Hi guys,

A way off topic but my wife is in charge of the year school party / fund-raiser.  I've been tasked with making a bean-bag toss.   My wood working skills suck, but I wanted to use the chance to make a mini-high tech game.   I'm open to any suggestions - and it does not have to be a bean bag toss game.   But it should appeal to similar aged audience.

The  basic idea which might be out of my league:

• switches on the input holes
  
• audio sensor to sense missed shots (or vibration sensor)
  
• some leds (would cree be overkil) to light up / flash (?) when scored
  
• ideally an ability to select & play a list of MP3 which would be selected based on shots made
  

Any ideas and pointers to a better forum would be appreciated.

Some ideas so far are using a microcontroller board ( Arduino - http://www.arduino.cc/ ) as the main logic engine.   Just saw the Arduino today so no idea if its a good starting poing.   Maybe use some buckpucks to drive some cree-lights (how to get them to flash)?

What is a good approach to play some MP3 - any good/cheap board?


Thanks.   I'm just scoping the doability right now, and if its too complex, I might just drill some holes and grab a paint brush.    

Here is an easy one for wood... use an old pinball cabinet! Remove the glass and put in a panel with holes in it's place. It is angled when standing it up on the back panel. You can even paint the bean-bag panel of the same theme as the pinball cabinet...


...


Oh crap... did I just set myself up for a project? lol

Electronics? Man, I am not the guy for that... but... it could even be done using the electronics from a pinball... let's see...

Take a SS pin with few switches, like let's say 15 switches (includes targets, drop targets, holes, spinners and roll-over switches). Technically, if you removed the playfield, put in a piece of wood with 15 holes and a switch that gets triggered when a beanbag hits it, it is the same as scoring with a pinball. Have a tray at the bottom that would collect any beanbag that misses a hole and connect that to a switch that would normally be used as a ball trough switch, and you got yourself a beanbag game that scores points, and can even be a multi-player. Miss a hole, and it is the next player's turn. The only thing would be to have the backbox bolted on where the coindoor is so that it stands up on top of the machine.

Makes for a tall and heavy bean-bag machine... but you end up with electronic scoring and sounds.

One hell of a project though...

Neat idea - one heavy sucker for sure, and likely out of my skill level, too - but I could see how'd it work.

I'm hoping to do it with minimum electricity requirements - ideally running on a "water bottle" sized battery or something similar to what mountain bikers use.    No idea - really clueless on engineering energy requirements - but happily accepting ideas...

A few ideas from others at work are a mini-golf themed top with the wind-mill spinning over a hole, or, an opening / closing hole/eyelid thing where you have to time the toss.

I'll likely end up just cuting some holes in wood  

You need to locate and rent a skee-ball, might be much simpler and achieve similar results...


Cheers,
- Sylvain.

just sold my skee ball.  i did have two others i left behind due to size and not having room at all.   but i did take the score area on one.  so that i could make a toss one for my little girl.    haven't worked on it yet.  but i can loan it to you.  there is some coming from ottawa that could bring it back for you?  i wuold pick it back up later at next auction or get together.

Quoted from sylvain

You need to locate and rent a skee-ball, might be much simpler and achieve similar results...


Cheers,
- Sylvain.

How much do you rent yours for?   They don't move easily do they?

Jen has rented a few things from a local rental, I believe the usual inflatable type toy ( a maze of some sort ).   She won't let me bring my pinballs     She got a fairly good price as long as he could push his sugar-products on the kids  

Its a fund-raiser for the school, so renting too much is not worth it.   She loves Skeeball - should have bought a house big enough for one.

Quoted from gorydeath

just sold my skee ball.  i did have two others i left behind due to size and not having room at all.   but i did take the score area on one.  so that i could make a toss one for my little girl.    haven't worked on it yet.  but i can loan it to you.  there is some coming from ottawa that could bring it back for you?  i wuold pick it back up later at next auction or get together.

I think I was tempted by that skee ball, but even ignoring money, no place to put one.  

Hey that sounds kinda neat - is it easy to figure the score area out?   Thanks Gory.   I'll have to talk to the boss of course.

(My ulterior motive is I wanna buy a few electronic project parts - and if I can hide it under this project then its all good)...

Quoted from Tuborg

How much do you rent yours for?   They don't move easily do they?

We do not have any yet - no space at this time, and limited funds too.

Cheers,
- Sylvain.

What about lo tech cornhole boards? I used to be in the business of making them and could pass on my plans - great game - good for all ages.

Also the name of the game is good alone for a decade of jokes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole_(game)

I also made glow in the dark drink holders for my sets, but that's another challenge of the game....how not to knock over your beer while playing.

Quoted from websherpa

Also the name of the game is good alone for a decade of jokes.

Corn Holio?

... As long as you have TP for my bunghole...

Quoted from websherpa

What about lo tech cornhole boards? I used to be in the business of making them and could pass on my plans - great game - good for all ages.

Also the name of the game is good alone for a decade of jokes.

- haven't heard that word in ages.   I think I'm supposed to make a game people are willing to pay to play.   Which is why I said "pinball" - but that was vetoed.    Cornhole looks cool - but time consuming and not enough "action" for kids I think.  

The reason I was given bean bag toss (remember this is my wife telling me - so I don't really listen) is that they pay a ticket or 2 to play, get a score and win a prize.  

It can be any game - but something young kids could do.

I just thought of trying to learn something while doing it....

i have the section with the white circles with the scoring holes.  its the whole wood plate.  plus i have a couple of the netting for skee ball and a marquee.  make your own.  only $50 or borrow it all for free....  just have to get someone to meet me at this auction saturday and for someone to bring it back by the next auction would be great.

I made this dinosaur beanbag toss for my son one year and it's so loved by kids that it gets hauled out to just about every picnic, fundraiser, school function, etc.  

However this particular year it played second fiddle, most people directed their kids to take pock shots at Layton instead.  

Nice Wayne.   I'm thinking that's my skill level - as long as Jen does the painting.   Spent the evening surfing that Arduino and the price will add up quickly trying to get some audio & basic lights working.


Thanks guys.   THanks too Gory - but the game is for May or June.

Bahh.....just go pick up Bags.  (http://www.goldenteesuperstore.com/bags-arcade-game.htm

I've played this, pretty fun drinking/arcade game.

EastSide

Quoted from EastSiderGamer

Bahh.....just go pick up Bags.  (http://www.goldenteesuperstore.com/bags-arcade-game.htm

I've played this, pretty fun drinking/arcade game.

EastSide

Jesus... is that what arcade games have gone down to? ... very depressing. A bean-bag videogame. For pete's sake... what next... oh, I got it... the next generation in bar games...

Extreme Musical Chairs... take a DDR machine and replace the pads by seats... get bumped off and you have to chug.

Weird Al's Accordeon Hero... the first accordeon simulator ... good to make you wet yourself... beer necessary.

Marble Madness 3D... Basically a big pad where you play marbles on, and results are shown on an 84" screen with color commentary... awesome

Beer-Pong... Atari's big return... a holographic 3D version of the beloved classic using a WII-based controller which looks like a ping-pong paddle. Put in a quarter and put a beer on the table... lose a point, chug a beer

And finally, Boonga-Boonga, where you sodomize someone... oh, wait...that's been done already... oh man... sad... very sad.

The other game I was thinking about for you Doug was something like Pokereno : http://www.weirsbeach.com/halfmoon/arcades/pennygames/pokereno.html

You could do a rolldown game where you roll balls down and they fall into holes that have switches (mounted on boards below the holes, such that the balls don't fall through, they just sit in the hole and depress the switches (and the game is reset by hand when you simply take the balls out of the holes).  

Depending on the switches in a matrix, you could have them light things in the back ground (scores or prizes or even a funny assessment - like a love tester or fortune teller).  Poker is the theme in Pokereno, but Tic-Tac-Toe has always been a popular theme for slot machines and could be done on a 3 x 3 grid (it would be easy to set up a switch matrix such that upon rolling three balls, if they fall into a straight line of three horizontally, vertically or diagonally, it sets off a "Winner" light (maybe just a police or strobe light and a ringing bell).  

Very exciting and very easy to play and build.

Quoted from websherpa

The other game I was thinking about for you Doug was something like Pokereno : http://www.weirsbeach.com/halfmoon/arcades/pennygames/pokereno.html

That's a pretty cool concept Wayne.   I have a ton of old balls, too.  

I've been looking at the Arduino boards and they are pretty simple to work with.  You can also get a "Wave Shield" to play WAV files so sound effects would be within my abilities.

Wow, you do really want to go the distance on this one!  Good for you!  Please share your progress with us.  You got me thinking about setting up something for our May Fair at the school (usually I just cook popcorn and candy floss!).

I am only glancingly familiar with the Arduino boards, but I just started getting MAKE magazine so it looks and sounds like something great for this.

Quoted from websherpa

Wow, you do really want to go the distance on this one!  Good for you!  Please share your progress with us.  You got me thinking about setting up something for our May Fair at the school (usually I just cook popcorn and candy floss!).

I am only glancingly familiar with the Arduino boards, but I just started getting MAKE magazine so it looks and sounds like something great for this.

Ah, to be truthful, I was just surfing basic patterns for whole cutouts - and being done with it.   If I do anything, I'll post for sure.

I was looking for the tripath-based (Class T/D) amplifiers.  It seems they went out of business, but have the patent rights still.   Was hoping to use a cheap tripath based amp to make the sounds audible.

Quoted from Sparky

Jesus... is that what arcade games have gone down to? ... very depressing. A bean-bag videogame. For pete's sake... what next... oh, I got it... the next generation in bar games...

... oh man... sad... very sad.

Rockband, Guitar Hero, Dance Whatever Revolution.........need I say more?

Not all arcade, but on the same lines.

EastSide

OK - procrastination and a collection of other excuses means, I'm basically going to take a sheet of plywood and drill some holes.

A neice did a nice school logo and I'd like to get it printed so I could transfer/glue/stick it to the plywood.   Someone on the board used a local (Ottawa) printer.   I think the ladies name may have been Monica / Michelle??

Any suggestions on what to suggest in terms of printing so I can transfer it to the plywood (after priming it) more easily.  

I would varathane afterwards.

Thanks.

Any ideas on how to get this printed guys?   I would like this to be the top part of the bag-toss, and ideally paint the entire wood "blue" underneath.   So this emblem would be at the top - printed on clear.

The one issue I see is the "white" - and I believe most printers are CMYK - and cannot do whites.    So, I'm thinking, I'm stuck getting this printed on white, and then cutting out the outlines.

Any advice on Ottawa printers, with turn-around times suitable for procrastinators?

Any advice on how to glue it to the wood-plywood board?   Do I need to prep the wood?   Or just use wallpaper glue - SureStik?