Gakken - “Search Light” — LCD Card Game - Video game console

## Gakken “Search Light” — LCD Card Game — Original Box & Instructions — Japan, c. 1981–1982

A fascinating survivor from the **golden age of Japanese handheld electronic gaming**: Gakken's **Search Light**, from the company's collectible LCD Card Game series.

Produced in Japan in the early 1980s, Search Light belongs to the first generation of portable LCD electronic games that appeared during the worldwide boom created by dedicated handheld gaming.

Rather than relying on cartridges or interchangeable software, the entire game is built around its dedicated LCD display.

### The Game

Search Light presents an unusual prison-escape scenario.

The player must guide a prisoner through the prison grounds while avoiding patrolling guards and the sweeping beam of the guard tower's searchlight. The prisoner must reach and break through the boundary wall without being discovered.

Its distinctive theme, illustrated LCD screen and compact format make Search Light a particularly charming example of early Japanese portable electronic-game design.

### Collector Highlights

This example is particularly attractive because it retains important original material that is frequently missing from surviving handheld games:

* **Original Gakken Search Light LCD game**
* **Original illustrated box**
* **Original Japanese instruction manual**
* Original Japanese-market version
* Early-1980s period electronic game
* Gakken LCD Card Game series
* Approximately four decades old

Finding vintage handheld electronic games together with their original packaging and documentation is considerably more desirable to collectors than finding the loose console alone.

The colorful original packaging also captures the distinctive graphic design of Japan's early electronic-game era and makes the set particularly suitable for display.

### Condition

This is an original vintage item that has been stored for many years.

The game and packaging display age-related traces of storage and use. The original box has rubbing, dents and areas of tearing/wear. Please carefully examine the photographs, which form an integral part of the condition description.

**Electronic functionality has not been confirmed and is therefore offered as untested. No guarantee regarding electronic operation is made.**

### Details

**Manufacturer:** Gakken / 学研
**Title:** Search Light / サーチライト
**Series:** LCD Card Game
**Type:** Dedicated handheld LCD electronic game
**Period:** circa 1981–1982
**Country:** Japan
**Included:** Game, original box and original instruction manual
**Condition:** Vintage, with age-related wear; electronic operation untested

A distinctive piece of **early Japanese handheld-gaming history**, particularly appealing to collectors of vintage LCD games, Japanese electronics and pre-Game-Boy portable gaming.

The item will be carefully protected and securely packed for international shipment from Japan.