Module Game) Victory (Roller
      Controller game) 

KEYPAD INTENSIVE LIST:

The following do work perfectly on the Personal Arcade, but are
difficult to play because of the need for very quick keypad presses:

      Aquattack Blockade Runner Mouse Trap Spy Hunter War Games 

BUILT IN GAME:

The Personal Arcade comes with a built-in game called "Meteoric Shower".
A decent shoot'em up game in which you have a ship in the middle of the
screen and you shoot waves of enemy ships that attack from above and below.

DISPLAY:

The Personal Arcade removes the famous multi-colored "ColecoVision"
opening screen from all of Coleco's cartridges, replacing it with a
green background and Japanese writing, with the words "1986 BIT
CORPORATION". Other publisher's opening screens are unaffected.

/Based upon a review by James Carter/

NOTE: Telegames lost all of their Personal Arcade stock to a tornado in
April, 1994.

*3.6) Other ColecoVision Clones*

Bit Corporation - the ILO 90

    Developed in 1984, this computer was apparently never distributed
    via an official circuits in the west. Very largely inspired of the
    design and the hardware of Sega SC-3000. It is rumoured to be
    compatible with this system as well.

Hanimex Pencil II

    The Hanixmex company, known for its pong clones, developed this
    obscure machine in 19984. The machine can, thanks to an extension,
    use the Colecovision cartridges.

Splicevision

    This is a Brazilian clone manufactured by a Brazillian telephone
    compant (Splice). It is rumoured that an 2600 adapter was also
    developed for this system.

ColecoVision Extension for the Spectravideo SVI-603

    This is not a stand-alone system, but an extension intended for
    Spectravision 318 and 328 consoles.

*3.7) Hardware Tidbits*

Atari Touch Pad / Children's Controller / Star Raiders Controller -

    The following buttons and/or combinations of buttons correspond to
    various inputs on the ColecoVision:

        DESIRED      PRESS THIS ON
        COLECO KEY   ATARI TOUCH PAD
        -----------------------------------------------
          1          * position
          2          7 position
          3          1 + * + 7.  The 7 may not be necessary.
          4          1 + 4 + 7 + *.
          5          4 + 7.
          6          1
          7
          8
          9
          *          4 + *
          0          1 + 4
          #          1 + 7
        Left button
        Right button 1 + 3, or 4 + 6, or 7 + 9, or * + #. - 20

CBS ColecoVision -

    Looks and operates just like my 'standard' ColecoVisions, but the
    metallic faceplates are different. On top, it says "1 / 0" instead
    of "Off / On", and the front plate reads:

        ________________________________________________________________________
        CBS  Coleco   Video Game/Home Computer System     [expansion slot]   CBS
             Vision
        Electronics
        ________________________________________________________________________

    CBS Electronics bought out the Coleco rights when Coleco bit the
    bullet. They marketed mostly in Europe. You can find most if not all
    of the Coleco games with a CBS label. They are all or mostly all PAL
    games. However, since the ColecoVision doesn't care, it doesn't
    matter. Plug them in and they play like NTSC! - 20, 22

CBS ColecoVision - France -

    The front plate for the French ColecoVision reads:

        ________________________________________________________________________
        CBS  Coleco   Ordinateur de jeuz Multi-Services   [expansion slot]   CBS
             Vision
        Electronics
        ________________________________________________________________________

    In France, the Coleco system was introduced as a Micro-Computer, and
    remained in stores until 1985. The ADAM was very lightly marketed in
    France. - 61

Champ Adapter -

    A near exact duplicate of the Coleco Keypad, minus the upper half
    that contains the joystick. Instead it has a 9-pin slot so you can
    plug in your favorite joystick and still have use of the keypad. It
    also can double as a joystick extension cable since the Champ
    Adapter cable is 6' long. - JC

Co-Stickler -

    Plastic "snap" on joysticks for the standard ColecoVision
    controllers. - JH

EVE Voice Module -

    A seperate white box which plugged in to the expansion port on the
    ADAM. - 60

Expansion Module #1 -

    The following Atari 2600 cartridges are incompatible with the 2600
    Adapter:

    Texas Chainsaw Massacre - JH
    Most Tigervision titles - 19 (but Miner 2049'er works - JH)
    All Supercharger games - 19 (will work, but only if cover of
    expansion module has been removed) - 26

Expansion Module #1 Adapter -

    This device plugs into Expansion Module #1 (2600 Adapter) to allow
    some Atari 2600 cartridges which have compatibility problems to be
    played. Supposedly it was only sent through the mail to those
    customers who called Coleco with complaints of 2600 cartridge
    problems. - JC

Expansion Module #2 -

    The driving controller can be used to play Victory, which officially
    requires the Roller Controller. - 46

Grabber Balls -

    They're red balls of a stick that snap on the ColecoVision
    controller, making it more arcade-style. Work *fantastic* when
    locked into the Roller Controller, and played with Robotron on the
    7800. - JC

Injoy-A-Stick -

    Replacements for the standard ColecoVision knob joysticks, which are
    considerably longer. - 63

Joy Sensor -

    A lot like an Intellivision II controler. Has a membrane kepad area
    and a membrane joystick, plus what appear to be rapid fire controls
    that might be variable. Well made. - 41

Perma Power Battery Eliminator/AC Adapter -

    Replaces the batteries in Expansion Module #2 (Driving Controller) -
    JC This is a _weird_ device. Since the only way to power the unit is
    with batteries (there's no alternate for a power source, so the
    connection is required), the "Battery Eliminator" is shaped like
    batteries. - JH

Power Stick -

    A great joystick for non-keypad, one button games. Having the keypad
    and second button above the joystick makes it awkward for those
    games, though. - JH

Roller Controller -

    To use the Roller Controller on a game which doesn't require its use
    (such as Centipede or Omega Rage), leave the Joystick/Roller switch
    in the Joystick position. - JH

    Driving Module games can be played with the Roller Controller by
    doing the following:

          1) Switch the setting to "Joystick". 2) Choose the game you
          wish to play. 3) Switch the setting to "Roller Controller". 4)
          Go. The leftmost button acts as the accelerator.

    Direction can be changed using the joystick in some as-yet
    undetermined manner. - 24

    You can get very strange behavior by using the roller controller for
    joystick games? Try wiggling it around while playing Smurf and you
    can move above or under the proper "ground" area so that none of the
    enemies can kill you! - 14

Snapper -

    Joystick height extenders which snap onto the joysticks. Of limited
    usefullness, as they come off easily. - 63

SpliceVision

    An apparently unauthorized ColecoVision knock-off released in
    Brazil. - 64

Super Action Controller -

    To play games that require the Driving Module with the Super Action
    Controllers Roller acts as steering wheel except when you roll it
    left the car turns right and vice versa. Up on the joystick is to
    shift gears to make the car go faster. Gas pedal is either
    automatically pressed down or try the buttons on the controller. - TC

Super Sketch Pad -

    Came in a box with a black background and a horizontal rainbow
    across the top, marked "Super Sketch". In addition to the
    ColecoVision version, there were Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, & TI
    99/4A models. The ColecoVision version has a silver sticker on the
    top right corner that says Model G2500 For Use with Colecovision.
    The Sketch Unit itself is white with a brown plastic piece used for
    the drawing. One of the strangest things about it is that it does
    not plug into the joystick port. The cable is attached directly to
    the right side of the cartridge. The cartridge label is mostly
    silver with Super Sketch with the horizontal rainbow with it.

    The sketch unit it has 5 controls. Two "Lift" buttons, one on each
    side, allow drawing to be turned off. "Select" allows selection of
    colors and menu items on the left side of the screen; "Menu" brings
    the menu up and/or removes it.

    The program itself say Super Sketch while fluctuating through
    different colors upon power-up. Just below that it says:

                    Copyright 1984 Personal Peripherals, Inc.
                                    Irving,Texas
                                  By: Steve Roubik
                               Press MENU to proceed.

    The program really is nothing more than a doodle program. Menu
    options are:

            Clear
            Swap
            Expert
            Brush

            (The 16 Colors)

            Eraser
            Draw
            Fill
            Show

    It comes with a large white envelope that says Super Sketch starter
    kit. Inside is the owners manual, quick reference card, 6 drawings
    to trace with, and a warranty card. - 42

Telegames Personal Arcade -

    The Personal Arcades were originally made by the Bit Corporation,
    and marked as DINA units with a second cartridge slot for some
    unknown purpose. - 30

    The joypads that come with the Personal Arcade are 2600 compatible;
    they also have an irksome quirk for anyone used to the ColecoVision:
    they're reversed (i.e. right is left, left is right).

    Besides the games listed above, Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle is
    incompatible with some Personal Arcades, and the 2600 Adapter will
    not work due to power and RF cable positioning.

    The pause switch is incompatible with ColecoVision cartridges, so it
    is apparently used by cartridges which go in the second slot. - 14, 52

    At least two different version of the Personal Arcade (with
    different power supplies) exist. - JH

*4.0) Cartridge List*

Key:

Name -
        (d) Demo
        (p) Prototype
        (C) End label notes the cart is for ColecoVision
        (CA) End label notes the cart is for ColecoVision and ADAM
        (C/CA) Both end label varieties are available
        (S) Came with Silver and Blue SierraVision label
        (W) Came with White SierraVision label
        (S/W) Both SierraVision label varieties are available

Manufacturer -
        20) 20th Century
        AC) Activision
        AT) AtariSoft
        BC) Bit Corp.
        BR) Broderbund
        CB) CBS
        CO) Coleco
        CV) ColecoVision Reverse-engineering Society
        EP) Epyx
        FP) Fisher Price
        FS) First Star
        IM) Imagic
        IN) Interphase
        KO) Konami
        MA) Mattel
        MF) Micro Fun
        OD) Odyssey
        PB) Parker Brothers
        PP) Personal Peripherals
        PR) Probe 2000
        SE) Sega
        SI) SierraVision
        SP) Spinnaker
        ST) Starpath
        SU) Sunrise
        SV) Spectravideo
        SY) Sydney
        TG) Telegames
        TI) Tigervision
        XO) Xonox

Yr - Year of Release

Number - Part Number

Cn (controller) -
        C)  Standard ColecoVision Controller _only_
        D)  Driving Controller
        Do) Driving Controller (optional)
        P)  Super Sketch Pad (Personal Peripherals)
        R)  Roller Controller
        Ro) Roller Controller (optional)
        S)  Super Action Controllers -only-
        So) Super Action Controller (optional)
        The default is Standard Coleco -or- Super Action Controller.

K (memory, in kilobytes) -
         8)  8KB ROM
        16) 16KB ROM
        24) 24KB ROM
        32) 32KB ROM

O (overlay) -
        X) Overlay Exists for Standard Controller
        Y) Overlay Exists for Super Action Controller
        Z) Overlay Exists for Standard Controller _and_ Super Action
           Controller

R? (rarity) -
        C)  Common
        U)  Uncommon
        R)  Rare
        ER) Extremely Rare
        UR) Unbelievably Rare
        NA) Not Available

Rating -
        1) Awful
        2) Poor
        3) OK
        4) Good
        5) Very Good
        N/A) Not Applicable

        Format: Rating/# of people rating.
                For example, 3.3/4 would mean 4 people had rated the
                cartridge, with an average rating of 3.3.

Type -
        Adv    - Adventure Game
        Avoid  - Shot Avoidance Game
        Card   - Card Game
        Chase  - Chase Game
        Defend - Defensive Shoot 'em Up Game (i.e., you can only shoot shots)
        Demo   - Demonstration Cartridge
        Drive  - Driving Game
        Educ   - Educational Game
        Ladder - Games Which Require Climbing to an Objective
        Maze   - Maze Game
        Misc   - A Combination of Various Game Types
        Pinbll - Pinball Game
        Pool   - Pool Game
        Puzzle - Puzzle Game
        Round  - Collect Items Game
        Shoot  - Shoot 'em Up Game
        Split  - Split & Recombine Game
        Sport  - Sports Game
        Strat  - Strategy Game
        Test   - Test Cartridge
        Text   - Text Adventure

Note - Telegames owns the rights to manufacture many ColecoVision
cartridges, and still does so. As a result, many games listed below are
also available from Telegames in assorted cases (many reused) with
varied labels. Games listed below for Telegames are either (1) only
available from Telegames, (2) only available from Telegames and Bit
Corp, or (3) are marketed by Telegames under a different name.

Games Telegames owns rights to are: Alcazar The Forgotten Fortress,
Beamrider, H.E.R.O., Keystone Kapers, Pitfall, Pitfall II, River Raid,
Rock 'N' Bolt, Zenji, Decathlon, Gustbuster, Rolloverture, Campaign '84,
Quest for Quintana Roo, Mountain King, Skiing, Amazing Bumpman, Tank
War, Strike It, Meteoric Shower, Wing War, Fathom, Moonsweeper, Nova
Blast, Tournament Tennis, Dragonfire, Kung Fu Superkicks, Motocross
Racer, Sir Lancelot, Artillery Duel, Tomark the Barbarian, Robin Hood,
AquaAttack, Blockade Runner, Sewer Sam, Squish-em Sam, Boulderdash,
AstroChase, and Centipede. - TC

Note - CBS produced games for Coleco for European release. As a result,
many Coleco titles listed below are also available from CBS in PAL
format. Games listed below for CBS are those marketed by CBS under a
different name.

Note - CBS also produced many "prototype" games in Europe. These
cartridges have been packaged and sold in many places; on the list
below, prototypes produced in quantity by CBS are marked (p - CBS).

*4.1) US Game releases*

Name                        Manuf.  Yr  Number  Cn  K   O  R?   Rating  Type
================================================================================
2010: The Graphic Action        CO  84  2618        32  X  R    3.8/5   Puzzle
    Game (CA)
A.E. (p)                        CO                         UR           Shoot
ADAM Demo Cartridge (d)         CO                         UR           Demo
Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress  TG      TC-201      32     R    4.0/1   Adv
Alphabet Zoo                    SP  83  ABC-CV      16     R    3.0/2   Educ
Amazing Bumpman                 TG                  16     R    2.0/1   Educ
Antarctic Adventure (CA)        CO  84  2429        16     U    4.0/4   Drive
Aquattack                       IN  84  2-004       16     ER   3.0/1   Shoot
Artillery Duel                  XO  83  99022       16     R    4.5/4   Strat
Artillery Duel/Chuck Norris     XO  83  6233        16/16  UR     N/A
    Superkicks (double-end)
B.C.'s Quest for Tires (S)      SI  83  OTL-902     16     U    4.0/7   Adv
B.C.'s Quest for Tires II:      CO  84  2620        24     R    3.5/4   Adv
    Grog's Revenge (CA)
Beamrider                       AC  83  VS-003      16     U    4.6/5   Shoot
Blockade Runner                 IN  84  2-002       16     R    2.5/4   Shoot
Boulder Dash                    TG      TC203       16     ER           Ladder
Brainstrainers (CA)             CO      2696        16     R    2.0/2   Educ
Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom (CA) CO  83  2615        24     C    2.8/4   Shoot
Bump 'n' Jump (CA)              CO  84  2440    Do  24     U    3.4/5   Drive
Bump 'n' Jump (p)               MA      7575        16     UR           Drive
BurgerTime (CA)                 CO  84  2430        16     U    4.0/6   Ladder
BurgerTime (p)                  MA      7514               UR           Ladder
Cabbage Patch Kids              CO  84  2682        16     U    3.0/5   Adv
    Adventure in the Park (CA)
Cabbage Patch Kids Adventure    CO                  16     UR           Adv
    in the Park (p)
Cabbage Patch Kids Picture      CO  84  2600        32  X  R    2.0/3   Educ
    Show (CA)
Campaign '84                    SU  83  1604        16     ER   3.3/3   Strat
Carnival (C)                    CO  82  2445        16     C    3.3/7   Shoot
Centipede                       AT  83  70004   Ro  16     C    4.1/7   Shoot
Choplifter! (CA)                CO  84  2690        16     ER   3.8/4   Shoot
Chuck Norris Superkicks         XO  83              16     R    2.5/2   Adv
Congo Bongo (CA)                CO  84  2669        24     U    3.4/5   Ladder
Cosmic Avenger (C)              CO  82  2434        16     C    2.9/10  Shoot
Cosmic Crisis                   BC      PG901       16     UR           Maze
Cosmic Crisis                   TG                  16     R            Maze
Dam Busters, The (CA)           CO  84  2686        32  X  R    2.0/3   Shoot
Dance Fantasy                   FP      DCF-CV      16     ER   2.0/1   Educ
Decathlon                       AC  83  VS-006      16     U    3.5/6   Sport
Defender                        AT  83  70002       24     U    3.5/8   Shoot
Destructor (CA)                 CO  83  2602    D   32     U    2.7/7   Shoot
Dig Dug (p)                     AT                         UR   3.0/1   Maze
Dr. Seuss: Fix-Up the Mix-Up    CO  84  2699        16  X  R    3.0/3   Puzzle
    Puzzler (CA)
Donkey Kong (C/CA)              CO  82  2411               C    3.5/11  Ladder
Donkey Kong Junior (C)          CO  83  2601        16     C    4.1/9   Ladder
Dragonfire                      IM      O6611       16     R    3.0/1   Adv
Dukes of Hazzard (CA)           CO  84  2607    D   32     R    2.0/3   Drive
Escape From the Mindmaster (p)  EP  83  6200               UR
Evolution (CA)                  SY  83              16     R    4.0/2   Misc
Facemaker                       SP      FMK-CV      16  X  R    1.0/2   Educ
Fall Guy (p - CBS)              20              Do  16     UR           Drive
Fathom                          IM      O6205       16     R    3.0/1   Adv
Final Test Cartridge            CO                  16     UR   2.0/1   Demo
Flipper Slipper                 SV      SE291       16     R    2.0/1   Pinbll
Flying Brassieres (p)           AT                         UR           Shoot
Fortune Builder (CA)            CO  84  2681        32  X  R    4.3/4   Strat
Fraction Fever                  SP  83  FRF-CV      16     R    2.3/3   Educ
Frantic Freddie                 SV      SE232       16     R    3.0/1   Ladder
Frenzy (CA)                     CO  84  2613        24     U    4.3/6   Shoot
Frogger                         PB  83  9830        16     U    4.0/4   Ladder
Frogger II Threedeep!           PB  84  9990        16     R    2.8/5   Ladder
Front Line (CA)                 CO  83  2650    S   24  Y  U    2.8/5   Shoot
Galaxian                        AT  83  70006       32     ER   4.5/2   Shoot
Gateway to Apshai               EP  84  610R        16     R    3.4/5   Adv
Gorf (C)                        CO  83  2449        16     C    3.5/11  Shoot
Gust Buster                     SU      1601        16     ER   2.0/2   Adv
Gyruss                          PB  84  9980        16     R    4.2/6   Shoot
H.E.R.O.                        AC      VS-005      16     U    5.0/5   Shoot
Heist, The                      MF  83  MCL520      24     U    3.5/4   Chase
Illusions (CA)                  CO  84  2621        16     R    3.3/3   Split
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll         XO      99062       16     ER   1.0/2   Text
James Bond 007                  PB  83  9900        16     R    3.0/3   Adv
Joust (p)                       AT                         UR   4.0/1   Shoot
Juke Box                        SP      JUK-CV      16     R    3.0/2   Puzzle
Jumpman Junior                  EP      590R        16     U    4.5/6   Ladder
Jungle Hunt                     AT      70007       24     ER   3.7/3   Adv
Ken Uston Blackjack / Poker (C) CO  82  2439            X  C    2.7/7   Card
Kevtris                         CV  96                     ER   5.0/1   Puzzle
Keystone Kapers                 AC  84  VS-004      16     R    2.7/3   Chase
Kung Fu Superkicks              TG  83              16     R    3.0/1   Adv
Lady Bug (C)                    CO  82  2433        16     C    4.0/10  Maze
Learning with Leeper (S/W)      SI      LLL-901     16     R    2.5/2   Educ
Linking Logic                   FP  84  LNL-CV      16     ER   5.0/2   Educ
Logic Levels                    FP      LLV-CV      16     ER   5.0/1   Educ
Looping (C)                     CO  83  2603        16     C    3.0/9   Shoot
M*A*S*H (p - CBS)               20                  16     UR           Avoid
Make-A-Face                     SP                  16  X  UR   1.0/2   Educ
Masters of the Universe: The    MA  84  7759               UR
    Power of He-Man (p)
Masters of the Universe II (p)  MA  84                     UR
Memory Manor                    FP      MEM-CV      16     ER   3.0/1   Educ
Meteoric Shower                 BC  86              16     NA   2.7/3   Shoot
Miner 2049er                    MF  83  MCL521      24     C    3.9/7   Ladder
Mr. Do! (C/CA)                  CO  83  2622        24     C    3.9/10  Maze
Mr. Do!'s Castle                PB      A9820       16     R    4.5/4   Ladder
Monkey Academy (CA)             CO  84  2694        32     R    3.3/3   Educ
Montezuma's Revenge             PB  84  9660        16     U    4.3/6   Ladder
Moon Patrol (p)                 AT                         UR           Shoot
Moonsweeper                     IM  83  O6207       16     U    3.8/4   Shoot
Motocross Racer                 XO      99026       16     ER   3.0/3   Drive
Motocross Racer/Tomarc the      XO  83              16/16  UR     N/A
    Barbarian (double-end)
Mountain King                   SU  84  1605        16     ER   3.3/3   Ladder
Mouse Trap (C)                  CO  82  2419        16  X  C    3.6/10  Maze
Music Box Demo (d)              CO                  32     UR           Demo
Nova Blast                      IM  83  O6607       32     U    3.5/4   Shoot
Oil's Well (S)                  SI  83  OWL-901     16     R    3.8/4   Maze
Omega Race (CA)                 CO  83  2448    Ro  16     C    3.8/9   Shoot
One-On-One                      MF  84              24     R    3.0/1   Sport
Pac-Man (p)                     AT  83  70001              UR   5.0/1   Maze
Pepper II (C/CA)                CO  83  2605        16     C    3.4/8   Maze
Pitfall!                        AC  83  VS-001      16     U    3.2/5   Adv
Pitfall II                      AC  84  VS-008      16     U    3.5/2   Adv
Pitstop                         EP  83  600R    Do  16     U    3.0/6   Drive
Popeye                          PB  83  9810        16     C    3.3/10  Adv
Porky's (p)                     20                         UR
Power Grabber (p)               SY                         UR
Q*Bert                          PB  83  9800         8     C    4.2/10  Maze
Q*Bert's Qubes                  PB      9950        16     ER   5.0/3   Puzzle
Quest for Quintana Roo          SU  83  1603        16     R    3.7/3   Adv
River Raid                      AC  84  VS-002      16     U    3.4/5   Shoot
Robin Hood                      XO  83  99023       16     R    3.7/3   Adv
Robin Hood/Sir Lancelot         XO  83              16/16  UR     N/A
    (double-end)
Roc 'n Rope (CA)                CO  84  2668        24     U    3.6/5   Ladder
Rock 'n' Bolt                   TG      TC-202      16     R    5.0/1   Puzzle
Rocky Super Action Boxing (CA)  CO  83  2606    S   24  Y  C    3.3/6   Sport
Rolloverture                    SU      1602        16     ER   3.0/1   Puzzle
Root Beer Tapper (CA)           CO  84  2616        32     R    3.7/6   Shoot
Sammy Lightfoot (S)             SI      SLL-901     16     ER   3.0/2   Ladder
Schtroumpfs                     CB      4L1939      16     ER   3.1/9   Adv
Sector Alpha                    SV      SE220       24     ER   2.5/2   Shoot
Sewer Sam                       IN  84  2-001       24     ER   3.2/5   Shoot
Sir Lancelot                    XO  83  99024       16     ER   3.0/2   Adv
Sketch Master                   PP      G2500   P          UR   4.0/1   Educ
Skiing                          TG                  16     ER           Sport
Slither (CA)                    CO  83  2492    R   16     C    4.2/9   Shoot
Slurpy                          XO      99061       16     ER   2.5/2   Shoot
Smurf Paint 'n' Play            CO  84  2697        32  X  R    2.0/3   Educ
    Workshop (CA)
Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's      CO  82  2443        16     C    3.1/9   Adv
    Castle (C)
Space Fury (C)                  CO  82  2415        16     C    2.7/7   Shoot
Space Panic (C)                 CO  82  2447        16     C    2.6/8   Ladder
Spectron                        SV  83  SE234       16     R    3.5/2   Shoot
Spy Hunter (CA)                 CO  84  2617    So  32  Z  R    4.5/5   Drive
Squish'em featuring Sam         IN  84  2-003       16     U    3.7/3   Ladder
Star Trek: Strategic            CO  84  2680    So  24  Y  U    4.0/7   Shoot
    Operations Simulator (CA)
Star Wars: The Arcade Game      PB  84  9940        16     U    3.5/6   Shoot
Strike It                       TG                  16     R    2.0/1
Subroc (CA)                     CO  83  2614        24     C    2.4/9   Shoot
Super Action Baseball (C/CA)    CO  83  2491    S   32  Y  C    3.1/7   Sport
Super Action Football           CB              S       Y  ER           Sport
Super Action Football (CA)      CO  83  2422    S   32  Y  C    3.0/3   Sport
Super Action Soccer             CO              S   32  Y  ER           Sport
Super Cobra                     PB  83  9850         8     R    2.5/4   Shoot
Super Controller Test Cartridge CO                         UR           Test
Super Cross Force               SV      SE237       16     R    3.3/3   Shoot
Super Front Line Demo (p)       CO                         UR           Demo
Tank Wars                       BC      PG902       16     UR           Shoot
Tank Wars                       TG                  16     R            Shoot
Tarzan (CA)                     CO  84  2632        24     R    3.0/5   Adv
Telly Turtle (CA)               CO      2698        16     R    2.3/3   Educ
Threshold (S)                   SI  83  THQ903      16     ER   2.7/3   Shoot
Time Pilot (C/CA)               CO  83  2633        16     C    3.0/7   Shoot
Tomarc the Barbarian            XO      99025       16     ER   2.0/1   Adv
Tournament Tennis               IM  84  O6030       32     ER   3.0/1   Sport
Tunnels & Trolls (d)            CO      2441        32     UR           Demo
Turbo (C)                       CO  82  2413    D   16     C    2.9/9   Drive
Tutankham                       PB  83  9840        16     R    3.5/4   Adv
Up 'n Down                      SE  84  009-21      16     ER   4.7/3   Drive
Venture (C)                     CO  82  2417        16     C    3.9/10  Adv
Victory (CA)                    CO  83  2446    R   24     U    3.3/7   Shoot
Video Hustler (p - CBS)         KO                  16     UR   3.0/1   Pool
War Games (CA)                  CO  84  2632    R   24  X  C    3.9/7   Defend
War Room                        PR  83  2153CL  Ro  32  X  U    4.3/6   Defend
Wing War                        IM  83  O6209       16     U    4.3/4   Shoot
Wiz Math (W)                    SI      WML-900     16     ER   2.0/1   Educ
Word Feud                       XO      99060       16     ER   3.0/1   Educ
Yolk's on You (p - CBS)         20                  16     UR   3.0/1   Round
Zaxxon (C)                      CO  82  2435        24     C    3.2/9   Shoot
Zenji                           AC  84  VS-007      16     R    5.0/1   Puzzle

*4.2) European/CBS Game releases - 55, MW*

Coleco games for the European market were produced by CBS Electronics in
England. The carts have the same size as the US ones, but the upper end
has a different shape. There is a finger-thick indentation on each side,
probably to make it easier to get the cart out of the system slot. The
labels are black; on the upper half there's the CBS/Colecovision
character and the name of the game. Below is a white box with a lot of
writing, copyright and production information, the model number
(4Lxxxx), and often the sentence "for use on pal-tv-system only".
Sometimes the labels are multilingual.

Cartridge                                       Coleco #        CBS #
=========                                       ========        =====
2010: The Graphic Action Game                   2618            ???
Antarctic Adventure                             2429            ???
B.C.'s Quest for Tires II: Grog's Revenge       2620            ???
Brainstrainers                                  2696            ???
Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom                      2615            4L4448 x
Bump 'n' Jump                                   2440            ???
BurgerTime                                      2430            4L4454
Cabbage Patch Kids Adventure in the Park        2682            ???
Cabbage Patch Kids Picture Show                 2600            ???
Carnival                                        2445            4L2007
Choplifter!                                     2690            ???
Congo Bongo                                     2669            ???
Cosmic Avenger                                  2434            4L2023 x
Dam Busters, The                                2686            ???
Destructor                                      2602            4L4460
Dr. Seuss: Fix-Up the Mix-Up Puzzler            2699            ???
Donkey Kong                                     2411            4L1920 x
Donkey Kong Junior                              2601            4L1716 x
Dukes of Hazzard                                2607            ???
Fortune Builder                                 2681            ???
Frenzy                                          2613            4L4311
Front Line                                      2650            ???
Gorf                                            2449            4L1905
Illusions                                       2621            ???
Ken Uston Blackjack / Poker                     2439            ???
Lady Bug                                        2433            4L2039 x
Looping                                         2603            4L2330
Mr. Do!                                         2622            4L2100 x
Monkey Academy                                  2694            ???
Mouse Trap                                      2419            4L1988 
Omega Race                                      2448            4L4305
Pepper II                                       2605            4L1878
Roc 'n Rope                                     2668            ???
Rocky Super Action Boxing                       2606            4L4254
Root Beer Tapper                                2616            ???
Slither                                         2492            4L4255 .us
Smurf Paint 'n' Play Workshop                   2697            ???
Smurf (Rescue in Gargamel's Castle)/Schtroumpfs 2443            4L1937 x
Space Fury                                      2415            4L1998
Space Panic                                     2447            4L1952
Spy Hunter                                      2617            ???
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator       2680            ???
Subroc                                          2614            4L4161 x
Super Action Baseball                           2491            ???
Super Action Football                           2422            ???
Super Action Soccer / Super Action Football     ???             4L4505
Tarzan                                          2632            ???
Telly Turtle                                    2698            ???
Time Pilot                                      2633            4L4038 x 
Tunnels & Trolls                                2441            ???
Turbo                                           2413            4L2057 .us
Venture                                         2417            4L1974 x
Victory                                         2446            4L4065 x
War Games                                       2632            4L4457 x
Zaxxon                                          2435            4L1954 x

*4.3) Unreleased games*

Coleco was infamous for not putting out advertised cartridges. Several
of the carts were shown in the catalog that came with the ColecoVision.
It is not known if the screen shots shown were simple artist renditions,
or if somewhere an actual demo or prototype of the cartridges exist. - JC

Being in the toy business, Coleco was a marketing-driven company. All
kinds of screens, demos, and such were developed to be shown at various
trade shows (CES, Toy Fair) and if the wholesale buyers didn't bite,
they wouldn't get produced. Additionally, the box art was *always*
produced months before the real game art was even designed properly (due
to the print lag time), so by the time the box was printed, the game art
probably had changed significantly. - 56

In the specific case of 2010: The Graphic Action Game a brochure with a
picture of a screen shot was produced before any coding had begun. - 65

The following cartridges, put out by the listed manufacturer, reportedly
do not exist, even as a prototype or demo cart. Solid evidence of their
existence would be greatly appreciated.

Name                         Manuf.  Number  Notes
================================================================================
005                             CO           (Unreleased)
9 to 5                          20           (Unreleased)
Air Defense                     OD   2153CL  (Released as War Room by PR?)
Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress  AC           (Only Telegames release exists)
Apple Cider Spider              SI           (Unreleased)
Aquatron                        IN           (Released as Aquattack?)
Armoured Assault                SV   SE232   (Unreleased)
Astro Chase                     PB   9860    (Unreleased)
Barbados Booty                  PB           (Unreleased)
Boulder Dash                    FS           (Only Telegames release exists)
Bung the Juggler                SY           (Wiz game - never finished)
Cabbage Patch Playground        CO           (Unreleased)
Capture the Flag                CO           (Unreleased)
Caverns and Creatures           OD   2147CL  (Unreleased)
Chess Challenger                CO   2438    (Unreleased)
Choplifter!                     BR           (Only Coleco release exists)
Circus Charlie                  PB           (Unreleased)
Crash Dive                      PB   66013   (Unreleased)
Crisis Mountain                 MF           (Unreleased)
Destruction Derby               CO           (Working title for Destructor?)
Dimensional Puzzles             CO           (Unreleased)
Dino Eggs                       MF           (Unreleased)
Domino Man                      CB   80013   (Unreleased)
Donkey Kong 3                   CO           (Unreleased)
Dot to Dot Zot!                 SY           (Unreleased)
Dracula                         CO   2608    (Unreleased)
Dragon's Lair                   CO           (Unreleased)
Dragonstomper                   ST   6400    (Unreleased)
Dungeons & Dragons IV           MA   7861    (Unreleased)
The Earth Dies Screaming        20           (Unreleased)
Flashlight                      MA   7863    (Unreleased)
Flashpoint                      OD   2148CL  (Unreleased)
Globe Grabber                   MF           (Unreleased)
Grog!                           SY           (Working title for B.C. II)
Head to Head Baseball           CO   2423    (Super Action BB released instead)
Head to Head Football           CO   2422    (Super Action FB released instead)
Horse Racing                    CO   2442    (Unreleased)
Hydroplane                      MA   7866    (Unreleased)
Illusions                       MA   7760    (Sold to Coleco for release)
Jawbreaker                      SI           (Unreleased)
Journey                         CO           (Unreleased)
Lord of the Dungeon             PR           (Unreleased)
Lunar Leeper                    SI           (Unreleased)
M.A.S.H. II                     PB   66015   (Unreleased)
Maddenness                      CB   80122   (Unreleased)
Magic Carpet                    MA   7865    (Unreleased)
Master Builder                  SV   SE233   (Unreleased)
Masters of the Universe         MA           (Unreleased)
Ms. Pac-Man                     AT           (Unreleased)
Missile Command                 AT           (Untested Prototype ROM exists!)
Mr. Cool                        SI           (Unreleased)
Mr. Turtle                      CO   2432    (Unreleased)
Mountain King                   CB           (Only Sunrise release exists)
Necromancer                     CO           (Unreleased)
Number Bumper                   SU           (Unreleased)
Pastfinder                      AC           (Unreleased)
Phaser Patrol                   ST   6100    (Unreleased)
Phoenix                         CO           (Unreleased)
Pink Panther                    PR   2152CL  (Unreleased)
PizzaTime                       MA   7864    (Unreleased)
Pole Position                   AT           (Unreleased)
Rainbow Walker                  CO           (Unreleased)
Rip Cord                        CO   2431    (Unreleased)
Rock 'n' Bolt                   AC           (Only Telegames release exists)
Round Up                        CO           (Unreleased)
Satan's Hollow                  CB           (Unreleased)
Scraper Caper                   TI           (Unreleased)
Short Circuit                   MF           (Unreleased)
Side Trak                       CO   2418    (Unreleased)
Silicon Warrior                 EP           (Unreleased)
Skiing                          CO   2436    (Only Telegames release exists)
Smurf Plan and Learn            CO   2444    (Unreleased)
Smurfette's Birthday            CO   2444    (Unreleased)
Spacemaster X-7                 20           (Unreleased)
Spectar                         CO   2421    (Unreleased)
Spook Maze                      SY           (Working title for Wiz Math)
Stunt Flyer                     SI           (Unreleased)
Summer Games                    EP           (Unreleased)
Sword & the Sorcerer            CO   2619    (Unreleased)
Tac-Scan                        CO   2635    (Unreleased)
Temple of Apshai                EP           (Unreleased)
Time Runner                     MF           (Unreleased)
Toy Bizarre                     AC           (Unreleased)
Wild Western                    CO           (Unreleased)
Wings                           CB           (Unreleased)
Wizard of Id's Adventure        SY           (Unreleased)
The Wizard of Oz                CO   2636    (Unreleased)
Wizard of Wor                   CB   2421    (Unreleased)
Wiz Lab                         SY           (Unreleased)
Wiz Music                       SY           (Unreleased)
Wiz Type                        SY           (Unreleased)
Wiz Words                       SY           (Unreleased)
Wiz World                       SY           (Unreleased)
Wrath of Quintana Roo           SU           (Unreleased)

*4.4) Re-released games - MW*

Some of the previously unreleased Coleco games, have been re-released.
Find a list of re-released games below:

Name                         Manuf.  Number  Notes
================================================================================
Dig Dug				AT	     (Re-released at CGE2k1)
Joust				AT	     (Re-released at CGE2k1)
Lord of the Dungeon		PR	     (Re-released at CGE2k1)
Pac Man				AT	     (Re-released at CGE2k1)
Power Lords		        PR   2149CL  (Re-released at CGE2k)
Sky Jaguar			KO           Converted by Opcode games
Steamroller                     AC           (Re-released at CGE2k)
Yie-Ar Kung Fu			KO           Converted by Opcode games

NOTE - The following are in development by Opcode games:
Billiards                       KO           Converted by Opcode games
Castlevania++			KO	     Converted by Opcode games
Goonies+			KO	     Converted by Opcode games
Gradius+			KO	     Converted by Opcode games
Knightmare                      KO           Converted by Opcode games
Magical Tree                    KO           Converted by Opcode games
Mario Bros			NI	     Converted by Opcode games
Metal Gear++			KO	     Converted by Opcode games
Ping-pong			KO	     Converted by Opcode games
Rally-X				NM	     Converted by Opcode games
Road Fighter                    KO           Converted by Opcode games
Steamroller                     KO           Converted by Opcode games

+ = Memorypack needed
++ = Super Expansion Module needed



*4.5) Modern games - MW*

Since 1996 there have been several modern game releases on cart. Find a
list of modern game releases below (these are all modern releases that
have been released on cart, sorted by their releasedate):

Name                                    Developer  	    Notes
================================================================================
Astro Invaders (2005)                   Scott Huggins 	    
Deflektor Kollection (2005) 	        Daniel Bienvenu 
Space Invaders Collection (2004)        Opcode games
Colecovision Game pack #2 (2004)        Daniel Bienvenu	    10 pre-release carts exist
Double Breakout [30 limited]            Daniel Bienvenu	    10 pre-release carts exist
Reversi+Diamond Dash (2003)             Daniel Bienvenu
Reversi (2003) [20 limited]             Daniel Bienvenu
CV Drum (2003)                          E-Mancanics
Colecovision Game pack #1 (2002)        Daniel Bienvenu
Ms. Star Fury (2001) [75 limited]       Daniel Bienvenu     10 pre-release carts exist
Cosmo Fighter 3 (2001)                  Marcel de Kogel
Dac-man (2000)                          Daniel Bienvenu
Dac-man L.E. (2000) [50 limited]        Daniel Bienvenu
Space Invasion (1998)                   John Dondzila
Star Fortress (1997)                    John Dondzila
Colecovision Creations (1997)[limited]  John Dondzila
Kevtris (1996) [100 limited] 	        Kevin Horton 

*4.6) Cartridge Tidbits, Tips, and Easter Eggs:*

2010: The Graphic Action Game -

    Jim Wolf and two colleagues included an easter egg in the game which
    causes their names to scroll across the screen. To see it, power up
    all 5 communication circuits in skill level 5 before powering up any
    other circuits, then squeeze both firing buttons simultaneously. - 65

Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress -

    This game was designed by Activision, but never released by them.
    All known copies were released by Telegames, but with a combined
    Activision/Telegames label.

B.C.'s Quest for Tires II: Grog's Revenge -

    The following secret codes can be used to change levels: - 17

        Mountain 1:   2,2 in cave 3
                      3,3 in cave 5
                      4,4 in cave 1
                      5,5 in cave 1

        Mountain 2:   2,2 in cave 1
                      2,3 in cave 1
                      4,4 in cave 1
                      4,5 in cave 5
                      6,2 in cave 10
                      7,8 in cave 5

        Mountain 3:   3,1 in cave 5  (hint: "as easy as pi", ie. 3.1415925)
                      4,1 in cave 7
                      5,9 in cave 8
                      2,5 in cave 8

    [Editor's note: I just realized - for whatever reason, the value of
    pi given here is wrong. It's 3.14159265; the last digit should thus
    be 6, or perhaps 7 if rounding, but not 5.]

Blockade Runner -

    Need the manual - 01

Bump 'n' Jump -

    Pales in comparison to Intellivision version, with off-key music,
    washed-out colors, sluggish control, unforgiving collision
    detection, and other errors and annoyances. - 20

    There is a bonus of 50,000 points when you complete a level without
    bumping off any emery cars. You can also cheat by speeding up at the
    very beginning of a level and jumping off to the side of the screen
    where you can't see your car. Landing there, you can cruise through
    the whole level without doing anything. If you play it to a million
    the letter G appears by the number of guys you have left. You can
    now have infinate lives for one or two levels. - 60

BurgerTime -

    After completing the first round of boards, the game speeds up.
    Thus, pepper is in short supply as well as your patience. Includes
    six boards, two _more_ than the arcade version (the Intellivision
    version actually includes still two more). Based upon the arcade
    game by Data East. - 24 To do well at BurgerTime, you need to let
    your Chefs get killed when you have an excess and reserve you
    peppers till when you really need to use them. It is much easier to
    gain extra lives than it is to build up a big supply of peppers.
    Extra lives come quickly and easily in the game, peppers don't. Go
    to the screen where there are two long ladders on the right side of
    the screen. Use this screen to build up your supply of peppers.
    Enemies can be easily avoided on this level. Just run around
    avoiding enemies and wait for peppers to pop up and grab them. Do
    this over and over until you have an ample supply then finish level.
    If you let yourself get killed instead of using up all your peppers
    to stay alive you can play this game for as long as you like. The
    hardest part of the game is that it is impossible to fake out the
    enemies by going one way and then switching directions. They never
    fall for it. - 60

Cabbage Patch Kids Adventure in the Park -

    Prototype is an enhanced version of the released product, not a
    predecessor. - JH

Carnival -

    Shoot the hardest targets (pipes and letters) first; once you get
    down to a few targets the ducks come out in volume, leaving little
    time or ammunition to shoot the harder stuff. - JC

    Based upon the arcade game Sega. - 24

Centipede -

    Atarisoft made a perfect port of Centipede for ColecoVision. With
    roller controller, you have the arcade version at home! Based upon
    the arcade game by Atari. - 24 In the Centipede cart rom, there is a
    message at the end of the code:

        IF YOU ARE READING THIS, AND YOU WORK AT COLECO,
        THEN PLEASE TELL GEORGE KISS I SAID HELLO.  THANKS.

                                   SINCERELY, LARRY CLAGUE

        PROGRAMMED BY:              L CLAGUE
        GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION BY:  L CLAGUE
        SOUND DATA SUPPLIED BY:     A FUCHS
        START DATE:                 04/20/83
        COMPLETION DATE:            08/23/83 - 31

Chess Challenger -

    From the catalog: - 24

    Chess Challenger by Fidelity (Chess Challenger (C) 1977) Strategy
    Game Cartridge #2438

    This game uses the World Champion Chess programs by Fidelity. Plan
    your defense with care -- the computer is a formidable opponent. But
    don't get too confident -- he'll never play the same way again!

Chuck Norris Superkicks -

    Also released as Kung Fu Superkicks, by Telegames. - JC

Congo Bongo -

    Based upon the arcade game by Sega. - 24

Cosmic Avenger -

    With some skill, you can make the homing missile that come at you
    strike the UFO's by dodging the missile so it goes in front of you,
    then moving up and down, using it like a guided missile. - JC

    For a completely different gaming experience, trying seeing how long
    you can survive using bombs _only_. - JH

    Based upon the arcade game by Universal. - 24

The Dam Busters -

    This game is damn near impossible without the manuals - 01

    Survival tips:

    Don't fly over the icons on the map. These are German bases that
    will throw up a bunch of flak.

    Don't let your engines overheat, turn down the throttle after takeoff.

    If an engine catches fire extinguish it and shut down the
    corresponding one on the other wing. If you don't the Lanc. will be
    difficult to control. Don't do this a second time.

    You must come in at a certain altitude and airspeed to drop the
    bomb. Don't forget to get the bomb spinning or the indicators will
    not come up on the pilot's window.

    Be certain to retract the landing gear after takeoff.

    To shake fighters, try a corkscrew maneuver (downward spiral). - 17

    Barnes Wallace, who was involved with the WW II Lancaster
    Dambusters, was the technical consultant for the game. - 57

Dig Dug -

    Programming of this game was completed. - 53

    All-in-all, the ColecoVision version of this classic was reasonable.
    Given that I'm not the world's foremost authority on Dig Dug, it
    doesn't really seem to stand out from the Intellivison or Atari 5200
    versions. - JH

Defender -

    Since the ColecoVision could not handle scrolling very well due its
    electronic design, the scrolling leaves Defender to be desired.
    However, it keeps true to the Williams arcade game. - 24

Donkey Kong -

    Move Mario up the first broken ladder then bring him back down, walk
    him to the left so that his back is almost touching the same broken
    ladder, and then move him a step of two to the right and jump.
    Depending on the version you have, he'll fall through the bottom and
    land in screen 2, or after several seconds he'll appear on the top
    girder next to Kong. This apparently doesn't work with all versions
    of the cartridge. - JC

    In the 3rd screen, get to the top right hand part of the screen
    where the purse is. Below is a short ladder, get right above it and
    wiggle up & down, you'll fall through the metal floor. - JC

    When climbing up or down any ladder, you can move at super speed by
    pausing momentarily (allowing the joystick to center), and then
    continuing your climb. - JC

    Perfect port of the original game except for two flaws. First,
    Donkey Kong is on the wrong side of the first board (easy for anyone
    to pick up). Second, there is no mudpie level which means the rivet
    and elevator (with no "bouncing springs") levels are repeated. Based
    upon the arcade game by Nintendo. - 24

    You can score for jumping when underneath a rolling barrel. On the
    fourth girder (one level below Donkey Kong), wait until a barrel one
    level above comes to the lower end of the girder. As it comes
    across, follow it, and jump while underneath it. - 24

    On the elevator screen, go up to donkey kong instead of climbing the
    ladder. He won't kill you; you could climb the second ladder and
    jump around him and make his face turn brown. - 48

Donkey Kong Jr. -

    Uses the same music for the key-n-lock level as used for the final
    level on Popeye for ColecoVision. Based upon the arcade game by
    Nintendo. - 24

    In the screen containing pelicans, you can actually climb through
    the dirt. To do so, get underneath a patch of dirt, and climb all
    the way up to the dirt. At that point, move Donkey Kong Jr. left,
    right, and left again. You can then climb right through the dirt. - 32

    On the springboard birds screen, jump to the top ledge on the right
    of the screen, and approach the gap. Walking off the ledge, Junior
    grabs an invisible vine that let you climb up to the celing in
    midair. - 48

Dot to Dot Zot! -

    Originally created for the Nabu Home Computer network, a
    ColecoVision conversion was rumored but never completed. - 17

Dragon's Lair -

    Right before the crash, Coleco had the rights to Dragon's Lair, and
    was going to release an expansion unit to let you hook up an LD
    player. The idea was the controller would be the ColecoVision, and
    you could play Dragon's Lair in its entirety. - 16

    A version of Dragon's Lair was released for ADAM. - JH

Dungeons & Dragons IV -

    The Intellivision D&D game then in development, Tower of Mystery,
    was the third D&D game from Mattel, so apparently this game was
    envisioned as an original. Started 11/28/83. - 36

Epyx games -

    Two case variants, one has a normal rounded case end and the other
    has a tapered end much like Imagic carts. Gateway To Apshai is
    normally the regular case and the other two normally have tapered
    cases." - 01

Escape From the Mindmaster -

    Of note: the startup screen is an EPYX screen, not an Arcadia or
    Starpath screen, so this effort apparently occured after Starpath
    had been acquired by Epyx. - 5

Facemaker -

    It's Mr. Potato-Head on a cartridge! - 01

    Also released as Make-A-Face. - JC

Flashlight -

    Conversion of an Intellivision/Atari game then in development.
    Scheduled start: 12/19/83. - 36

Flying Brassieres -

    Never intended for release, this prototype is actually a privately
    burned variation upon Moon Patrol, with a different variety of
    objects (including bras) to shoot at. - 22

Fortune Builder -

    The mother of all Sim* games! But you need both the manual and the
    "Strategy Guide" to play - 01

    And the overlays certainly don't hurt, either. - JH

Frenzy -

    Pressing "#" during the game resets the game. - 24

    Killing Otto in the Big Otto maze is a deadly mistake - Big Otto
    sends out hordes of super-fast Ottos to get you. - 24

Frogger -

    Perfect port of the arcade game by Sega. - 24

Frontline -

    You can get away with using a normal controller by hitting 1-2-3 at
    once on the keypad to launch a grenade/get into the tank - 01

    You can move through the holes in the wall by rotating and pushing
    forward at the same time. - JC

Galaxian -

    The following dedication is coded into the ROM for the cart:

        DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE
        I LOVE YOU JENEANE (sp?) - 08

Gateway to Apshai -

    Manual helpful but not necessary - 01

Gorf -

    Loses points for not having the "Galaxian" stage like the arcade
    game. - 01

    The "Galaxian" stage for Gorf was programmed by Jim Wolf and Joe
    Clark at Nuvatec, Inc., but was dropped by Coleco to keep the
    cartridge to 16K. - 65

    Based upon the arcade game by Bally/Midway. - 24

Horse Racing -

    From the catalog: - 24

    Horse Racing by Fidelity (Original copyright is (C) 1982) Casino
    Game Cartridge #2442

    They're off and running! Watch the board as the odds change. The
    horses start out of the gate -- then jockey for position on the
    straightaway. Which horse will win ... place ... show? For the next
    race, the computer changes the entries and if you want, even the
    track conditions! It's a different race every time!

Hydroplane -

    A point-of-view speedboat race, based on an Intellivision game in
    development at the time. Program start 11/21/83. - 36

Illusions -

    Very surreal game once you figure out what to do... - 01

    And it makes -no- sense until you do... - JH

Journey -

    In 1983, Electronic Games magazine reported that Coleco had
    purchased exclusive rights to the Bally/Midway Journey arcade game
    (not to be confused with Journey Escape for the 2600). - 38

Joust -

    Programming was completed for this game. - 53

    I've had one report that Joust was released, but absolutely no
    independent confirmation of this. I have played the completed
    prototype, and it's quite good - better than the 5200 or NES
    versions, IMHO. The control is a bit less responsive than I'd like,
    and the version I played had no sound, but it's still the best of
    what I've always considered a weak lot of conversions. - JH

Ken Uston's Blackjack/Poker -

    Very good party game to play with friends. Overlays are a bit
    helpful during a Blackjack game but not all that neccessary for a
    Poker game. Up to 4 players at a time. - TC

Kung Fu Superkicks -

    Also released as Chuck Norris Superkicks, by Xonox. - JC

Lady Bug -

    This is (IMHO) the BEST arcade conversion available on the
    ColecoVision. - 18

    Based upon the arcade game by Universal. - 24

Linking Logic -

    Imagine this: a man on a pedestal sitting on the left side of the TV
    screen. You, his faithful fowl pet, are sitting on the other side on
    a similar pedestal at the same height. Your mission: help your
    master make it through the room maze using parts lying around. Can
    you fly around placing the parts in the right spots before your
    master sets foot into the maze?

    Like Sierra On-line's "The Incredible Machine," you must place the
    parts (such as a ladder or crossover board) to help your master
    safely pass through the maze. You have a limited amount of time,
    though, because the pedestals raise up every few seconds. When it
    gets to the top floor, your master will go through the maze.

    Designed by Freida Lennekerker. - 24

Looping -

    Similar to the later game, Sopwith, for PC, you fly a plane around
    the screen and shoot at things. What Sopwith lacked in graphics,
    this game lacked in gameplay. Based upon the arcade game by Venture
    Line. - 24

Magic Carpet -

    Scheduled to begin 2/6/84. Since the Nice group continued working
    after 1/20/84, it's possible that a playable version of this game
    was developed. - 36

Make-A-Face -

    Also released as Facemaker. - JC

    Listed as a pirated version in the Digital Press Price Guide. - JH

Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man -

    Programmed by Steve Roney, based upon the original Atari version of
    the game. The game was completed just before Mattel Electronics
    closed down, but was never released. - 36

Masters of the Universe II -

    Being programmed by Eric del Sesto based upon the original
    Intellivision version (which was never released by Mattel, but
    instead reworked by INTV Corp. using different characters and
    released as Diner, a sequel to BurgerTime). Unfinished. - 36

Meteoric Shower -

    Not released as a cartridge, the game is only available in the built
    in version that comes with the Telegames Personal Arcade. - JH

Missile Command -

    A playable version was never developed. Only a title screen was
    created. - 53

Mr. Do! -

    If you drop two adjacent apples and get crushed by the first one,
    you are squished but don't die. You then have to restart the game. - JC

    The pause button is "*". Hit it once for a blank screen with
    repetitious music; hit is twice more to begin play again. Based upon
    the arcade game by Universal. - 24

    You can fire through thin walls at short distance in Mr. Do!, and
    can freeze all enemies by taking the "treat" in the middle when the
    Extra apple at the top of the screen is on a red letter. - 54

Mr. Do!'s Castle -

    In order to get the most alphamonsters in "Mr. Do!'s Castle", hit
    one or two of the key blocks with your hammer as you cross the
    board. After destroying all the monsters except for two or three,
    you can hit the last key block and run up to the top of the board
    and stand near the door. Wait for the unicorns to get near you and
    get the door "prize" and hammer away! This was an old arcade trick I
    used quite frequently, and it still works for this game.

    In "Castle", red unicorns are the tamest ones. Green unicorns are a
    bit wilder, and both red and green unicorns can be knocked down a
    level. However, the blue unicorns are the meanest, and a lone
    unicorn will double into two blue unicorns if it gets stuck in a
    hole or cannot find you. This can work to your advantage if you have
    reached the door "prize" and let a lone unicorn get stuck in a hole.
    When it doubles and turns blue, they will immediately come up to you
    at the top of the castle so you can grab the prize and knock two of
    the letters out really quickly.

    "Castle" is the best arcade translation of all the ColecoVision
    games. It also proves that Coleco's version of Mr. Do! could have
    been better, looking like a rush job in comparison. However, both
    Mr. Do! games are worth getting because they have a lot of
    replayability in them. - 24

    Most boards have sections with skulls such that you can kick a
    ladder away, leaving only one path for the unicorns to approach
    from. To take maximum advantage of these setups, do the following:

    1) Knock out the frontmost skull (on the side enemies will approach
    from).

    2) Hammer the frontmost cherry.

    3) As red unicorns approach, simply knock them through the hole.
    There's no need to waste the skull traps on them, since they are
    easy to deal with.

    4) When a lone green unicorn lands in the hole, knock it through. It
    will turn purple, but don't worry! Back up to the next cherry, and
    hammer it as the newly formed purple unicorn dashes forward,
    crushing it.

    5) Back up and repeat the process until there are no cherrys left,
    several green unicorns approach at once, or one or more purple
    unicorns storm into the trap. As soon as there are purples
    approaching, continue retreating and hammer free any remaining
    cherries, then hit the final skull to kill all squirming purples as
    well as any unicorns unfortunate enough to be standing below the
    platform.

    With good timing, it is possible to hammer a unicorn that is rising
    out of a hole just as the new block forms, and kill it (or knock it
    back into the hole if it is a purple one). This is helpful when you
    are cornered in a tight spot.

    To maximize the number of letters you catch on any given stage, try
    the following strategy:

    1) Hammer two of the keys, leaving the key closest to the top of the
    screen.

    2) Hammer as many holes as you can while luring the unicorns
    downwards, until you have a free path from the third key to the
    magic door at the top of the screen. Avoid killing the unicorns
    unless necessary.

    3) Hit the final key, and immediately dash to the top of the screen,
    turning the unicorns into letters. The longer you wait after
    grabbing the third key before touching the magic door, the shorter
    the period of time that the unicorns will remain as letters.
    Conversely, if you do it quickly, the unicorns will remain letters
    for a very long time!

    4) The letters will flee towards the bottom of the screen. Chase
    them, dropping down the holes you already made whenever possible
    (this is quicker than climbing down ladders, and better yet you can
    land on top of letters and squish them).

    With this method (even on the difficult levels later in the game),
    you can easily grab 3 or more letters per screen. It's even possible
    to get a full "EXTRA" all on one stage! - 45

    Mr. Do!'s Castle contains a bug in the programming which provides
    infinite lives when triggered. Norman Sippel describes how he once
    triggered it:

    "During scene 3, there was one last red unicorn to destroy. I
    grabbed the prize at the top of the castle right after I hit the
    third key block, and went to the second floor. I was going to hit
    the letter enemy with a block but instead fell through the hole,
    squashing him."

    "When he squashed, it was on level one. The letter "X" completed my
    "E-X-T-R-A", and the game paused with music. When it came back, the
    guy was resquashed--this time he came out of the prize door on level
    seven and fell down into level six. I thought "no sweat" because I
    still had two lives left."

    "During the next level, I died twice. I thought "Game Over" but
    instead the game continued on. After dying again, I realized I
    triggered off the infinite lives bug."

    "The game messes up at level 32 in numbering levels. It goes like this:

    31 -> 3: -> 3; -> 42... (normal counting)... 46 -> 42... (normal)... 53

    "I was on level 53 when I quit. I was stuck on it because I killed
    off the last unicorn, but the game messed up when I hit it over the
    head with a block. Instead of going to the next board, the monster
    and block became a blotch on the screen (covering up a window) and I
    was free to terrorize at will. By accident, I trapped myself out of
    the last cherry to complete the board." - 24

Mr. Turtle -

    From the catalog: - 24

    Mr. Turtle (TM)
    Action Game Cartridge
    #2432

    Mr. Turtle (TM) comes to life on the screen, but needs your help on
    his treasure hunt. His goal is to collect the prizes that are
    located on both land and under water. But -- each prise is guarded
    by an animal, some firece, some funny. Mr. Turtle (TM) must outwit
    the creatures to obtain each treasure and score points.

    Coleco had produced Mr.Turtle pool toys before the idea of this
    game, the idea for the game probably came from this. - TC

Mouse Trap -

    Since there's no pause feature in this game, you can trap yourself
    in one of the rooms if you need a break. You can also trap the cats
    in rooms to make it easier for you to do the maze. - JC

    The keypad gets in the way of the gameplay. The 2600 version is more
    fun because it has one button, but Coleco could have chosen to make
    the doors open using one button and eating the biscuit being the
    other button. Based upon the arcade game by Exidy. - 24

    Also if you are in a big hurry to get a door open and you press the
    wrong number on the keypad, its lights out for you :) - TC

Nice Ideas -

    At one time a division of Mattel Electronics located in Nice,
    France. Due to French laws, Mattel was not allowed to shut down
    their Nice office on January 20, 1984 with the rest of Mattel
    Electronics - instead, they were required to find a buyer for the
    division. The programmers stayed on the Mattel payroll working on
    their games until finally the division found investors that enabled
    them to buy the operation themselves, renaming it Nice Ideas. They
    sold two of their completed Intellivision games to INTV Corp. and
    three of their completed ColecoVision games (Bump 'n' Jump,
    BurgerTime and Illusions) to Coleco. - 36

Nuvatec, Inc. -

    Nuvatec, Inc., located in Downers Grove, IL, programmed several
    games for the ColecoVision under contract including Turbo, Cosmic
    Avenger, Gorf, Slither, Time Pilot, Looping, 2010: The Graphic
    Action Game, and Frontline. - 65

Omega Race -

    If you use Roller Controller for the two play game, you will make
    both ships mirror the other's actions. One RC controls both ships!
    Based upon the arcade game by Bally/Midway. - 24

    In a one play game, rotate your ship so that it points straight up
    or down, and thrust until you bump into one of the walls. You will
    then keep bouncing between the top and bottom, and can rotate your
    ship toward the right hand side of the screen, and fire away. Works
    well until you get to higher levels. - 54

Parker Brothers -

    There are two boxes used by Parker Bros. One is the typical "boxed"
    game with two box parts that open up to reveal the game and
    instructions. The other is a clone of the standard Coleco box with
    Parker Bros. written on it instead. - 24

    Parker Bros. used the same serial numbers for their games around the
    world with one exception--for foreign release, a "A" was added to
    the serial number of the game. - 24

Pac-Man -

    Has the same aspect ratio as the 2600 (and 5200 - JH) version; plays
    really well, and maintains all the bonuses and intermissions. The
    title screen includes a neat dissolve-in of "Pac Man". Atari did not
    release the cartridge because of their advertising campaign at the
    time, which boasted "you will only be able to play Pac-Man on the
    Atari!". - 53

    The _best_ home version of Pac-Man I've ever played. Scores over the
    competition on the basis of:

    2600 - absolutely everything (no big surprise)
    5200 - better detail (the ghosts have eyes) and better control
    NES - better control (which outweighs the aspect ratio and attract
    screen advantages of the NES version in my opinion)

    Seems to be 100% complete and ready for release. - JH

Pepper II -

    Graphics are very similar to those of the unreleased Side Trak.
    Based upon the arcade game by Exidy. - 24

    Nice game though can easily be rolled over. - TC

Pitfall! -

    You can walk through some walls by jumping at them. - JC

PizzaTime -

    The _real_ sequel to BurgerTime, started 1/3/84. Since the Nice
    group continued working after 1/20/84, it's possible that a playable
    version of this game was developed. - 36

Popeye -

    Very good port, but the characters needed a bit more detail (which
    I'm sure the ColecoVision could have handled). On the other hand,
    this is the only port I know of which has the Sea Hag and Sweet Pea.
    Based upon the arcade game by Nintendo. - 24

Porky's -

    The cartridge shell looks like a bare Epyx/Spinnaker style case,
    with a plain white rectangular hand written label. Inside, there is
    a standard board with 2 EPROMs.

    The start up screen is all blue, with a 1983 "Fox Electronics"
    copyright notice, and skill options at the bottom of the screen.
    According to a guy who has the Porky's programmer for an instructor,
    he never made a 2600 port, so that was done after he had left.

    The game play is similar to the 2600, only with better graphics and
    sounds (yes, the female showering looks more female). The first
    Screen is the Frogger-like sequence in the same order, just with
    improved graphics. The second screen is the
    "pole-valut-over-the-lake" screen. You still have to build the
    ladder wrung by wrung; and Porky is himself is walking around the
    ledges beneath the ladders. Porky is particularly
    well-animated--with a black ten-gallon hat, white T-shirt, blue
    jeans, and a cigarette in his mouth.

    The third screen, the "girls shower room" had the girl scrubbing up
    in the shower, she was slightly more rounded and womanlike than the
    2600 version; the silhouette was dark gray, and the shower curtain
    light gray. When Mrs. Ballbricker comes after you, she is also
    well-done; with gray hair, a green shirt, and blue pants. She also
    clearly has tweezers she is pinching in the air. Only two different
    objects can be retreived from the shower room to stop the objects in
    the Frogger-like screen: the detonator, and either a coil of rope or
    a fork or a wrench. These objects alternate for each row of the
    first screen; the first object stopped the odd rows, the second the
    even rows.

    In the last screen, "The girders beneath Porky's", still had Porky
    walking around, making a nusciance out of himself, and it still had
    those annoying arrows supposedly to point you in the right direction
    to climb.

    The only problem with the game is that after getting past the locker
    room screen to the screen underneath Porky's--you cannot go
    anyplace. - 01, 43

Q*Bert -

    Just like the arcade game by Gottlieb. - 24

    Playing this game after a long game of Q*Bert's Qubes can be rather
    frustrating because of the difference in gameplay and the speed of
    gameplay. - TC

Q*Bert's Qubes -

    Very fun puzzle game. As Q*Bert moves, he turns six-sided cubes
    around. To win a level, you need to match up tic-tac-toes of cubes.
    The "Coily"-like mouse will chase you around the diamond playfield,
    but will fall of if he lands on a turning cube. Sam and Slick are a
    real pain on the higher levels. The pause button is "0". Based upon
    the arcade game by Mylstar.

Level One -- Two sides orange, four sides blue Win 1 tic-tac-toe

Level Two -- Three sides orange, three sides blue (1st two screens) Six
colors (white, red, blue, orange, yellow, green) (3rd and 4th screens)
Win 1 tic-tac-toe

Level Three -- Six colors and win 2 tic-tac-toes

Level Four -- Six colors and win 3 tic-tac-toes

Level Five -- Six colors, win 1 tic-tac-toe, but you can undo completed
cubes

The label on the cart is the logo of Q*Bert's Qubes with no picture of
Q*Bert or the playfield. Unlike the first Q*Bert, the label is designed
to be read while inserted into the ColecoVision on the correct side.
(Q*Bert's Qubes & Mr. Do!'s Castle are the only two Parker Brothers
releases with this style of label design. - JH) - 24

If you'd like to try the arcade version, there was one up and running at
HersheyPark (Hershey, PA) as of 1994. The ColecoVision version is a
wonderful port. - JH

To skip to level 2 of gameplay, press the '#' key on the keypad at the
level select screen. -TC

To make lines go down the screen on the beginning of any level when the
cubes flash, (use super action controller) press down all 4 buttons on
the controller. The cubes also dissapear and the gameplay is slowed
down. -TC

Quest for Quintana Roo -

    Manual helpful but not necessary - 01

Rip Cord -

    From the catalog: - 24

    Rip Cord (TM) by Exidy (Original game copyright is (C) 1978)
    Arcade Game Cartridge
    #2431

    This sky diving game puts you in charge of a parachutist. You've got
    to time his jump, and allow him to free fall as long as you dare.
    Then, pull his rip cord, and get him to land exactly on one of the
    targets. But watch out - the sky is full of dangerous helicopters.

Roc 'n Rope -

    Based upon the arcade game by Konami. - 24

Root Beer Tapper -

    When at the end of bar grabbing a tip, just tap the joystick and you
    instantly appear back at the front of the bar. - JC

Sammy Lightfoot -

    Plays just like the old Apple II version. This should _not_ be taken
    as a compliment... B^) - JH

Schtroumpfs -

    A French release of Smurf Rescue. - JH

Side Trak -

    From the catalog: - 24

    Side Trak (TM) by Exidy (Original game copyright is (C) 1979)
    Arcade Game Cartridge
    #2418

    You must direct the locomotive down the track and pick up passengers
    along the way. In doing so, you must avoid a deadly runaway train
    that is out to demolish your locomotive! Can you stay on the track
    and score?

Skiing (Coleco) -

    From the catalog: - 24

    Skiing
    Sports Game Cartridge
    #2436

    See the course right through the skier's goggles! He must race down
    the snow covered slopes, nogotiating the sharp curves with precision
    and avoiding the treacherous moguls, trees, and other obstacles. His
    goal is to traverse the course and reach the finish in record time!

Skiing (Telegames) -

    Telegames Skiing does not have the same graphics as the Coleco
    Skiing which was in the introductory catalog. Whereas Coleco's
    catalog showed a 1st-person perspective, Telegames' Skiing is more
    like Activision Skiing for the Atari 2600. - 08

Slither -

    Based upon the arcade game by Century II. - 24

Smurf Play and Learn -

    From the catalog: - 24

    Smurf Play and Learn Cartridge by Peyo (Smurf (TM) Peyo (C) 1982)
    Play & Learn Cartridge
    #2444

    This educational cartridge with Smurf (TM) characters bring basic
    learning concepts to the screen and encourages children to solve the
    problems and situations. Their zany antics make learning fun!

Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle -

    At the last screen with the skull and Smurfette, leave the room and
    Smurfette will drop her dress. - JC

    If you come up to a hard screen, go back to the screen you just came
    through, and then return - the screen will change shape each time,
    so you can do it until an easier one appears. - JC

    On game 4, move back and forth between screens 1 & 2 for about a
    minute, and you'll receive 919,500 points. - JC

    The original cartridge was created not by Peyo (the originator of
    the Smurfs), but by Belokapi, a French company. - 61

Space Fury -

    Save the best dock for last, since you'll be stuck with it for the
    rest of the game. - JC

    If you wanted to get a feel for some of the docks during the game,
    pick a dock to use and then when you come back to the bonus docking
    screen, let the time run out and you can use the dock you still
    have. BTW, you can change docks next time you come to that screen. - TC

Space Panic -

    The stupidest game I have ever played, IMHO. Why would you want to
    dig holes, let a monster fall in, and they fall down a level and
    die? Stupid! Based upon the arcade game by Universal. - 24

Spectar -

    From the catalog: - 24

    Spectar (TM) by Exidy (Original game copyright is (C) 1980)
    Arcade Game Cartridge
    #2421

    You must direct an armoured car through a tangled maze - negotiating
    sharp turns at high speeds. But as you traverse the terrain, a
    variety of tank-like vehicles emerge to attack and destroy your car.

Spy Hunter -

    At the fork in the road, the left path give's you the oil supply
    truck, and the right gives you the missiles. You can use the supply
    truck as a weapon by not entering it and moving it back and forth so
    it collides with your enemies. When in the boat, it's safer to stick
    to the right; you don't get attacked as much and that's the side the
    exit is on. - JC

Squish'em featuring Sam -

If you like 20th Century Fox's 2600 game "Fast Eddie," you will like
Squish'em. It has similar gameplay plus has, IMHO, the first "sound-
byte" included in it. Sam actually talks to you (i.e., "Ouch!" "Wow!").
It's worth the price of admission! Also of note is the fact the cart has
a hanger built into it. - 24

The following dedication is coded into the ROM for the cart:

This space dedicated to all those hackers who program in 8K but are
given 16K and to all accountants who want 15K promos - 8

Star Wars: The Arcade Game -

    Explosion of death star not as impressive as other versions - 01

Subroc -

    Sega could not decide whether to make a submarine or an airplane
    game. So they compromised. Based upon the arcade game by Sega. - 24

    This game is highly underrated and if you like this game, try using
    the Super Action controller to play. It gives an arcade feel and can
    get you feeling in the zone easily. -TC

Super Action Football (CBS) -

    This is equivalent to Coleco's Super Action Soccer. - JH

Super Action Football (Coleco) -

    My copy of the instructions give the part number as 2422 - the
    intended number (per the ColecoVision catalog) for Head to Head
    Football. - JH

Super Cobra -

    "Missing levels" - 01

Sydney Development -

    While Sydney only released one game on their own (Evolution), they
    were a major player in the ColecoVision arena. Many, many games were
    created or translated for ColecoVision by Sydney. Among these:

    River Raid
    Keystone Kapers
    B.C.'s Quest for Tires
    B.C.'s Quest for Tires II: Grog's Revenge
    Wiz Math
    The Dam Busters

    The company survived past the video game market crash by switching
    over to the Commodore 64 and IBM PC. - 17

Tac-Scan -

    The first two stages of Tac-Scan were completed at Nuvatec, Inc., by
    Jim Wolf and Joe Clark before Coleco instructed that all work on it
    be stopped. - 65

Tarzan -

    If you are low on energy, keep punching the hunter at the campsite
    until you are at full strength. - JC

    Designed by Lawrance Schick - 51

Time Pilot -

    "Handles like its constipated" - 01

    Different feel using the ColecoVision controller than the arcade
    game, which was put out by Konami. - 24

    The Roller Controller works much better; with it, Time Pilot has the
    feel of the original. - 20

Tunnels & Trolls -

    Only contains opening title. - JC

    From the catalog: - 24 Tunnels & Trolls (TM) by Flying Buffalo, Inc.
    (T&T (C) 1975)
    Fantasy Game Cartridge
    #2441

    Your expedition involves your entrance into a dungeon made up of
    hallways and chambers. But -- the underground is populated by
    monsters. Choose to fight or run! Select a weapon, cast magic spells
    or use your wits to defeat the monsters and claim the treasures! For
    one to four players.

Turbo -

    Based upon the arcade game by Sega. - 24

Unnamed Shoot-em-up Space Game -

    Jim Wolf programmed an original shoot-em-up space game which never
    got released. It consisted of a top-down view of a spacefighter
    flying through fields of asteroids looking for enemy fighters to
    shoot down. Additional obstacles included an occasional meteor
    tumbling down from the top of the screen at high speed, and lethal
    electric "fences" which suddenly appeared between two enemy space
    stations masquerading as two meteors lazily floating through space. - 65

Venture -

    Move in and out of a room several times very fast, and a demon
    outside will appear from nowhere and kill you. - JC

    Based upon the arcade game by Exidy. - 24

Victory -

    Based upon the arcade game by Exidy. - 24

    The CBS release of Victory has the Quarks (and other features) that
    were missing in the Coleco release. - 40

Video Hustler -

    Nearly finished. - JC

War Games -

    "Need the manual" - 01

    Roller Controller is used for 2 player game only. - JH

War Room -

    "Manual helpful but not necessary" - 01

Wing War -

    Though it is not exactly known what triggers the egg, the designers
    initials appear in the sky. - JC

Wiz Type -

    A Commodore 64 version was finished, but buried by Sierra. The
    ColecoVision version was never done. - 17

Zaxxon -

    Based upon the arcade game by Sega. - 24

    Tips from ColecoVision Experience magazine:

    As each round opens, your ship approaches the first asteroid, which
    is topped by a high wall. To avoid crashing into the wall, use your
    laser cannon to confirm your flight path. Since the laser cannon
    fires straight ahead, the position where your shots detonate
    indicates the path of your ship. If your opening shots strike the
    wall, move until they pass through the center area of the wall's
    opening. This will ensure that you enter the asteroid safely.

    As you fly along the surface of the asteroid, stay low enough (about
    the first mark on the altimeter scale at left) to hit the turrets
    and tanks on the asteroid surface. Keep to the left as much as
    possible, destroying enemy turrets first, and fuel tanks after
    you've eliminated the turrets that defend them. The turrets fire
    both forward and sideways, and theirmissiles move rapidly, so you'll
    almost certainly be hit if you get close to a turret without
    destroying it. Fire at the turrets from a distance, then weave back
    to the right to hit fuel tanks. Remember to keep an eye out for the
    vertically rising missiles that come out of the ground silos - and
    don't forget the equally deadly missiles launched from the turrets.
    Don't climb unless necessary to avoid a missile or a wall - even two
    seconds at high altitude will bring a fast, hard-to-avoid homing
    missile down on you.

    As you leave the first asteroid to enter deep space, move toward the
    center of the screen to give yourself maximum maneuverability. Then
    wait for the first of the enemy fighters. You'll find that they're
    very hard to hit until they approach and prepare to launch their
    missiles. The best technique for survival in deep space is 1. Wait
    until crosshairs appear in front of your ship. 2. Fire instantly. 3.
    Dive or climb immediately. Don't fire and remain still - even if you
    hit the enemy fighter its missile will still destroy you. Practice
    this wait-fire-move sequence until you can confidently destroy the
    enemy fighters. By the way, it can't hurt to start firing at enemy
    fighters as soon as they appear on the edge of the screen.
    Unfortunately, long distance hits are hard to come by.

    The action will abruptly slow as you approach the mighty ZAXXON.
    Move your ship to the right to draw ZAXXON over toward that side of
    the asteroid so you can fire at it. Then rise to an altitude of
    about 2 1/2 marks on the screen altimeter, and begin firing as
    rapidly as possible. When ZAXXON launches a homing missile, try to
    hit it several times to neutralize it (you'll see it change color),
    then continue to fire at ZAXXON itself. Remember, only multiple hits
    at the right height can destroy ZAXXON - and earn you points. If you
    can't score these hits and destroy the homing missile, your fire
    will at least drive ZAXXON back and you can begin another round of
    attack. - 35

Zenji -

    Manual is roughly the size of a bookmark, and is completely
    unnecessary. - JH

*4.7) Cartridge Hardware Cheats*

As in many systems, a careful change to the right address can
significantly change the flavor of a game. For those using a
ColecoVision emulator, data at the following addresses can be changed
with various effects.

Antartic Adventure - 49

    Addresses 0AEA-0AEBh - Rest Dist.   - Decimal Digits
    Addresses 0AEC-0AEDh - Time         - Decimal Digits; bytes are reversed

B.C.'s Quest For Tires - 31, 49

    Address        0388h - Extra Lives  - FFh means "None"; 254 maximum
    Address        22EAh - Lives Check  - Set to 00h for infinite lives

B.C.'s Quest For Tires II: Grog's Revenge - 31, 49

    Address        032Fh - Extra Lives  - FFh means "None"; 254 maximum
    Address        0351h - Extra Lives  - FFh means "None"; 254 maximum
    Address        037Dh - Lives Check  - Set to 00h for infinite lives

Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom - 49

    Address        0104h - Areas Left   - 00 = 01 = Skip round 1

BurgerTime - 31

    Address        01F4h - Lives Check  - Set to 00h for infinite lives
    Addresses 127C-127Eh - Monster Gen  - Set all to 00h for no monsters
    Addresses 1332-1334h - Hit Detect   - Set all to 00h to become invincible

Carnival - 49

    Address        01D7h - Bullets      - Max 3C = 60

Cosmic Avenger - 49

    Address        00ADh - Extra Lives  - FFh means "None"; 254 maximum

Donkey Kong - 31,49

    Addresses 01FB-01FDh - Lives Check  - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
    Addresses 0560-0561h - Score        - In hex; max 06 27 = 9990 (0 added)
    Addresses 05AA-05ABh - Bonus Score  - In hex
    Address        186Ch - Extra Lives  - For harder levels
    Address        1875h - Extra Lives  - For easy levels

Donkey Kong Junior - 31

    Address        020Ch - Extra Lives  - For harder levels, player 1
    Address        0216h - Extra Lives  - For easy levels, player 1
    Addresses 034D-034Fh - Lives Check  - Set all to 00h for infinite lives

Frantic Freddy - 49

    Address        044Fh - Enemies Left - Enemies needed to kill on level

Frenzy - 49

    Address        06EDh - Movement?    - 01 = move to next screen

Frogger - 49

    Address        1612h - Extra Lives  - FFh = 255 maximum

Galaxian - 31, 49

    Addresses 0240-0242h - Lives Check  - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
                                          (Setting 0242h to any number but 03
                                           is sufficient)

Gorf - 31

    Address        0133h - Extra Lives  - FFh means "None"; 254 maximum
    Address        28E8h - Lives Check  - Set to 00h for infinite lives

Jumpman Junior

    Address        0394h - Extra Lives  - FFh = 255 maximum
    Address        0399h - Level

Lady Bug - 31,49

    Addresses 0125-0127h - Lives Check  - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
    Address        0390h - Extra Lives  - FFh means "None"; FEh = 255 maximum
    Addresses 0393-0395h - Score        - Decimal digits; 999,999 maximum

Looping - 49

    Address        0171h - Extra Lives  - 80h = 128 maximum

Moonsweeper - 49

    Address        1A4Dh - Extra Lives  - FFh = 255 maximum

Mouse Trap - 31, 49

    Address        0362h - Extra Lives  - FFh means "None"; 254 maximum
    Address        0365h - Dog Biscuits - FFh means "None"; 254 maximum
    Addresses 0366-036Bh - Score        - Decimal digits; 999,999 maximum
    Address        08A1h - Transform    - Set to 00h, become dog permanently
    Address        2A38h - ???          - Set to 00h, "Score becomes crazy"

Pepper II - 49

    Address        00F0h - Extra Lives  - Maximum FDh = 254
    Address        00FFh - Extra Lives  - For Player 2
    Addresses 020B-020Dh - Score        - Hex; max 9F 86 01 - 99999 (0 added)
    Addresses 0216-0218h - Score        - For Player 2

Popeye - 49

    Address        00D4h - Extra lives  - Maximum 3Fh = 15
    Address        00D9h - Round        - Maximum 39h = 9

Q*Bert - 49

    Address        005Bh - Level/Round  - 19 = 1/1, 1F = 1/7, 20 = 28 = 2/0
    Address        05B4h - Coordinates
    Address        0638h - Lives Check  - Set to any but 05h for infinite lives

Root Beer Tapper - 31

    Addresses 2963-2965h - Lives Check  - Set all to 00h for infinite lives

Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle - 49

    Address        00A2h - Extra lives  - Maximum FFh = 255
    Address        0167h - Energy       - Maximum FFh = 255

Spy Hunter - 49

    Addresses 0053-0055h - Score        - Maximum 3Fh 42h 0Fh = 999,999
    Addresses 0056-0057h - Bonus Timer  - Maximum E7h 03h = 999

Super Cobra - 49

    Address        0108h - Level        - Range: 1-11
    Address        0176h - Extra Lives  - Maximum 55h = 86
    Address        01BFh - Fuel         - Maximum 6Fh = 111; 0B/full, 78/error

Tutankham - 31

    Address        0161h - Lamps        - Maximum 0Fh = 15
    Address        0876h - Extra Lives  - For easy level, player 1; max 15
    Address        087Eh - Extra Lives  - For hard level, player 1
    Address        0880h - Extra Lives  - For medium level, player 1
    Address        0882h - Extra Lives  - For easy level, player 2
    Address        0886h - Extra Lives  - For medium level, player 2
    Address        0888h - Extra Lives  - For hard level, player 2
    Address        0B69h - Monster Gen  - Set to 00h for no monster generation
    Address        2269h - Monster Move - Set to 00h to keep monsters in nests

Up 'n Down - 49

    Address        01C5h - Extra Lives  - Maximum FFh = 255

Venture - 31, 49

    Addresses 032E-0330h - Lives Check  - Set all to 00h for infinite lives
    Address        09B3h - Extra Lives  - FFh means "None"; 254 maximum

Zaxxon - 31,49

    Addresses 0085-0086h - Score        - Maximum E7 03 = 999 (00 added)
    Addresses 011A-011Bh - Score        - Player 2
    Address        01B9h - Extra Lives  - For easy levels
    Address        01BDh - Extra Lives  - For harder levels
    Address        01E4h - Status       - 00/player 2 left, 02/player 1-2 lives
    Address        01E6h - Lives Check  - Player 2
    Address        02CEh - Lives Check  - Set to 00h for infinite lives

*4.6) ColecoVision and ColecoVision/ADAM catalogs*

Unlike Atari and Mattel, Coleco didn't put out catalogs regularly. The
catalog was included with the unit is better known for the titles that
_didn't_ turn up than those that did. A second catalog with a mixture of
ColecoVision and ADAM items appears to have been released shortly before
the death of both systems, as it appears to include nearly all of the
late ColecoVision releases. The contents of each catalog:

    1982 catalog: -24

        Introduction to ColecoVision
        Introduction of Expansion Module #1 and #2 coming soon
        Donkey Kong (# 2441, Ninendo, Arcade)
        Space Fury (The Official, # 2415, Sega, Arcade)
        Venture (# 2417, Exidy, Arcade)
        Side Trak (# 2418, Exidy, Arcade)
        Mouse Trap (# 2419, Exidy, Arcade)
        Spectar (# 2421, Exidy, Arcade)
        Rip Cord (# 2431, Exidy, Arcade)
        LadyBug (# 2433, Universal, Arcade)
        Cosmic Avenger (# 2434, Universal, Arcade)
        Zaxxon (The Official, # 2435, Sega, Arcade)
        Carnival (The Official, # 2445, Sega, Arcade)
        Turbo (The Official, # 2413, Sega, Arcade)
        head-to-head baseball (# 2423, Sports)
        head-to-head football (# 2422; Sports)
        Skiing (# 2436, Sports)
        Horse Racing (# 2442, Fidelity Electronics, Inc., Casino)
        Blackjack/Poker (Ken Uston) (# 2439, Casino)
        Tunnels & Trolls (# 2441, Flying Buffalo, Inc., Fantasy)
        Chess Challenger (# 2438, Fidelity, Strategy)
        Smurf (# 2444, Play & Learn)
        Smurf Rescue In Gargamel's Castle (# 2443, Action)
        Mr. Turtle (# 2432, Action)
        Expansion Module Descriptions
          1 -- Atari 2600 adapter # 2405
          2 -- Driving Module # 2413

        Note that _none_ of the pictures appear to be actual screen
        shots; there are subtle differences between the pictures and
        the actual games in the case of every released game.

    1984? catalog: - JH

        * - ADAM only

        ColecoVision Video Game System (#2400)
        ADAM The ColecoVision Family Computer System (#2410)
        *ADAM 5 1/4 Disk Drive (#7817)
        *ADAMLink Direct Connect Modem (#7818)
        *ADAM Second Digital Data Drive (#2409)
        *ADAM 64K Memory Expander (#2562)
        ColecoVision/ADAM Super Action Controller Set (#2491)
        ColecoVision/ADAM Roller Controller (#2492)
        ColecoVision/ADAM Expanstion Module #2 (#2413)
            (The Perma Power Battery Eliminator, #2298, is mentioned)
        *ADAM Blank Digital Data Pack (#2564)
        *ADAM Replacement Ribbon Cartridges (#7806)
        Brain Strainers (#2696)
        Telly Turtle (#2698)
        Mokey Academy (#2694)
        Smurf Paint 'N' Play Workshop (#2697)
        *Electronic Flashcard Maker (#7662)
        *Flash Facts: Vocabulator (#2900)
        *Flash Facts: Flashbacks (#2901)
        *Flash Facts: Trivia (#2902)
        *Expertype (#7602)
        Fortune Builder (#2681)
        *Wacky Word Games (#7657)
        *Richard Scarry's Best Electronic Word Book Ever (#7658)
        Cabbage Patch Kids Picture Show (#2600)
        Dr. Seuss Fix-Up The Mix-Up Puzzler (#2699)
        *ADAMCALC (#7831)
        *Smartletters & Forms (#7805)
        *ADAM Home Software Library (#7826)
        *Smartfiler (#7813)
        *Recipe Filer (#7814)
        *Address Book Filer (#7815)
        *Smartlogo (#7600)
        *CP/M 2.2 and Assembler (#7832)
        *Dragon's Lair (#2683)
        *The Official Zaxxon (#2623)
        *Donkey Kong Junior (#2629)
        *Donkey Kong (#2628)
        *The Best of Broderbund (Choplifter & A.E.) (#7850)
        *2010: The Text Adventure Game (#7849 - Data Pack; #9659 - Disk)
        *The Best of Electronic Arts (Hard Hat Mack & Pinball Construction
                Set) (#7852)
        *Family Feud (#7710)
        *Jeopardy (#7716)
        2010: The Graphic Action Game (#2618)
        Root Beer Tapper (#2616)
        Illusions (#2621)
        The Dam Busters (#2686)
        BC's Quest For Tires II: Grog's Revenge (#2620)
        Omega Race (#2448)
        Victory (#2446)
        Roc 'N Rope (#2668)
        The Official Carnival (#2445)
        The Official Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom (#2615)
        Bump 'N Jump (#2440)
        The Official Congo Bongo (#2669)
        Donkey Kong (#2411)
        The Official Zaxxon (#2435)
        Exidy's Mousetrap (#2419)
        Front Line (#2650)
        The Official Space Fury (#2415)
        Looping (#2603)
        Donkey Kong Junior (#2601)
        Gorf (#2449)
        Venture (#2417)
        Time Pilot (#2633)
        Star Trek Strategic Operations Simulator (#2680)
        The Official Subroc (#2614)
        Super Action Football (#2422)
        Rocky Super Action Boxing (#2606)
        Choplifter (#2690)
        Destructor (#2602)
        The Dukes of Hazzard (#2607)
        Antarctic Adventure (#2429)
        Tarzan (#2632)
        War Games (#2637)
        Cabbage Patch Kids Adventures in the Park (#2682)
        Burgertime (#2430)
        Mr. Do (#2622)
        Cosmic Avenger (#2434)

*4.9) The BEST cartridges*

Just what the best cartridges for any system are is largely a matter of
taste. One person's favorite is often another's dust collector. However,
the following cartridges have all been rated highly by a significant
number of FAQ contributors, and therefore might be most worth seeking
out by a collector new to ColecoVision.

Antarctic Adventure
Artillery Duel
B.C.'s Quest for Tires
Beamrider
Burgertime
Centipede
Donkey Kong Junior
Fortune Builder
Frenzy
Frogger
Gyruss
H.E.R.O.
Jumpman Junior
Lady Bug
Mr. Do!'s Castle
Montezuma's Revenge
Q*Bert
Slither
Spy Hunter
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
War Room
Wing War

*4.10) The most popular cartridges*

ColecoVision Experience magazine (see 5.2.1) ran a "most popular/ best
selling" titles list in each issue.

        Spring, 1983; most popular:

        1. Donkey Kong
        2. Zaxxon
        3. Venture
        4. Ladybug
        5. Cosmic Avenger
        6. Mouse Trap
        7. Carnival
        8. Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle

        Fall, 1983; best selling as of June 1983:

        1. Donkey Kong Junior
        2. Zaxxon
        3. Gorf
        4. Space Fury
        5. Mouse Trap
        6. Space Panic
        7. Lady Bug
        8. Pepper II
        9. Cosmic Avenger
        10. Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle

        Winter, 1984; best selling as of September 1983:

        1. Donkey Kong Junior
        2. Zaxxon
        3. Space Fury
        4. Mouse Trap
        5. Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle
        6. Space Panic
        7. Gorf
        8. Looping
        9. Pepper II
        10. Lady Bug

*4.11) Rare gems*

The following cartridges haven't been rated by enough people to justify
including them among the "BEST" cartridges, but have received great
support from those who have rated them. Worth taking a second look at,
should you have the luck to happen upon them...

Galaxian
Kevtris
Linking Logic
Logic Levels
Pac-Man
Q*Bert's Qubes
Rock 'n' Bolt
Up 'n' Down
Zenji

*4.12) High scores*

ColecoVision Experience magazine (see 5.2.1) included a high score list
in their Winter, 1984 issue:

    Lady Bug
        Level - 139
        Score - 3,714,220

        Chris Heverman
        Montgomery, AL

    Donkey Kong Junior
        Score - 232,700

        Gary Reimer
        McAlester, OK

    Pepper II
        Score - 1,837,930

        Elizabeth Kaleita
        Sterling Heights, MI

    Venture
        Score - 1,985,000

        Richard Abate
        New Haven, CT

    Smurf Rescue In Gargamel's Castle
        Score - 451,000

        Jim Brogan
        St. Paul, MN

*5.0) ColecoVision Emulators*

Emulators are pieces of software which emulate a hardware platform. A
few ColecoVision emulators have popped up, and the following is a
listing of the most popular ones. If you're new to the world of
emulation, you may want to read the Classic Gaming Newbie Guide at
http://www.classicgaming.com/cgng.

Emulators for Home Computers:

Emulator		Version:	Platform(s):		Homepage:
==============================================================================================
ColEm			1.00		Win32,DOS,OS2,MacOS	http://www.komkon.org/fms/ColEm/
AdamEm			1.00		Win32,DOS		http://www.komkon.org/~dekogel/adamem.html 
Virtual ColecoVision	2.11a		Win32,Java		http://www.classicgaming.com/vcoleco/
Koleko VOS		1.33		Win32			http://www.mess.org 
MESS			1.02		Win32,DOS,MacOS		http://www.mess.org 
MEKA			0.72		Win32			http://www.smspower.org/meka/wip/
FreezeSMS		4.6         Win32			http://freezesms.emuunlim.com 
TinyMSD			0.37		Win32			-

Emulators for Consoles/Handheld/Classic Systems:

Emulator		Version:	Platform(s):		Homepage:
==============================================================================================
DColEm			0.99		Dreamcast		http://dcolem.emuunlim.com 
ColEmPS2		1.0b		PS2			http://jum.pdroms.de/PS2/ps2prog.html
adamX			0.1b		Xbox			-
Koleko-X		0.5         Xbox			-
ColecoTech		0.1b		Nintendo GBA		-
CoG 			0.97b		Nintendo GBA		-
ColEm			1.0         Nintendo GBA		-
fCol32			0.2b		GP32			-
ColEm			0.3         GP32			-
ColecoDS 		0.2b		Nintendo NDS		-
ColEm			1.00		Sony PSP		-
Columbo  		0.07		Palm OS5		-
PocketColeco 	1.00b		PocketPC		http://pocketvcs.emuunlim.com/coleco/coleco.html
Mission			1.1         MSX			http://www.komkon.org/~dekogel/mission.html 

These emulators do you no good without ROM images. Since ROM images are
technically illegal to distribute due to copyright laws, this FAQ does
not provide links to pages that have them.

*6.0) Promotional material*

*6.1) Stickers*

When the ColecoVision arrived, part of the hype was sets of puffy
stickers. One sheet contained stickers for Mr. Turtle, Head-To-Head
Football, Mouse Trap, and Rip Cord; another contained Head-To-Head
Baseball, Spectar, Side Trak, and Venture. Each had a screen shot.

Some notes of interest:

o Spectar and Rip Cord are the same pictures as the ColecoVision box.

o Head-To-Head Baseball, other than the diamond itself, doesn't share
the same graphics as Super Action Baseball.

o Side Trak looks an awful lot like Pepper II. Instead of a man running
around the track, a track cart is running on the tracks trying to pick
up little men. - 24

*6.2) Adverts*

There are known adverts for US and French territories. More on this
follows.

*7.0) Technical Details*

*7.1) ColecoVision Memory Map*

        0000H - BIOS ROM
          .
        1FFFH
        2000H - Expansion port
          .
        3FFFH
        4000H - Expansion port
          .
        5FFFH
        6000H - Start of RAM (1K mapped into an 8K spot)
          .
        7FFFH
        8000H - Cart ROM (broken into 4 sections, each enabled seperately)
          .
        FFFFH

*7.2) ColecoVision I/O Map*

        00-1F - No Connection
        20-3F - No Connection
        40-5F - Video
        60-7F - Video
        80-9F - No Connection
        A0-BF - No Connection
        C0-DF - Sound
        E0-FF - Controllers; E2 is special, as well as E0 - E0 appears
                to be the readback, and E2 appears to be the scan - 39

*7.3) ColecoVision BIOS Details*

The ColecoVision contains a ROM which essentially acts as a BIOS for the
system. Upon startup, it begins to execute code at 0000H. The first step
executed is a check to see if a cart is plugged in. This is performed by
checking two locations in the cart's memory - if the two bytes read are
55H and AAH then the ColecoVision knows a cart is in the system.
Otherwise, it displays the standard "Turn Power Off Before..." screen.

If a cart is in the system, the BIOS passes control to the cart. The
cart can then use some, all, or none the functions found in the BIOS.
Some of the functions provided in the BIOS include the title screen and
game select screen.

The famous twelve second delay is part of the title screen routine. - 8

The address range for cartridges is 8000H to FFFFH, a total of 32K. -
29, 31

*7.4) ColecoVision Video RAM Details*

The video RAM is broken up into tables which are user movable. The
tables which exist include:

The Name Table (this tells us what is in the background)
The Pattern Table (this tells us how each 8x8 character looks)
The Color Table (this tells us what colors to use for a given 8x8 pattern)
The Sprite Table (this tells us where sprites are, what they will look
like, their color, and how many to display)
The Sprite Pattern Table (this defines the 8x8 or 16x16 pattern for a
sprite)

Four video modes exist:

      A text 40x24 mode.

      A multi-color mode w/ sprites (multi-color breaks the backgroun
      into 4x4 squares of 1 color per square. Smurf Paint 'n Play uses
      this mode.)

      Graphics 1 mode w/ sprites (32x24 8x8 character background. Each
      character is made up of 1 color only.)

      Graphics 2 mode w/ sprites (same as Graphics 1 mode except each
      character can have different colors for each of it's 8 rows.)

The Video RAM is accessable _only_ through the I/O ports, which is why
scrolling is difficult. - 8, 39

*7.5) ColecoVision Programming Tips*

9918A Programming Information - Extracted from the TI Editor/Assembler
manual by Tursi - tursi@vip.net (pages 326-340)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This applies to the TI-99/4A, but most should apply to the ColecoVision,
too. I'm uncertain if it's the 9918 or the 9918A in there, but the only
difference is that that 9918A has bitmap mode and the other doesn't. ;)

************************
VDP Write-Only Registers
************************

NOTE: -bit 0 is MSB (ie: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, 0=128 and 7=1)
      -"enables" are active when set to 1
      -">" represents a hexadecimal number (ie: >400 = 400 hex)

Register 0 - Bits 0-5   - Reserved, set to 000000
             Bit  6     - Mode bit 3 (M3) - sets bitmap mode
             Bit  7     - Enable external video source (replaces
                          color 1 (transparent))

Register 1 - Bit  0     - 4/16k switch, if set, uses 16k
             Bit  1     - blank enable (blanks display)
             Bit  2     - Interrupt enable
             Bit  3     - Mode bit 1 (M1) - sets text mode
             Bit  4     - Mode bit 2 (M2) - sets multicolor mode
             Bit  5     - reserved - set to 0
             Bit  6     - sprite size - 0=normal (8x8), 1=large (16x16)
             Bit  7     - sprite magnification enable

Register 2 - Base address of the Screen Image Table. Multiply this
             value by >400

Register 3 - Base address of the Color Table. Multiply this value
             by >40

Register 4 - Base address of the Pattern Descriptor Table. Multiply
             this value by >800

Register 5 - Base address of the Sprite Attribute List. Multiply
             this value by >80

Register 6 - Base address of the Sprite Descriptor Table. Multiply
             this value by >800

Register 7 - Bits 0-3   - Foreground color in Text mode only
             Bits 4-7   - Background color in all modes

The mode bits, M1, M2 and M3 determine the mode of the display. If they
are all 0, the display is in Graphics mode. Else as listed above. Below
the various modes are explained.

*************
Graphics Mode
*************

Graphics mode uses an array of 32 columns by 24 lines. Each position may
have one of the 256 patterns in the pattern table (usually including
ASCII characters). Foreground and background colors may be set for the
characters, and sprites are available.

PATTERN DESCRIPTOR TABLE

This table contains descriptions for each of the 256 patterns. Each
takes 8 bytes, for a total size of 2048 bytes. Character 0 is located at
the base address, character 1 at the base+8, and so forth.

To define a character, you must convert the pattern to hexadecimal bytes
(at least, this is easiest). If you define the character in an 8x8 grid,
simply treat dots as 1 and background as 0's, and convert the binary to
hexadecimal. For instance, a man may look like this:

   ##    = 0001 1000 = 18  So the series of bytes to enter would
  ####   = 0011 1100 = 3C  be: >18, >3C, >3C, >18, >7E, >18, >24, >42
  ####   = 0011 1100 = 3C
   ##    = 0001 1000 = 18
 ######  = 0111 1110 = 7E
   ##    = 0001 1000 = 18
  #  #   = 0010 0100 = 24
 #    #  = 0100 0010 = 42

In case hexadecimal makes no sense, here's a quick conversion chart:

Binary          Hex             Decimal

0000    =       0       =       0
0001    =       1       =       1
0010    =       2       =       2
0011    =       3       =       3
0100    =       4       =       4
0101    =       5       =       5
0110    =       6       =       6
0111    =       7       =       7
1000    =       8       =       8
1001    =       9       =       9
1010    =       A       =       10
1011    =       B       =       11
1100    =       C       =       12
1101    =       D       =       13
1110    =       E       =       14
1111    =       F       =       15

To find the base address for a character description, multiple the
character by 8 and add the table's base address (remember that you can
do a faster multiply by 8 by shifting left by 3 (8=2^3))

COLOR TABLE

This table contains the foreground and background colors of all the
characters. The high nibble is the foreground color, and the low nibble
is the background color. Each byte represents a group of 8 characters
(ie: the first entry is for characters 0-7, the second for characters
8-15, etc). The table is 32 bytes long.

The colors are: (in hex)
Transparent  = 0                Medium Red   = 8
Black        = 1                Light Red    = 9
Medium Green = 2                Dark Yellow  = A
Light Green  = 3                Light Yellow = B
Dark Blue    = 4                Dark Green   = C
Light Blue   = 5                Magenta      = D
Dark Red     = 6                Gray         = E
Cyan         = 7                White        = F

To determine which color group a character is in, divide it's number by
8 (or shift right by 3). Remember that you affect all 8 characters if
you change the entry.

SCREEN IMAGE TABLE

This specifies which character occupies each position on the screen. It
is 768 bytes long. Whatever byte is at each position is what appears at
that location.

To calculate an address from X and Y, use (Y*32)+X (or (Y<<5)+x) and add
the base address.

***************
MULTICOLOR MODE
***************

In multicolor mode, the screen is 48 rows, and 64 columns wide, with
each 'box' being 4 pixels by 4 pixels. There are thus 3072 boxes, each
of which can be a different color with no restrictions. Sprites are
available.

The general way to set up is like so:

SCREEN IMAGE TABLE

Initialize the Screen Image Table so that the first >80 bytes contain
>00 through >1F repeated 4 times, the next >80 bytes contain >20 through
>3F repeated 4 times, and so on, so that the last >80 bytes contain >A0
through >BF repeated 4 times.

PATTERN DESCRIPTOR TABLE

The pattern descriptor table now contains colors, instead of patterns.
They are still organized in 8-character blocks, with each byte
describing the colors of two boxes. The high nibble is the first block,
and the low nibble is the block to it's right.

The first byte defines the first two blocks in row 1. The second byte is
the first two blocks in row 2. This continues until the eighth byte (the
first two blocks in row 8), and then goes back to row one. This
continues until the first 32 eight-byte segments have been defined,
describing all the blocks in the first 8 rows.

It's very messy... but draw yourself a picture and it should make sense.

Essentially, each entry in the screen image table still points to an
8-byte 'definition', but the definition defines the colours, not the
pixels, now, making each character a 2x8 colored group. :) Initializing
the screen image table as above lets you change the screen by editing
the pattern descriptor table, but it's not the only way. :)

*********
TEXT MODE
*********

Text mode is 40 columns by 24 lines, and sprites are not permitted.

The layout of the tables is the same as in graphics mode, however, each
character is only 6x8, instead of 8x8. Also, the screen image table is
now 960 bytes instead of 768. The last two bits of each definition are
ignored to make the smaller characters.

Only two colors are allowed in text mode, as defined by VDP register 7.

***********
BITMAP MODE
***********

Bitmap mode allows independantly defining each of the 768 screen
positions, and allows a bit more color freedom as well. Sprites are also
allowed. As normal, the patterns for each position are in the Screen
Image Table, the descriptions are in the Pattern Descriptor Table, and
the colors are in the Color Table.

SCREEN IMAGE TABLE

As before, each entry is a single byte from >00 to >FF defining which
pattern to place at each location. In bitmap mode, however, it is
divided into 3 sections of 256 bytes each, each pointing essentially to
a different character set. The first section uses the first 256 entries
in the pattern and color table, the second section uses the next 256
entries, and the third uses the last 256 entries. Normally this table is
set at >1800 (assuming 16k VDP ram) (VDP register 2 = >06)

PATTERN DESCRIPTOR TABLE

It works the same as in graphics mode, except that there are now 3
sections, each 256 patterns long, allowing 768 possible patterns. It's
size is 6144 bytes.

The first section is for the first third of the screen, and so on.

It should normally be placed at either >0000 or >2000 (VDP register 4 =
>00 or >04). The color table will sit at the other address.

COLOR TABLE

The color table works much like it did in graphics mode, except that
each entry now defines a single character, and every row of that
character has it's own color entry. It matches byte-for-byte the entries
in the pattern descriptor table, with the high nibble being the
foreground colour, and the low nibble being the background color for
that row of the pattern.

It is also divided into three 256 character sections, and each entry is
also 8 bytes long. It is 6144 bytes long, and should be placed at either
>0000 or >2000, whichever the PDT is not at. (VDP register 3 = >00 or >04).

DISCUSSION of bitmap mode

For using bitmap mode, it is usually easiest (but not fastest!) to
initialize the Screen Image Table with >00 through >FF three times, and
then alter the entries in the Pattern Descriptor table and Color table.

Thus, to alter a pixel on the screen, you must calculate the byte and
bit to be changed in the pattern descriptor table. The same offset will
let you alter the color table.

I don't know what processor the Coleco uses, but here is a psuedo code
for a weird and wacky formula that will calculate the byte offset and
bit offset of a given coordinate, ready to be indexed into the
appropriate table. :) Note this is all 16-bit math. Don't ask me why it
works, but it does seem to. :)

XIn = X coordinate 0-255
YIn = Y coordinate 0-191
ByteOut = Byte Offset into tables
BitOut = Bit offset into byte in pattern descriptor table

1. Copy YIn to ByteOut
2. Shift ByteOut left 5 times (ie: multiply by 32)
3. OR YIn into ByteOut
4. AND ByteOut with >FF07
5. Copy XIn to BitOut
6. AND Bitout with >0007
7. Add XIn to ByteOut
8. Subtract BitOut from ByteOut

*******
SPRITES
*******

Sprites are independant of the screen and their patterns can be in
addition to those in the pattern descriptor table (or the sprite
descriptor table can be set up to overlap). There can be up to 32
sprites and there are 4 available sizes.

SPRITE ATTRIBUTE LIST

This list defines the position and color of each of the 32 sprites,
0-31. To move a sprite, you must update the entries in this table.
Sprites may be located at any visible position (0-255 and 0-191), or off
the bottom of the screen (y>191).

Each definition is 4 bytes long, thus the table is 128 bytes long. The
first row on the screen is >FF, the next is >00 and so on to >BE. (so it
says!) :)

Byte 1 - Y position of the sprite. >D0 means end of the sprite list, so
     be aware if allowing sprites off the bottom.
Byte 2 - X position of the sprite. >00 - >FF
Byte 3 - pattern of the sprite, from >00 to >FF, in the SPRITE
Descriptor Table
Byte 4 - 
	   Bits 0-2 = apparently undefined
         Bit  3   = Early clock attribute - Normally, the coordinates
                    indicate the top left corner of the sprite, and
                    sprites can scroll smoothly off the right side of
                    the screen. If this bit is set, the early clock
                    is enabled, and the sprite is shifted 32 pixels
                    to the left, and scrolls smoothly off the left
                    of the screen.
         Bit  4-7 = Sprite color

SPRITE DESCRIPTOR TABLE

This table is defined exactly the same way as the pattern descriptor
table in graphics mode. However, sprites can be double-sized or
magnified. A magnified sprite simply has each pixel twice it's normal
size. A double-size sprite uses four consecutive characters, laid out
like this:

1 3
2 4

Sprites thus range from 8x8 pixels to 32x32 pixels, but only 16x16
pixels of detail.

*7.6) Cartridge Slot Pinout*

Looking from the top of the unit:

 D2   D1   D0   A0   A1   A2   SHLD A3   A4   A13  A5   A6   A7  E000 GND
  1    3    5    7    9   11   13   15   17   19   21   23   25   27   29
  2    4    6    8   10   12   14   16   18   20   22   24   26   28   30
C000  D3   D4   D5   D6   D7   A11  A10 8000  A14 A000  A12  A9   A8   +5

Pin 13 is the shield ground. It is connected to a screw post, but not to
a signal The four chip selects are active low. - 29

*7.7) ADAM Printer/Power Port*

(Colors of COLECO wires are indicated after voltage ratings)

    1  2  3  4  5
     6  7  8  9

Pin 1 = 12V BROWN
Pin 2 = 12V RED
Pin 3 = 5V  ORANGE
Pin 4 = -5V YELLOW
Pin 5 = Ground GREEN
Pins 6, 7, 8 = Serial Data Clock, Serial Data, Signal Ground?
Pin 9 = No connection - 13

*7.8) ADAM Programming Tips*

Computers and Electronics April 1984 issue includes a number of
programming tips and ideas for the ADAM, including a number of projects.
- 44

*8.0) New hardware developments*

New hardware developments for the colecovision have been rare. Below you
find all hardware projects i've known or heard about.
If you have any hardware project to report, please contact me at:
info@colecoworld.com

*Super Expansion Module, by Opcode games (releasedate: 2006/2007)*
*Memory pack, by Opcode games (releasedate: 2006)*
*Multi-console adapter, by Richard Hutchinson (beta-stage)*
*Colecovision Retrobox, by Retrozone*
*Colecovision RAM, by Kevin Horton*
*Colecovision multicart, by Kevin Horton*
*Colecovision serial-communication, by Jeff Frohwein*

*9.0) Separate Audio/Video Hack by Sean Kelly*

(The following is a modification which can be used to improve your
ColecoVision. The authors of this list and this modification can not be
responsible for any damage done to your unit or person as a result of
attempting this modification.)

This is a rather feeble attempt at describing the hack to the
ColecoVision video game system to give separate audio and video outputs
to the system. I am what I call an "Electronics Tinkerer" meaning I have
no formal education in electronics and basically only know what I have
been able to figure out by ripping apart everything I own !

I am a collector of Classic video games and systems and ran across this
hack on one of the many ColecoVision systems I own. It actually works
quite well and gives the on-screen images a much crisper look to them.
Audio is generally pretty poor on the ColecoVision and this hack doesn't
do much to help it.

In order to get things started you have to open up the ColecoVision by
removing the 8 screws on the bottom of the case. With the screws
removed, the case is still something of a pain to open because of the
lip on the expansion port, but just keep working at it and it will
eventually come apart. Next thing is to remove the screws holding down
the motherboard itself (three of them I believe) and take the
motherboard out of the case. On some versions of the ColecoVision the
aluminum cover is soldered to the circuit board. If this is the case on
yours, you will have to desolder it and remove both the top and bottom
parts to the aluminum cover. Set everything but the motherboard aside
and you are ready to get to work.

The person that did the hack on this system uses a small automotive-type
fuse block terminal to mount the components of the circuit board on. I
have located it in the 1992 Radio Shack catalog (page 150) and it is RS
part #274-688. It comes in a package of four for $1.29. Here is a list
of the components used: AGAIN - I have no formal electronics education
and don't really know how to read all the weird symbols on the parts. I
will do my best to describe them (I have also labeled them on the line
below for future reference - take note):

  Transistor - No part # markings at all.  Only thing on it is a white, red,
  (T1)         and green stripe in that order from top to bottom.  I assume
               this tells what kind/type it is?

               POSSIBLE (!) RS Part #276-1617   $1.98 (pkg. of 2)

  Capacitor  - Electrolytic type with  part #N8408 on it.  It also has the
  (C1)         marking "470uf 35v", but the "u" is one of the funny symbols
               that I have no idea what it means.

               RS Part #272-1030    $ .99

  Capacitor  - Ceramic Disc type.  Only marking on it is an underlined "47".
  (C2)

               RS Part #272-121   $ .39 (pkg. of 2)

  Resistor   - I know these are defined by the colored stripes (See - I'm
  (R1)         not a complete idiot!!  haha).  The stripes are: Orange,
               Orange, Brown, and Gold.

  A/V Cable  - One Audio/Video cable with the RCA plugs cut off on one end.

You will also need about 5 small pieces of wire around 4" long each.

We're looking at a total of about five bucks to do this so for parts
that do not come in packages of two or more, I would suggest buying an
extra one, unless you know what you're doing, in case you screw
something up.

The center connector on your terminal will be the ground for all the
components because it is the only terminal that sticks out on both sides
of the block. The part the extends on the bottom will be used to mount
to terminal to the ColecoVision motherboard. Directly to the right of
the RF modulator (big silver box on the motherboard) right under the
letter of the revision of the motherboard (the one I am looking at is
"J") you will have to scrape off a section of the green coating so you
can solder the terminal on the bottom to the motherboard. After
soldering this bend the terminal block so that it is standing straight
up from the motherboard.

Since many of the components will be "tied" together, you might want to
connect them all to the posts first and then solder them later. The way
I am going to describe how to connect them will (hopefully) make it as
easy as possible to understand. The following is a listing of each post
numbered from 1-5, left to right, looking at the terminal block from the
back of the motherboard. Looking at the "back" you will be looking at
the channel 3-4 switch as well as the RCA plug that is used to connect
the ColecoVision to the TV/Game switch now. Here is what goes on each post:

  Post #1 - The LEFT "leg" of the transistor.  I am looking at the
            transistor on the side that is curved - where you can see the
            color bands.

            One of the small pieces of wire goes from this post to the right
            leg of the disc capacitor on the ColecoVision motherboard
            itself marked "C22".

  Post #2 - The CENTER "leg" of the transistor.

            One "leg" from the Disc capacitor.

            One of the small pieces of wire goes from this post to the
            underside of the ColecoVision motherboard.  It will be EXTREMELY
            hard for me to explain where to connect this on the bottom of
            the motherboard since there are no markings on this side.  The
            only way I can describe it is to say that it is being connected
            to one of the components in the RF modulator.  The RF modulator
            is "outlined" in a sense on the bottom of the MB with solder
            because of grounding.  You need to connect it to the pin that
            has the marking "+12" at about 5 O'Clock.  This is the closest
            pin to he "+12" marking.


  Post #3 - This is the GROUND post.  One side of the resistor is connected
            here.

            The two ground wires from the RCA cables must be connected here
            also.  Each Audio/Video wire has two wires inside of it.  In
            general, one is shielded in plastic and the other is not.  The
            unshielded wire is the ground.  Connect the unshielded wire from
            each cable to this post.


  Post #4 - The side of the Electrolytic capacitor (C1) that the arrow
            printed on the capacitor points to.

            This is where I am sort of unable to help you.  The positive
            wire from the Audio or Video wire needs to be connected to this
            post.  Since the RCA ends are cut off the cable I don't know
            which is which.  It should not damage anything by connecting
            them the wrong way, so you will have to take a guess.  One of
            them goes on this post and the other goes on post #5.

  Post #5 - The other of the positive Audio/Video wires gets connected here.

            One of the small pieces of wire goes here.  This one is even
            harder to describe than the one on post 2.  The "outline" in
            solder around where the RF modulator is mounted on the opposite
            side is where you are going to connect this wire.  Looking at
            the bottom of the MB with the expansion port facing you the part
            of the "outline" you need to connect this wire to will be on
            your left.  It's  small section of solder (compared to the
            section on the right) and is about 1.5-2 inches long.  Connect
            this wire anyplace here.

You now have one leg of the transistor (T1), one leg of the resistor
(R1), and one leg of each capacitor just hanging there right? Connect
all of these together, but do not connect them to any of the posts. Just
sort of let them hang there.

The person who did this to my system also has one other wire connected
to the bottom of the motherboard, but the other end of it has been cut
and is not connected to anything. I assume this serves no purpose.

*10.0) Automatic RF Switch*

Creating an automatic RF switch (similar to that found on the NES and
Super Nintendo) is relatively simple. Just add a 220-330 ohm 1/2W
resistor from 12V thru a 180uh inductor to the center terminal on the
modulator's output. The resistor limits the current in case the cable
gets shorted, and the inductor keeps the RF out of the power supply, and
interference out of the signal. The inductor size isn't too critical;
anything from 80uh-330uh should do the trick. - 39

Alternatively, a 47 ohm resistor can be used; a 100pf DC blocking
capactior is also recommended. - 29

*11.0) Replacing The ColecoVision ROM*

This procedure can be used either to replace a bad ROM, or to install a
custom programmed EPROM.

Parts needed:

      28 pin IC socket 2764 EPROM chip programmed with the COLECO.BIN
      file Two short pieces of wire Soldering iron, solder, desoldering
      iron, etc.

(Note: If you haven't opened your ColecoVision before, you may have to
use the desoldering iron to suck up some solder so that you can open up
the RF shield and get to the circuit board. Also, you may want to
consider repairing your power switch. Desolder it, take it apart, clean
it, pack it with "dielectric grease" from an auto supply store,
reassemble it, then resolder it.)

1) Desolder the old ROM chip. (U2) If you haven't desoldered chips
before, get some practice or buy a pizza and split it with a friend who
has. (See end of this section for tips on how to desolder an IC chip.)
Also suck the solder out of the four extra holes, and out of the holes
marked "WJ4" and "WJ5".

2) Insert the 28 pin socket into the holes and solder it down. Test your
work by putting the ROM chip back in and turning the unit on. If the
"COLECOVISION" screen comes up, everything is okay.

3) Solder short pieces of wire into the WJ4 and WJ5 holes.

4) On the underside of the circuit board are two small "bumps" in two
short traces coming from the WJ5 holes. Cut the traces. Do NOT cut the
long trace that ends in a "Y" next to a WJ5 hole.

5) Program a 2764 EPROM with the contents of COLECO.BIN, which can be
found with the ColecoVision emulator.

6) Put the 2764 EPROM into the socket and test everything by turning on
the unit and checking for the "COLECOVISION" screen. Now you're done!

Hints for desoldering:

* I use a Radio Shack desoldering iron. This has a red rubber bulb on it
and a hollow tip. It's cheap and works well.
* Use a fresh tip for important projects! It's not worth trying to save
two bucks only to ruin a circuit board or a chip. Tinning your tip is a
good idea, too.
* Wait for the joint to completely melt before sucking out the solder.
If you suck too soon, you may not be able to melt the joint properly any
more. Wait about four seconds, or five for the four "corner" pins.
* When you have sucked out the solder from all of the holes, push all
the pins to "crack" them off of the remaining solder.
* If you have done everything right, the chip should practically fall
out of the board. - 29

*12.0) Copying ColecoVision Cartridges*

Some ingenious hackers figured out a way to copy the ADAM Computer's
Super Data Packs to blank cartridges that then can be used on the
ColecoVision. Most of the ADAM Super Data Packs were duplicates of
ColecoVision Cartridges, but contained an extra screen or other extras
the cartridge version lacked. - JC

FWIW, I've now seen both a Super Donkey Kong and Super Donkey Kong
Junior cart. The only extras I saw in Super DK Jr. were music during the
level selection, and a fourth screen, but Super Donkey Kong adds some
end-of- screen graphics (the carry-away after screen 1 and falling
girders after screen 2) in addition to its fourth screen. - JH

Note that copying cartridges or software is a violation of copyright law
unless permission to do so has been received from the rights holder.

Also note that pirated and reproduction cartridges for ColecoVision do
exist. Some dealers sell them; some refuse to. Not surprisingly, pirated
cartridges are considered to have very little collectible value, so be
aware that they exist - particularly if you run across demo carts and/or
extremely rare titles.

*13.0) Repair Tips*

The following are suggestions for solving problems with your
ColecoVision. The authors of this list and these tips can not be
responsible for any damage done to your unit or carts as a result of
attempting these fixes.

*13.1) To fix a rolling picture/video problems:*

The problem is with the power switch. You'll notice that if you were to
jiggle it a little without turning the system off that it will make a
complete mess of your screen. What I suggest is that you desolder the
power switch from the circuit board, take the metal cover off of it and
clean all the contacts and re-grease them after cleaning them. Make sure
the metal cover is REALLY TIGHT when you put it back on though. From
then on if you are very careful when turning the unit on/off it should
work OK for you.

If you still have a problem go to an electronics store... and get a
similar switch and replace it. Nothing else you can do really. - 05

Sorry if this is stating the obvious, but you seem to have a combination
of an intermittent open and a heat sensitive component.

Get a can of "cold spray" made for isolating thermal intermittents:
should be a couple of bucks at a local electronics shop. If you can get
the box open and get to all the components, it should be fairly
straightforward to figure out which one is the bad guy.

Actually, by your description (starts good, goes bad after 2 minutes,
can be affected mechanically) leans towards a bad solder connection (or
socket it the darn thing has them). It may be as easy as touching up a
few solder connections. - 06

If the video problem is simply vertical lines dragging behind the
sprites, it can sometimes be solved by using a different power supply. - 16

A number of problems (warping sprites, lack of audio, lines in sprites,
etc.) can, in many circumstances, be solved simply by assuring a solid
connection between the power supply and unit. This can require
hardwiring the power supply to the unit. - 33

In some cases, sprite problems can be solved by cleaning the cartridge
in question. But if the startup screen has letters screwed up, such as
CKHACK, you probably have a bad DRAM. U10 is D7 and U17 is D0. CKHACK
indicates a bad D2 line, which would be U15. General directions for
replacing a bad chip can be found in Section 10.3. - 29

*13.2) To avoid an automatic level select problem:*

One common ColecoVision trouble is that the controller ports break down
easily, causing symptoms such as the ColecoVision thinking the keypad is
constantly being pressed (which can cause the a game to be automatically
started, as the level select is essentially instantaneous). A frequent
source for this problem is the high sensitivity to static electricity
which the controller port pins exhibit. To avoid the problem, simply
don't touch the controller port pins unless properly grounded. - 08

*13.3) To fix an automatic level select problem:*

One possible piece which can be blown by static electricity at the
controller ports (see 10.2) is the SN74LS541N chip, a 3-to-8 decoder. If
this is the chip that's blown, then replacing this chip (a generic
component, available at any good electronics store) can solve the
problem. - 13, 15

Parts:

      A good soldering iron (with a very thin tip) Computer solder
      (thin) Solder wick Needle nose pliers An SN74LS541N chip Two 2.2K
      K27 resistor packets (optional/recommended)

Getting started:

Plug in and turn on the Coleco with a Donkey Kong cart inserted. When
the game automatically goes into play mode, note if the Mario moves
without touching the joystick. If so, then the 1st player chip is
definitely damaged. If a two player game is the one automatically
started (which seems to be the prevalent fail mode) automatic movement
of the second player's Mario likewise indicates that the 2nd player chip
is certainly damaged. Lack of automatic movement does not rule out the
possibility that either or both chips are damaged; indeed, given the
automatic select problem, it's likely that at least one chip is damaged.
But determining that one chip is certainly damaged can minimize your work.

Surgery:

1) Turn off and unplug your ColecoVision, removing the cartridge.

2) Make certain that you are properly grounded, if possible.

3) Open the plastic casing for the unit.

4) Remove the metal cover from the board by desoldering it. It just gets
in the way so its better to remove it. It is not essential to the
working of the game, though it can be resoldered later if desired.

5) the bare board upside down and find the soldering connections for the
SN74LS541N chip that you wish to replace.

6) Note the orientation of the SN74LS541N you intend to replace, so that
you can be certain that you provide the same orientation for the
replacement chip.

7) Take the soldering iron and solder wick. Place the wick on one of the
solder connections on the board. Press the solder iron on the wick. The
iron will heat up the wick which will heat up the solder. The solder
will turn liquid and be absorbed by the wick. This takes some practice
before you get the hang of it.

8) Absorb as much of the solder as possible from all of the connections
to the chip you're removing as possible.

9) Flip the board back over and take the pliers. This is where you have
to get tough with your Coleco, and let it know who's boss! Growl at it
occasionally to let off steam. Now, being careful not to harm any other
components on the board, grip the defective chip with the pliers and
pull and pry. It's OK to break the chip because it's defective garbage
anyway.

*** Note - it's a good idea to wiffle each of the pins to pop them off
any remaining solder. In fact, if the chip really is dead, it's better
to just snip or Dremel all the pins off first, _then_ desolder the pins
individually. - 29

10) After forcibly removing bits of the defective chip from the board,
remove any broken pins stuck in the board, extra solder, etc. so that
the area that was occupied by that chip is clean. Suck up the solder
from the pinholes with the wick so that you can see right through the
board through each pinhole. Gee, your ColecoVision never looked better!

11) Take the new SN74LS541N chip and gently install it in the board,
inserting the pins in the pinholes. Make sure that the chip is oriented
in the same direction that the original chip was! Gently bend the pins
if necessary so that they all go in the holes. Be careful not to press
too hard as you might bend some pins that aren't properly aligned with
their holes.

12) Flip the board over. Take the solder iron and the computer solder
and solder each connection carefully. Isn't this fun? Don't you feel
like a computer technician now? :)

13) Optional/recommended: Replace the resistor packets on the port in a
similar (though much easier) manner. For these parts, note the DOT
orientation when replacing.

14) Put the board back in the plastic case to avoid shock.

*13.4) To fix a broken roller controller:*

When a roller controller will not register movement in one pair of
directions (up-down or right-left), the problem might be with the
infrared motion detectors. The pair of sensors appropriate to the
direction simply need to be replaced with new off the shelf send and
receive sensors.

Jumping and contact problems can usually be traced to the bearings.
Sometimes these problems can be solved by cleaning the bearings; often,
however, the problem can not be solved. - 11, 14

*13.5) To fix a poorly responding controller:*

A simple cleaning with a can of compressed air and TV tuner cleaner can
greatly improve the responsiveness of the standard controllers.

*13.6) To fix a dead cartridge:*

Most cartridge problems are a result of bad (or no) contact between the
cartridge and the system. Cleaning the cartridge and system contacts
with alcohol usually solves the problem. As a last resort, a pencil
eraser can be used on the contacts of the cartridge. - JH

*14.0) ColecoVision/Adam Dealers*

*14.1) ColecoVision vendors:*

ColecoVision cartridges are nearly always cheapest when purchased from a
thrift store or flea market. For example, I've purchased a great
majority of the carts I own, including a number of difficult to find
titles, for $1 to $5. However, when you can't find a cartridge, there
are a number of dealers who sell (via mail order) a line of ColecoVision
cartridges:

Note: An attempt has been made to provide basic information about their
ColecoVision lines. Inclusion on this list carries with it no
recommendation, either positive or negative, about the dealer.
Additional dealers who sell a line of ColecoVision products via mail
order will be gladly added to the list.

We have no idea how up-to-date this information is. If you find any of
this information to be outdated, please contact us at the address listed
at the top of this FAQ. Thanks. - MW

eColeco - Colecovision store and servicecenter
	EMail: coleco@ecoleco.com 
	WWW: http://coleco.freeservers.com/colecovision.htm

        Carries a wide range of cartridges and hardware, new and used.

JerryG Visionaries
        Snail Mail: 663 S. Dodge
                    Gilbert, AZ 85233
        EMail (preferred): jerryg@hevanet.com 
        WWW: http://www.Atari2600.com/ 

        Carries a wide range of cartridges and hardware, new and used.
        Catalog available via email.  Takes MC/VI.

Telegames UK
	Snail Mail: Kilby Bridge
		    Wigston
		    Leicester 
		    LE18 3TE 
		    England
	     Phone: 0116 288 0445 (International: +44 116 288 0445) 
	Sales Line: 0116 288 0445 
	 Sales Fax: 0116 281 3437 
       Sales Email: sales@telegames.co.uk
	       WWW: http://www.telegames.co.uk 

        Carries a wide range of cartridges and hardware, both new and used
	Even though Telegames US ceased all support for classic gaming systems,
        Telegames UK still sells games and parts.

In addition, numerous collectors will post carts for sale or trade on
rec.games.video.classic and rec.games.video.marketplace.

*14.2) Modern game vendors:*

Revival Studios - Classic game development
	EMail: sales@revival-studios.com 
	WWW: http://www.revival-studios.com 

        Develops, Publishes and sells modern games for the Colecovision


AtariAge Store
	WWW: http://www.atariage.com/store/

        Publishes and Sells modern games for various classic gaming systems, including the Colecovision


Good Deal Games
	EMail: gooddealgames@mindspring.com 
	WWW: http://www.gooddealgames.com/Publishing_Colecovision.html

        Publishes and Sells modern games for the Colecovision


*15.0) Other WWW links*

*Colecoworld*
The ultimate resource for your colecovision.
http://www.colecoworld.com 

*Revival Studios*
Classic Game development for Colecovision.
http://www.revival-studios.com 

*Coleco coorperate website*
http://www.coleco.com/

*Coleconation Magazine*
http://www.coleconation.com/

*Opcode games*
http://www.opcodegames.com 

*Daniel Bienvenu's homepage*
http://www.geocities.com/newcoleco/

*Norman G. Sippel's ColecoVision homepage*
http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~ngsippel/cv.html


*The Coleco Adam homepage*
http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/u/dmwick/adam.html

ColecoVision FAQ Version 4.00
http://www.colecoworld.com/faq

=EOF= 

Back to Top <#top>

HTML Version by Martijn Wenting
Download the Text Version


Home 
(FAQ source)