Casio MG-880

Casio MG-880

The original and still the best – Casio’s MG-880 was released in August 1980 and began a decade of integration of calculators and games for the Casio company and its competitors.

Kids lucky enough to have this amazing toy could happily charge their classmates to play, although not having a volume control or mute button meant games were confined to break time and lunch, where the player could expect to be surrounded by admirers ready to applaud or scorn his ability.

It was rare to see the MG-880 actually used as a calculator, so fun and addicting was the digital invader game. It was as close to space invaders as you could get without any graphics apart from the numbers available on an LCD screen, so was dubbed the ‘space invader calculator’.

Such was the success of the MG-880, Casio duplicated it in several forms – the MG-660, MG-770 and MG-890 calculators (each different in their own right, but sharing the same game), and in watch form in the QW134 module – CA-85, CA-851, CA-86, CA-90, CA-901 and updated models CA-53 and CA-503 with the QW433 module.

Still fun to play many many years later – just like the original space invaders!!

UPDATE: I found this excellent photo of a bloke leaning on a Space Invader machine / Kiss pinball, circa 1981. Most interesting though is what’s happening in the bottom right corner – see that calculator? Even with video games and pinball machines nearby, the MG-880 was still getting some love!! See more of these photos from the early days of New Zealand’s pinball and video game awakening here.

Wait…what?

I was repairing a FX-880 and discovered something interesting; Casio had used a different calculator for the caseback and had just stuck a sticker over the top.

Unusual…or so I thought.

Then while looking at a few different MG-880s, I found this:

Why would one have a sticker and one not…surely they are both the same…?

Think again —

The MG-880 had a ML-831 caseback. There’s no doubt there will be other calculators like this and I’m guessing it’s because one model wasn’t selling well and the other was selling better so they thought they had better use up existing stocks of cases.

If anyone can shed more light on this though…let me know.

I’m not selling any more MG-880s from this site currently.
Please check www.trademe.co.nz or www.ebay.com if you’re interested in buying one.

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116 Responses to Casio MG-880

  1. Do you know where can I get the MG-880 or other models mentioned in your article? I really missed the game.

      • Hi
        Digi invaders! what a favorite past time 🙂
        Do you stock them and do you ship to New Zealand .. or do you know of an agent in NZ who sells them?

    • i have one for sale mg-880 calculator near enuff perfect comdition if anyones intrested no time wasters last guy offerd me £18 made me laugh what a joker lol email me if u are intrested with your offer

  2. Hi there, can you please email me when you get the mg880 in stock with pricing and shipping costs etc?….I live in Levin, NZ

  3. As above. Keen on a Casio MG-880 with sleeve. Residing in NZ. Email me when you have one available. Cheers 🙂

  4. Also looking for a Casio MG-885 or ‘Figure 8’ as we preferred to call it locally. Let me know if anything turns up. Cheers 😀

  5. Hi thre, looking to purchase a Casio MG-880 for xmas. Any chance of having in stock then? Please contact me with updates.

    Many thanks
    MaryK

    • Hi there, stocks of the MG-880 have become scarcer than ever of late and unfortunately this means the prices have been skyrocketing (USD300+). Any I can source for a reasonable price I will list on here, but the prices are becoming a little outlandish.

  6. Its April 26, 2013! Please please please help me find & purchase 1. Ive been looking for years for this calculator game, brings back my childhood! Ive been telling my niece & nephews about this & would love 2 show them (in hand) what Im talking about…even if you have the boxing game hehe! Please help me out xo

  7. i have a mg-880 in leather looking wallet im from uk what sort of price would u put on it .ive had since i was a kid be hard to let it go

  8. These listings are not out of date. They are both active and for sale. I’ve corrected the Paypal Buy Now links, thanks for letting me know they were wrong. Both come with a PDF of the instructions – electronic only, not a printed copy. Thanks for your interest…

    • Hi, I have one MG-880 in excellent condition with case. The case and calculator are both excellent but as it’s my last one and I don’t know when or where I will get another, the price would be USD200 (you can tell I don’t really want to sell it!) – if you’re interested drop me an email via the contact form, thanks…

      • Hi, sorry for the delay in replying. I was waiting for your email reply. Would you still have this?

        • Hi, you should have received my email a few weeks ago. The two I had have been sold but have replaced them too, so there is one of each available. Pricing is the same. Cheers 🙂

  9. Hey

    I’m am interested in a Casio MG-880 as well if/when one becomes available please contact me.

    Regards
    Hemi

  10. I found an excellent android version of this game on Google Play. Works just like the original. Search for Digital Invaders by PY Labs.

  11. Man i just thought about this game and found it eventually on google, it looks like everyone my age wants one!!! but sounds like they are rare and costly. I did have one myself and it was a laugh to watch the youtube link of how it worked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YafgAcmov4

    would love to know when you can get them. Also thank you for the person who put the android version of this game on Google Play. Works just like the original. Search for Digital Invaders by PY Labs.

    • I’ll hopefully have at least one for sale in the next week or so; the last couple I’ve received have been irrepairable unfortunately.

    • I’ve got two MG-880s currently, USD150 shipped each, they are loose without instruction manuals (although I can provide a PDF of the manual if you like)

  12. Hi, I wish to purchase a Casio MG-880, please can you tell me if you have any in stock and what price range you would be looking for?

    Regards

    David Lairn

  13. Hi, I wish to purchase a Casio MG-880, please can you tell me if you have any in stock and what price range you would be looking for(including shipping to Singapore?

    I am living in Singapore.

  14. Hi there liquid

    I had one of the mg 880 casios in the 80’s and I would love to own one again – can you get hold of any more ?

    If so can I buy one – I live in the UK

    Regards
    Gwyn

  15. What kind of batteries does it take really be helpful having a very hard time finding out what kind they are thank you very much

    • Hi Christian, the MG-880 takes 2x 389 batteries (also known as LR1130, AG10, SR1130W). They are pretty common and available from either a Dollar Store for cheapies (don’t leave these in the calculator for long periods) or go for a Renata, Energizer, Maxell etc from a watchmaker/jeweller.

    • Sure do; they’re USD200 posted worldwide. Cheaper if you’re in NZ/AUS due to cheaper postage costs. Fire me a message via the contact form if interested, thanks!

  16. Pls let me know if anyone still have available stock for this casio mg880 calculator…..residing in Singapore.

    • Hi, I do have a few MG-880s at the moment. They are all second-hand but are working, and have the plastic case (although the plastic cases aren’t in great condition). Price, including post, USD200 worldwide.

    • Sure do; USD200 posted anywhere in the world. Cheaper if you’re in NZ/AUS due to cheaper postage charges. Fire me a message through the contact form if you’re interested.

    • Hi, an MG-880 posted to Wellington is USD170. If you’re interested, please get in touch via the Contact link at the top of the page — thanks!

  17. Hi Can I please order a mg 88 casio calculator a friend found one the other day now I really want one .

    • Hi, the MG-880s are USD200 including postage worldwide. If you are interested, please send an email via the contact link at the top of the page — thanks!

    • Hi, I do have a few LCDs but your bigger problem is going to be replacing it. The ribbon cable between the LCD and circuitboard is made of paper and adhesive tape with lines of conductive ink on it. Remove this and you’ll probably never get it to stick properly again – even if you’re really careful (and accurate) you’ll probably end up with segments missing all over the place. I’ve been hoping someone would come up with a replacement for these but so far, nothing… Potentially your LCD is fine, it’s just the cable (or possibly the polarising filter on top of it) that’s degraded.

  18. Hi there do you have anymore of the MG880 calculators? Also price please been looking for one for years 🙂

  19. Hi there do you have any MG880 calculators available and if so how much would it cost and send to Whanganui N.Z.

  20. Yes, the casio MG880 holds alot of memories for me. Any available? I live in Christchurch, New Zealand

  21. Are these batteries still available? My calculator is in mint condition but I want to play the game again before deciding whether to sell, or not….!

    • Yep, they’re very common. Whatever your equivalent of a $2 shop is in your part of the world (Poundland?) should have batteries for you to test your calculator 🙂

  22. This Forum is so good for the grey matter. Just looking at all the retro games/watchs/calculators that have been posted here, brings back a flood of cool memories. The ’80s were an amazing, fun,exciting time for a privileged few who were witnessing the early stages of technology….and a whole lot of other stuff! Fantastic.

  23. Hi
    Have just found my old mg-880 during a clean up and found this website while trying to find out what batterys it takes as i had removed the batterys a long time ago.if it still works i would look at selling it.

  24. Hi there, do you currently have any MG-880s for sale? Would love to have one that I had in my youth. thanks!

  25. I have just found in an old cupboard my Casio MG-880 which I played the calculator game on at school in the 80s. So it’s my own original I’ve had all this time but have lost the wallet that came with it. Actual calculator looks in surprisingly good condition but I need 2 x 1.5v batteries to try it out to see if it still works. Can’t seem to find any in local supermarket so wondering if they are still manufactured. Any ideas?

  26. Just read earlier messages for my answer…LR1130. Cheers ! Anyone know what mine might be worth… as I said in earlier msg, I don’t have the wallet, just the calculator which looks in good condition to me.

    • Just found mine out of the cupboard like yourself its in original wallet with print still on the wallet. I’v just tried some kodak 1.5v batteries in it and it’s partially lit up and plays music hoping it’s just the batteries that aren’t powerful enough.

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