Announcing Three New Builds! -- Episode 279

For the Hackmanji logic puzzle, you might consider a PCB, solder in sleeve that fits 2mm banana plugs, such as:

10 * 2mm PCB Mounting Thru hole Banana Socket type Contact - accepts 2mm plugs | eBay

There is probably a domestic source, but I could only find this listing on eBay.  With this, you could use the reverse side silk screen to indicated the logic gate symbols with components and reverse mount LEDS on the other side, such as this Reverse Mount SMD LED by Kingbright.

Wayne

p.s. here are a few more options for the PCB jack:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/20PCS-2mm-gold-plated-PCB-power-socket-Gold-plated-2mm-PCB-Mounting-Socket/32638859782.h…

https://www.rapidonline.com/truconnect-2mm-pcb-mounting-socket-17-2878

For the Logic game- I'm thinking something with a slight departure from the original Hackmanji.  What if you have a single board for four players with a four by five LED array at the top indicating whose turn it was and their "level", the logic puzzle below that with a Red and Green LED indicating success or failure and a knife switch below the logic to be thrown to indicate you're testing your logic.  On your turn a successful logic path moves your LED one to the right, while a failure moves you one to the left.  First player to reach the the furthest right LED wins.  Now for the game background...  Game name "Shut the gate!" The power has gone out at the zoo and you have to connect the correct logic and throw the switch to keep those critters out of the city!  Be the first to shut all five gates and you could be the Gatekeeper!

For the hot glue gun... send me a message if you want the original, I still have it!  It was pretty cool however the X-box trigger came off within a week.  The feed mechanism was awesome.

Make a Kickstarter for a mini-pinball kit and take my money, seriously!  I would love to make my own pinball machine but lack the tools, time, and experience to build a full size unit, I would love to see yours as a kit.

It would perhaps be one step away from becoming a mobile app.

Wires should help make it a bit more tangible. I remember using similar style logic boards back in college and after weeks of theory it was quite a relief to be able to physically grab some patch cords and start plugging them into a PCB containing some real logic IC's, and be able to attach a scope and observe that the signals actually aren't as uniform as the theory up to then had suggested.

However I guess it's swings and roundabouts - if it was an app, then you could perhaps include some logic theory along side the game play.

For the 3D printed parts for the pinball machine, there are a number of firms that provide low volume injection molding services, such as https://www.protolabs.com/injection-molding/plastic-injection-molding/  (I have no affiliation, I've just talked to them at trade shows.)  Perhaps you could get one of these firms to sponsor some portion of the expense as a way to show off their capabilities.  That would let you build something that could really shine rather than the "reduce it down to fewer parts" idea you discussed.  Alternately, you could publish the fancier 3D files on https://www.shapeways.com/ , or a similar site, and let people order the parts for themselves.

Wouldn't that shift the skillset required to make it though? At present the project can be made and understood from an electronics perspective, what you're suggesting would require software development knowledge so a different skillset?

Looks like a good plan for the coming season.

For the Hackmanji, I would use a LCD with virtual wires using a touch screen.

You could greatly reduce the cost, keep the utility and usability fairly easy.

Using the wires will just keep the expense high, and open up a wide range us user problems.  Keep it simple.

DAB

The glue gun kick starter probably won't fly.  There is too much competition at low prices and none of the ideas presented are good enough entice people to buy at 2x+ the price.

The Hackmanji with logic gates and plugs would not have wide appeal because it lacks fantasy and requires interest in electronics/programming logic.  You might as well dumb it down so young kids can have fun with it.  For example, "The Boom Box", a game that slowly pumps up a balloon until it pops while ominous music plays in the background, growing ever more louder and faster to make the player nervous and panicky.  During the inflation, buttons must be pressed in combination.  Extra sounds are played and lights lock on as "tripwires" are tripped.  Buttons associated with locked on lights no longer work.  If enough tripwires are tripped, all lights come on and there is nothing the player can do but wait for the balloon to pop.  Once the target combination is reached, victory music is played and the balloon deflates.  The button combinations could be associated with musical cords and randomized between games.  Each button plays a note.  If not musical notes, use voice samples with the goal to combine matching items.  Higher levels require more matching items.  Voice samples can take on themes, like selecting the names of three kinds of cats or the two colors  combined to make purple.

I too like the mini pin ball game as an item of interest around the home for guests.  Maybe you can sell them to bars but then you'll need a coin slot.  You can get video pinball software for free too.  SUGGESTION:  If you want to do injection molds for mass production, put all the parts into one mold that you can break apart, sort of like the old VAC-U-FORM kits where you break off the tires, axles, and frame for cars.

I still hoped you might come up with something to easily remove parts from circuit boards, like the toaster oven.  Maybe a heat gun and a shaker/positioning mechanism would work.  I want to reuse parts, but if they aren't sorted in parts drawers, they are just not handy.