Abstract: A system and method for controlling toy vehicles has a plurality of pads coupled to a central station. Switches in the pads may be closed to select toy vehicles and the operation of motors for moving the vehicles forwardly, rearwardly, to the left and to the right and moving upwardly and downwardly a receptacle or bin for holding transportable elements (e.g. marbles). The pads may be set in a mode to allow sharing of a vehicle by more than one pad. The pads are connected by wires to the central station, and may be interrogated selectively, sequentially or simultaneously by the central station. The central station forms packets of signals representative of the switch closures of the interrogated pads, and transmits the packets over a modulated carrier frequency to receivers in the vehicles. Each of the packets includes a binary signal addressing the vehicle selected by the pad whose switch closures are represented by the packet of data.

Abstract: A combined game system includes a portable game machine and another type of video game machine. The portable game machine and the other type of video game machine are connected through a game cartridge and communication cable. The portable game machine includes an LCD, and the other video game machine is connected to a CRT. When a player operates an operating device provided with the portable game machine, change is caused in a discrete game picture displayed on the LCD and in a common game picture displayed on the CRT. In the event that the communication cable is removed from the video game machine during playing a game, the CPU displays an, alert message on the LCD while the CPU displays an alert message on the CRT.