Wonder Wizard and Gulliver
were trademarks used by General Home Products for selling video games
manufactured by Magnavox.
The first game in the line was called Triple Challenge (model 7701) and
sold under the Gulliver trademark. All later models were sold under the
Wonder Wizard trademark. One of the most interesting is model 7702. It was sold
in 1976 and contains a Magnavox Odyssey 300
circuit board housed into a derivate of the 1972 Odyssey
case. The bottom part of the case is identical, only the top differs and was made
in two versions: one with silver knobs and woodgrain only in the section containing
the "Wonder Wizard" name, and one (as pictured) with black knobs and woodgrain
everywhere. Like Odyssey 300, this system used a 3-position switch to choose one
of three predefined combinations of difficulties, avoiding the need to change the
ball speed, ball angle and bat size separately. Few systems used this design and
most others used individual skill level switches.
The Bulls Eye (model 7704) and Sharp Shooter (model 7705) had a rather
unique small metal case allowing them to be attached on a side of the TV set.
Both used the General Instruments AY-3-8500chip, came with a
light gun and played the six games of the chip. The only difference is that Model 7704
played the games in black and white, whereas model 7705 played them in color.
The Scoreboard (model 7706) was a clone of the 1976 Gamatic 7600 (Japan),
which was sold under various brands all over the world (Univox in France, Intel in
Germany -short name of Interelectric-, Grandstand in England, etc.)
The model 7709 apparently closed the line. It was designed in a flat case
with a similar decoration as model 7702; it played the six games of the AY-3-8500 chip.
Although the picture below indicates that at least a prototype existed for that
model, no specimen has been reported so far. However, David Winter rediscovered
an almost same model made by Beta Electronic Inc.: the Davitronix model 7N. The
story behind these games remains unknown, especially whether Wonder Wizard used
a foreign design or even copied it, or vice-versa. The specimen came from Thailand,
where it could have been sold.
Finally, David Winter discovered an unreleased model in a 1976 sales brochure:
Desert Fox (model 7707), a Tank Battle system designed around the
General Instruments AY-3-8700 chip. It played four games.
Two mysteries remain so far: models 7703 and 7708. No information exists about them,
so all rumors are possible, ranging from a different Ball and Paddle chip design to
a later design like Breakout, Motocross, etc.
Models known to exist or to have been planed:
- Gulliver Triple Challenge (7701)
- Wonder Wizard (7702, two versions)
- Wonder Wizard Bulls Eye (7704)
- Wonder Wizard Sharp Shooter (7705)
- Wonder Wizard Scoreboard (7706, clone of Gamatic 7600)
- Wonder Wizard Desert Fox (7707, unreleased Tank Battle console)
- Wonder Wizard (7709, probably unreleased; a Davitronix 7N clone exists)
Click the pictures below (when possible) for a large scale view.
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Wonder Wizard 7702 box and console with a nice woodgrain style.
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Wonder Wizard 7702 in its original packaging.
The user manual has the format as the one of the Odyssey 300.
The switch box is same as those of the Odyssey 100 to 4000. |
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Wonder Wizard model 7709.
This is a quite small unit (about nine inches wide).
Only models 7702 and 7709 have no name. |
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Davitronix 7N made by Beta Electronic Inc. This clone
was rediscovered by David Winter in Aug 2018. |
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