Elektronika

A Nu, pogodi! (IM-02) handheld from Elektronika.

Elektronika (Электроника, lit. "Electronics") was a brand name used on Soviet-era consumer electronic devices in Russia. The Elektronika line was established by the government-run Ministry of the Electronics Industry, and was utilized on devices such as calculators, computers, and electronic games.

A number of electronic handheld games were released under the Elektronika name, the vast majority of which are bootlegs of titles from Nintendo's Game & Watch series. These consoles were produced from approximately 1983 to 1994, across various Russian manufacturing plants. The handhelds were quite popular across Russia, though would be largely overshadowed by the release of the Dendy in 1992.

Games overview

The majority of Elektronika handhelds use outer casing based on the Game & Watch Wide Screen series; some models even feature the Game & Watch logo (unauthorized) printed on the plastic. Depending on the manufacturing plant, consoles can have varying differences from each other, in both design and gameplay; for instance, the Angstrem plant released variants of the handhelds in decorative, shaped cases. Alternate versions were also produced for distribution in markets outside of Russia. Like the Game & Watch units, most consoles feature a built-in digital clock.

Standard

Title	ID(s)	Year	Notes
Nu, pogodi! (Ну, погоди!)	No ID (1983) ИM-02 (1984) ИM-02M ("shaped" ver.) И-06 (post-USSR)	1983	Clone of the Game & Watch game Egg, which itself is a reskin of Mickey Mouse Game & Watch. The graphics have been altered to resemble the cartoon series of the same name (romanized in English as Well, Just You Wait!). Alternately titled Wolf & Hare and Try to Catch It. Nu, pogodi! was by far the most popular Elektronika handheld, and would be re-released and reissued many times, including variants under different graphical themes.
Mickey Mouse (Микки Маус)	24-01	1984	Clone of the Game & Watch game Mickey Mouse (separately cloned from the Egg version) with closely-copied graphics. Predates the rest of the series (save for potentially Nu, pogodi!), thus having a different ID.
Mysteries of the Ocean (Тайны океана)	ИM-03 И-15 (post-USSR)	1986	Clone of the Game & Watch game Octopus with closely-copied graphics. Alternately titled Treasure Hunt.
Merry Cook (Весёлый повар)	ИM-04 И-02 (post-USSR)	1989	Clone of the Game & Watch game Chef with closely-copied graphics.
Fire Extinguisher (Тушение пожара)	ИM-08	1989	Clone of an unknown Game & Watch Multi Screen game (reportedly Squish, though the name would suggest it is a clone of Mickey & Donald). Known to have been advertised, but was seemingly never released.
Space Bridge (Космический мост)	ИM-09 И-03 (post-USSR)	1989	Clone of the Game & Watch game Fire. The graphics are modified to take place in space, with the jumping men wearing space helmets.
Winnie-the-Pooh (Винни Пух)	ИM-12	19??	Clone of the Game & Watch game Donkey Kong Jr., specifically the colorized Panorama/Table Top version (in a form factor resembling the former). The graphics are altered to be based on the Russian adaption of Winnie-the-Pooh. Some versions feature a removable screen, suggesting it was intended to use interchangeable "screen-cartridges", but no other games are known to exist for it.
Football (Футбол)	ИM-15	1989	Clone of the Tomy VFD game World Cup Soccer.
Biathlon (Биатлон)	ИM-19 И-10 (post-USSR)	1989	An originally-programmed, Olympics-themed game; produced in a Game & Watch-based shell.
Aerial Shooting Range (Воздушный тир)	ИM-20	1994	Clone of the Game & Watch Super Color game Spitball Sparky; uses modified player graphics.
Supercubes (Суперкубики)	ИM-20	1994	An originally-programmed Tetris clone; produced in a Game & Watch Super Color-based shell.
Autoslalom (Автослалом)	ИM-23 И-01 (post-USSR)	1989	Gameplay clone of City Turbo Race, a "screen cartridge" for the Bandai Digi Casse; it appears to be completely reprogrammed on Game & Watch-like hardware. Produced in a Game & Watch-based shell. Likely created for the "ИM-26" console originally.
Space Adventures (Космические приключения)	ИM-27	1990	Clone of the Tomytronic 3D game Planet Zeon; uses a pair of goggles similar to a virtual-reality headset.
Knight (Витязь)	ИM-31	1988	Clone of the tabletop VFD game Kingman by Tomy. Reskinned to feature a knight traveling to slay a three-headed dragon. Oddly, its case design appears to mimic HungryPac III by Hanzawa.
Night Burglars (Ночные воришки)	ИM-49 И-14 (post-USSR)	1992	Originally-programmed game; produced in a Game & Watch-based shell.
Amusing Arithmetic (Весёлая арифметика)	ИM-50 ИM-57 ("shaped" ver.)	1989	A rather advanced, originally-programmed math game. The player must answer a series of math questions; answering the questions correctly will lead to an Egg-like minigame where the player catches the number 5. Uses characters from the children's story "The Adventures of Dunno and his Friends". Produced in a Game & Watch-based shell.
Crabs Fight (Крабы)	ИM-??	19??	Clone of the Game & Watch Super Color game Crab Grab. Only known to have been released by regional exporters, despite presumably originating from Elektronika.

Other "ИM-[xx]" IDs were used for non-video game devices, such as electronic chess sets and toy robots (many of which have their designs copied from other overseas manufacturers); or for the various Egg reskins detailed below.

Additional Egg / Nu, pogodi! reskins

Title	ID(s)	Year	Notes
Explorers of Space (Разведчики космоса)	ИM-13 ИM-13M ("shaped" ver.) И-09 (post-USSR)	1989	Features a UFO dispelling incoming rockets.
Ice Hockey (Хоккей)	ИM-10 И-12 (post-USSR)	19??	Hockey-themed reskin.
Fowling (Охота)	ИM-16 И-08 (post-USSR)	1989	Themed around duck hunting; alternately titled Hunting.
Monkey Goalkeeper (Весёлые футболисты)	ИM-22 И-13 (post-USSR)	1989	Features a monkey blocking balls from Mickey Mouses and ducks.
Cat Fisherman (Кот-рыболов)	ИM-32 И-04 (post-USSR)	19??	Fishing-themed reskin featuring a cat.
Kvaka-zadavaka (Квака-задавака)	ИM-33 И-07 (post-USSR)	1993	Based on a Russian cartoon short; fatures a frog catching butterflies in a net. Alternately titled Frogling, and renamed Croaking Frog (Лягушка-квакушка) for the post-USSR release.
Funny Fishing (Весёлая рыбалка)	ИM-36	19??	Similar to the Cat Fisherman version, but themed after the Cossacks cartoon series.
Space Flight (Космический полёт)	ИM-50	1992	Features a large spaceship that defends against UFOs.
Sea Attack (Морская атака)	ИM-51	1994	Features a large submarine; based on the above Space Flight variant.
Asteroid Attack (Атака астероидов)	ИM-53	1993	Features a satellite that dispels incoming asteroids.
Circus (Цирк)	ИM-?? И-11 (post-USSR)	1993	Features a clown who catches rabbits into a hat.
Sea Fight (Морской бой)	ИM-?? И-05 (post-USSR)	1994	Features a large submarine; very similar to Sea Attack.
Ninja (Ниндзя)	ИM-??	1993	Features a ninja; somewhat more elaborate than other variants.
Fisherman (Рыбалка)	ИM-??	19??	Fishing-themed reskin featuring a man in a boat.
Ghostbusters (Охотники за приведениями)	ИM-??	19??	Themed after the film franchise of the same name. Alternately titled Slimer - Ghostbusters.
Hut (Избушка)	ИM-??	19??	The player controls a building with arms and legs, grabbing ahold of people to bring them inside.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Черепашки-ниндзя)	ИM-??	19??	Themed after the media franchise of the same name.
Golden Antelope (Золотая антилопа)	ИM-??	19??	Themed after the Russian animated film of the same name.

Elektronika ИM-26

The ИM-26 console was released in 1989, and is modeled after the Digi Casse handheld by Bandai. It features five interchangable "screen-cartridges": Nu, pogodi!, Monkey Goalkeeper, Autoslalom, Ice Hockey, and Cat Fisherman. All five games were also released as standalone models.

Autoslalom was likely designed for the ИM-26 console originally, as it is a clone of the Digi Casse game City Turbo Race.

Others

Title	ID(s)	Year	Notes
Auto Racing (Автогонки)	ИЭР-01	1983	Clone of the Mattel Electronics 1976 handheld Auto Race, which is often credited as being the first handheld video game.
Altair DBGB-06I (Альтаир ДБГБ-06И)	ДБГБ-06И	1991	Variants of Elektronika systems that are built into dosimeters, possibly created due to the effects of the Chernobyl disaster. The consoles are considerably thicker than a normal Elektronika or Game & Watch system. Known models include Monkey Goalkeeper and Fowling.
Rhythm CHE-01 (Ритм ЧЭ-01)	ЧЭ-01	19??	Purely a digital clock that is in the case of a Game & Watch handheld, with no gameplay functionality.
Start-7250 (Старт-7250)	N/A	19??	A construction kit to build an Elektronika handheld, similar to a radio construction kit. Includes two screen displays - matching the visuals of Cat Fisherman and Kvaka-zadavaka - with one ROM and plastic case; allowing the user to disassemble the unit to build the second "game".

Trivia

• One of the games included on the "1.8" handheld game consoles, Recieve Eggs, is a port of the Egg Game & Watch. However, its visuals seem to specifically be based on the Elektronika Nu, pogodi! version, which is particularly evident by the wolf's design.

Sources

• Elektronika (games) on Wikipedia (Russian)
• Varieties of "Elektronika" microprocessor games on skopil.ru (Russian)
• "Electronic Entertainment from the USSR" (Russian)