2-player Maze Game

https://tinker-club.blogspot.com/p/two-player-maze-game-for-microbit.html

Code: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nHkqelB3AHFTLfwB5o1ysp3kQiaRfn4c/view?usp=sharing

As the video shows, the metal ball closes the circuit at the two targets.

The micro:bit keeps the score and the time. And it tells the players to which side

the ball needs to go by displaying an arrow to the left or to the right side.

Every time you score a point, you hear a cool sound.

The goal is to score as many points as you can in 1 or 2 minutes.

   Parts and tools

• A cardboard box (about 25 by 35 centimeters)

• Cardstock (I used a mueslie box)

• Thin foil (aluminium foil) and/or copper tape and/or nylon conductive tape

• Scissors (optional: hobby knife and/or awl or other piercing tool)

• Stapler and/or glue gun and/or (double side adhesive) tape

• Rope (2 times about 125 centimeters)

• Micro:bit

• Electrical wires (optional 2 M3 bolts and nuts)

• Metal ball (or a wooden bead with aluminium foil around it or a marble with copper tape)

• Optional: speaker

  Step 1: Make a box with a micro:bit holder connected to it.

Start with a cardboard box with a "floor" of about 25 by 35 centimeters. Put a line at a height of about 5 centimeters.

(I didn't need to do that, because I used a box with the height of 5 centimeters.)

Draw a holder for the micro:bit BEFORE cutting the box at the line that you've drawn!

This holder should be about 7 centimeters in height. The part on the top is 6 centimeters (width) by 4 centimeters (height). See the result in the photo below.

Cut a seperate piece of cardboard of 2.5 by 12 centimeters. You can put this on the back of the holder to make it more stable. I used tape to put it on, but you can also use glue of course.

  Step 2: Make the targets using thin foil

Fold two pieces of thin foil into strips with a width of about 2 centimeters and a height of about 8 centimeters.

Glue them on the two sites of one of the corners. I used double side adhesive tape.

These two pieces of thin foil must NOT touch each other. The electrical circuit should only be completed

when a metal ball makes contact with both pieces, allowing electrons to flow from one piece to the other.

Repeat this at the opposite corner of the box.

  Step 3: Make the barriers of the maze

• Cut at least 4 pieces of cardstock (I used a muesli box) that have a width of 8 centimeters and have a lenght of 30 centimeters (or more if the width of your box is more than 25 centimeters).

• Add a little flap on each side, like shown on the photo.

• Fold each piece in half.

• Make one or two holes in each barrier, depending on how you like to design the route of the ball in your maze.

• Make a place for the battery of the micro:bit. Consider adding death ends like I did. You need extra pieces of cardstock for this.

• Use a stapler or glue to connect the barriers to the box and to each other where necessary.

  Step 4: Attach ropes and put the barriers in the box.

Make 4 holes on each small side of the box.

I've used an awl to do this.

Connect the rope to the box using the holes, like shown on the photo below.

Put the barriers in the box. Use a glue gun or a stapler to attach them.

  Step 5: Connect the targets with the micro:bit

Tip: make an "extension cord and power strip" for the GND pin!

Connect one side of each target to the GND pin. To make this more easy, I connected an electrical wire between the GND pin and a piece of aluminum foil at the backside of the micro:bit holder. The targets can be connected to this piece of thin foil that more or less functions like a power strip.

The other side of each target needs to be connected to Pin 1 or Pin 2.

In the final version of my game, I used 2 M3 bolts that I connected to pin 1 and pin 2. After making holes in the micro:bit holder for these bolts, I could connect the targets on the backside of my micro:bit holder.

  Step 6: Decorate your game (and add some extra copper tape)

This is a short instruction: decorate it the way you like. Be creative!

If you choose to paint your maze, you can add a bit of copper tape in the corners after you've painted the "floor" of the box. Make sure the two sides stay seperated. They shouldn’t touch each other.

Optional: add a speaker. I've used a speaker of Kitronik that makes a really loud sound. The sound level, however, is adjustable.

You can connect a speaker to Pin 0 and to the GND pin by using the piece of thin foil on the backside of the micro:bit holder.

  Step 7: How to code the game with MakeCode

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nHkqelB3AHFTLfwB5o1ysp3kQiaRfn4c/view?usp=sharing

When you use the micro:bit V2, the code needs to be a little bit different. I'll add that later on.

Note that if you're using a micro:bit V2 and want to add an external speaker, you should add an extra coding block to set the build-in speaker off.

  Extra: make a conducting ball with a wooden bead or a marble

If you don't have a metal ball, there are other options. You can put thin foil on a wooden bead or copper tape on a marble.

• If you have a wooden bead with aluminium foil I recommend using a hammer to make a neat ball.

• If you have a glass marble, it's better to use copper tape or nylon conductive tape. Make the sure the whole marble is covered with conductive tape.

Did you use this tutorial to make a cool maze? I'd love to see what you've made. Please share it with me and I'll add it to this page if that's okay with you.

If you have any questions or remarks about this tutorial, please let me know. Feedback is welcome. English isn't my native language, so maybe some things aren't clear because I didn't use the right words or expression in English.