.gif)
Munchman (tabletop electronic game)
Encyclopedia
Munchman is a tabletop electronic game
that was released under license in 1981 in the UK by Grandstand
. It is a rebadged version of the Tomy
game known as Pac Man in the US
and Puck Man in Japan
.
's Pac-Man
arcade game with obvious limitations due to the simplicity of electronic game technology of the time and the dependency on a VFD
screen. The game has a distinctive visual style due to its unique circular shiny yellow casing.http://www.flickr.com/photos/unloveable/2400905250/ The game should not be confused with a much smaller Grandstand handheld game of the same year called Mini-Munchman
.
technology, it allows bright, multicoloured in-game elements to be rendered but at the cost of a relatively small screen size. The VFD display is manufactured with the pre-formed, immutable in-game objects effectively fixed in place onto a dark background. Each element can be individually lit or unlit during play, giving the illusion of animation and movement. In-game objects cannot touch or superimpose one another, which is not ideal for a Pac-Man clone, as in the arcade version, the Pac-Man and ghosts do collide.
derived games, the player must guide the Pac-Man character around a maze, eating all the dots whilst avoiding the ghosts. Notable features of this version are that the maze is small, containing only eighteen dots plus two power pills. Also, dots are only eaten if the player happens to move over them from right to left. There is a bonus cherry item sometimes available near the centre of the maze and horizontal warp tunnels can also be used by the player. The score is kept at the top of the display area, above the maze. There are two difficulty levels, "ama" and "pro", physically selectable by a switch.
Electronic game
An electronic game is a game that employs electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. The most common form of electronic game today is the video game, and for this reason the terms are often mistakenly used synonymously. Other common forms of electronic game include...
that was released under license in 1981 in the UK by Grandstand
Grandstand (game manufacturer)
Grandstand was a video game console and electronic game manufacturer and distributor. It was based in the United Kingdom and New Zealand and was active in the 1970s and 1980s.-Overview:...
. It is a rebadged version of the Tomy
TOMY
is a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
game known as Pac Man in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Puck Man in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Overview
The game is based on NamcoNamco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
's Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
arcade game with obvious limitations due to the simplicity of electronic game technology of the time and the dependency on a VFD
Vacuum fluorescent display
A vacuum fluorescent display is a display device used commonly on consumer-electronics equipment such as video cassette recorders, car radios, and microwave ovens. Invented in Japan in 1967, the displays became common on calculators and other consumer electronics devices...
screen. The game has a distinctive visual style due to its unique circular shiny yellow casing.http://www.flickr.com/photos/unloveable/2400905250/ The game should not be confused with a much smaller Grandstand handheld game of the same year called Mini-Munchman
Mini-Munchman
Mini-Munchman is a handheld electronic game that was released in 1981 in the UK by Grandstand. The game is a rebadged version of Epoch-Man from Epoch.-Overview:...
.
Hardware
The Munchman game runs on six volts DC and can be powered by four 'C' type batteries or alternatively via a low voltage mains adaptor. As the display is based on VFDVacuum fluorescent display
A vacuum fluorescent display is a display device used commonly on consumer-electronics equipment such as video cassette recorders, car radios, and microwave ovens. Invented in Japan in 1967, the displays became common on calculators and other consumer electronics devices...
technology, it allows bright, multicoloured in-game elements to be rendered but at the cost of a relatively small screen size. The VFD display is manufactured with the pre-formed, immutable in-game objects effectively fixed in place onto a dark background. Each element can be individually lit or unlit during play, giving the illusion of animation and movement. In-game objects cannot touch or superimpose one another, which is not ideal for a Pac-Man clone, as in the arcade version, the Pac-Man and ghosts do collide.
Gameplay
As with most Pac-ManPac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
derived games, the player must guide the Pac-Man character around a maze, eating all the dots whilst avoiding the ghosts. Notable features of this version are that the maze is small, containing only eighteen dots plus two power pills. Also, dots are only eaten if the player happens to move over them from right to left. There is a bonus cherry item sometimes available near the centre of the maze and horizontal warp tunnels can also be used by the player. The score is kept at the top of the display area, above the maze. There are two difficulty levels, "ama" and "pro", physically selectable by a switch.