Coleco Mini-Arcade Instruction Manuals
Coleco's Instructions and Game Rules booklets for its Mini-Arcade tabletop games are owner's guides: battery fitting, controls, rules and scoring, care, and the warranty. The four below are hosted here as image-only scans from the Handheld Museum's manual archive; the same files are on the Internet Archive.[1]
| Game | Model | Guide No. | Copyright | Pages | File |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxian | 2380 | 76881 | 1981 Coleco Industries | 12 | |
| Frogger | 2393 | 78256C | 1982 Coleco Industries | 8 | |
| Donkey Kong | 2391 | 78247 | 1982 Coleco Industries | 8 | |
| Donkey Kong Jr. | 2398 | 12230 | 1983 Coleco (Canada) Limitée | 10 |
The Donkey Kong guide does not print a model number; 2391 is the number in Coleco's 1983 catalogue.[2]
Contents
[edit | edit source]The three VFD games share one layout. Page 1 is the cover, with the battery requirement. Then come the game description and a drawing of the controls, battery fitting, the numbered play steps and scoring, then "Special information", "Care of your game" and the 90-day limited warranty, with the FCC notice on the back page.
- Galaxian, guide 76881: the three games, Galaxian, Head to Head Galaxian and Midway's Attackers (p. 2); controls (p. 2); batteries (p. 3); each game's play steps (pp. 4–9); special information and care (p. 10); warranty and service policy (p. 11).
- Frogger, guide 78256C: controls, including the Skill 1/Off/Skill 2 switch and the Reset button (p. 2); batteries and the #2298 Perma Power (p. 3); play steps and the snake rule at Skill 1 (pp. 4–5); scoring, special information and care (p. 6); warranty (p. 7); FCC notice (p. 8).
- Donkey Kong, guide 78247: controls (p. 2); batteries and the Perma Power (p. 3); play steps (pp. 3–6); bonus values and scoring, special information and care (p. 6); warranty (p. 7); FCC notice (p. 8).
- Donkey Kong Jr., guide 12230, laid out differently from the other three: names of parts, time and alarm setting with the ACL and ALARM switches (pp. 2–3); play (pp. 3–5); points, misses and bonus (p. 6); batteries, two C cells, and cautions (p. 7); the Canadian warranty (p. 8); FCC notice (p. 9).
The three VFD guides make the same two points about power. The game will not operate properly on weak batteries, and an erratic display or erratic play may be the only sign; and the game should be switched off after use to avoid draining the cells.[3]
The US warranty in the three VFD guides runs for 90 days, with a $5.00 handling charge. After that Coleco would repair the game or replace it with a reconditioned one for $15.00, up to one year from purchase. Returns went to Coleco's Customer Service Department, 35 Willow Street, Building 5, Amsterdam, New York 12010.[3]
Coleco's guides for the Pac-Man (guide no. 76879A, model 2390, 1981) and the Ms. Pac-Man (guide no. 91758, model 2395, 1983) are also 12-page booklets with the same weak-battery advice and the same warranty terms. They are hosted, with their contents lists, on Coleco Pac-Man Mini-Arcade Documentation and Coleco Ms. Pac-Man Mini-Arcade Documentation.[4]
What these guides do not contain
[edit | edit source]No schematic, parts list, voltages, disassembly or adjustment. Each guide says that the game contains no serviceable parts and must not be opened.[3] For the inside of the games, see Coleco Mini-Arcade Maintenance and Coleco Mini-Arcade Troubleshooting.
Pages that cite these guides
[edit | edit source]- Coleco Galaxian Mini-Arcade, Coleco Frogger Mini-Arcade, Coleco Donkey Kong Mini-Arcade and Coleco Donkey Kong Jr. Mini-Arcade: model numbers, controls, power and play.
- Coleco Mini-Arcade Maintenance and Coleco Mini-Arcade Troubleshooting: battery requirement, weak-battery symptoms and the Perma Power.
Galaxian (Guide 76881)
[edit | edit source]
Download: Coleco Galaxian Tabletop Instructions Guide 76881.pdf
Frogger (Guide 78256C)
[edit | edit source]
Download: Coleco Frogger Tabletop Instructions Guide 78256C.pdf
Donkey Kong (Guide 78247)
[edit | edit source]
Download: Coleco Donkey Kong Tabletop Instructions Guide 78247.pdf
Donkey Kong Jr. (Guide 12230)
[edit | edit source]
Download: Coleco Donkey Kong Jr Tabletop Instructions Guide 12230.pdf
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Handheld Museum, manuals archive (retrieved 2026-10-06), files Coleco-DonkeyKong.pdf, Coleco-Frogger.pdf, Coleco-Galaxian.pdf and Coleco-DonkeyKongJr.pdf. Identical copies (same MD5) are Internet Archive items manuals-handheld-games-Coleco-DonkeyKong, -Frogger, -Galaxian and -DonkeyKongJr.
- ↑ Coleco Industries, 1983 Toy Fair catalogue, pp. 22–24 (Galaxian 2380, Frogger 2393, Donkey Kong 2391). Pages reproduced by the Handheld Museum, Coleco 1983 Toy Fair catalog (retrieved 2026-10-06).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Coleco Industries, Donkey Kong Instructions and Game Rules, Guide No. 78247, 1982, pp. 3 and 6.
- ↑ Coleco Industries, Pac-Man Instructions and Game Rules, Guide No. 76879A (1981), pp. 3, 10 and 11, hosted as File:Coleco Pac-Man Mini-Arcade Instructions 76879A.pdf; and The Official Ms. Pac-Man Instructions and Game Rules, Guide No. 91758 (1983), pp. 3, 9 and 11, hosted as File:Coleco Ms. Pac-Man Mini-Arcade Instructions 91758.pdf.