Life-like Jumanji board game

Oooo, that would be a really fun build! I'm not sure how to make a track that would have the magnets move perfectly on the gameboard path, though. Especially since, in the movie, the player paths cross. Quite intriguing! I would have a lot of fun with this one.

This sounds like a really cool idea. As a kid i had the Jumanji board game (Amazon.com: Jumanji The Game: Toys & Games) it was tonnes of fun but I always wanted the pieces to move on their own. Maybe modding the original board game could be a good starting point?

I've been wanting to build one of these for a long time now (even more so after I disassembled a piano and now have a lot of ivory). My idea on the overlapping track was the fact that you don't need the magnets to touch. While you do get better strength the closer they are, you don't need to make the guiding magnets all on a one-layer path. You can make a loop (not unlike a roller coaster) and make one pass under the other. There may be a problem with two players passing next to each other though. Maybe a setting several magnets in a certain shape and sequence. But that would limit the players pieces to always follow a set numbering order. (Player one - Elephant, Player two - Rhino, etc...)

The biggest challenge that has stopped me thus far, is having a set of "loaded" dice. You can substitute this with a Random Number Generator, push a button and it tells you what you rolled. I'd rather have the game know what it was that I rolled on real dice. Since they roll in one part of the lid, you can set some cameras or other sensors in that part of the board. I'm no kind of coder so I haven't tried anything like that.

There is a similar idea with a moving chess board https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BobOCMj1Qhs which seems to work quite well. I'm sure there's more details on the build, and possibly even more than one way to build it. Also going with what kingrahl said (in the comments) the dice roll could be an on screen deal, so that the game 'knows' what each player rolled. Or there's even the possibility of having an internal gyroscope for each 3D printed die .

It seems in that video of the moving chess board It is being controlled by a single magnet. Moving one piece at a time. This could be achieved by an XY carriage such as on a 3D printer or CNC with a magnet on the end of a solenoid. Although, you wouldn't be able to keep the pieces stationary after the magnetic solenoid piston moves to the next piece. You can make the board out of steel, so the pieces will stick to it. But, how well will the magnets work through a plate of steel? It seems the friction of the magnet sticking to the steel would keep it from moving too well.

Why wouldn't you be able to keep the pieces stationary?

I meant stuck in one spot. You wouldn't want them moving, even a little. If you used the XY solenoid system, the players pieces would need to be in the exact same spot so it can find it again after three other players had their turn, someone may bump the game board, or you could have your house set up for interactive play with a theme in each room so you'll need to transport it while in the middle of the game.

The question is: could Ben build it?

This may be a thing. But maybe not Jumanji(copyright!), but more along the lines of The Ben Heck Show: The Board Game.

I'm really happy that you guys ended up doing this build I can't wait to see the final result! The ideas you guys came up with greatly exceeded my expectations; so cool. I just wanted to ask though: I'm pretty sure I was supposed to win a Ben Heck T-shirt for submitting this idea. You guys sent me an e-mail about it a while back, but then I never received anything in the mail.