Sega Pods (1994, Lights, 6 AA Batteries, Model# ??)
View Manual (.PDF file, more info here: Manual Index) See also: Important Sheet.

Very weird game (but looks really cool!). The lenses in front of the domes are sensors, you don't actually have to touch this game at all, you just wave your hand over the domes and that activates it. This is a very unique game, it can sense when your hand is over one of the 3 domes, and roughly how high it is (basically it has two hight recognitions, 6 inches above the dome (which lights the lower half red) or 12 inches above the dome (which lights the upper half white), which will be indicated by the game by which light in the Pod lights up). It has 7 different games built in, each one has a beginner and a pro mode (which is determined by how high your hand is above the dome when you select what game you want to play). Game 1 is the default game, and it's called Free Play. It will simply just light the dome and play a sound effect when it detects your hand above it. Games 2-4 are basically just like next-generation Simon games, you have to repeat the pattern the computer creates (you have to repeat 6, 15, or 20 times, depending on which game number you selected). Game 5 (Add-a-Beat) is for two or more players, you duplicate the previous sequence and then add one of your own (the computer doesn't play). Game 6 (Speedo) is a speed game, you have 2 seconds to hold your hand in the same position the computer is indicating. After 5 tries, the amount of time you have decreases. Game 7 (Color Tag) for 3-6 players. Each player picks a pod or color, when that pod/color flashes, that player has to quickly place their hand appropriately over it. If the player fails, that light will no longer come on and they are out of the game. For each game, the difference between Beginner and Pro is that in the Beginner mode, only one level of lights are used, in the Pro mode, both levels are used. Interesting game, check out the PDF manual for more detailed information on how to play. Here's a quote shamelessly stolen from a Feb 1995 article on Wired.com:

"Remember Simon, that beeping, blinking, battery-sucking memory game of the early '80s? Welcome to the next level. Sega's Pods is a sound- and light-emitting orb using infrared sensors and electronic eyes that respond to the motion of your hands. It's a game you don't have to touch to play. Pods features six contests combining memory exercises and hand-eye coordination that'll work parts of your brain you never knew you had. And you don't have to kill anything to win. Sega Pods: approximately US$50."

Do I have this? Yes, boxed.

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