This is a continuation of a series involving my old gadgets that are still ticking. Please check out my previous post on Minidiscs.

Before I got my Gameboy via the Sunshine Sales Club in late 1989, my portable gaming needs were served by Tiger Electronics. There were enough beeps and hoops from these machines to keep me entertained. They were usually based off of full fledged arcade and NES games such as ... Double Dribble.

When you turn on the game, you don't get the "Dubble Dibble" voice from the NES version. Voices are a far cry away, as the technology behind Tiger games is even more basic than the Atari 2600 from the late 70s / early 80s (my first game system). The gaming experience consists of a screen with a few predetermined sections that light up in response to player movement on the control pad and one, huge button. The sections are pre-drawn player graphics for the offense and defense. There are only two sounds - a "tick" for moving / dribbling / shooting, and a referee type whistle for scoring.

The game is tough. The CPU will immediately steal the movie if you stay still for a second. You have to consistently move and hope that the random number generator blesses you and counts your shot as good. It makes for a intense game that surprisingly makes me feel like I'm competing in an actual sport.

IIt kept my 9 year old mind occupied. And it was fun. Definitely my favorite of my Tiger games, besting others that have log since died like Double Dragon, Karnov, and Altered Beast. Those games proved to be too ambitious for a Tiger handheld. Simple sports games work best.

And it still works!