Arcade-Style Puzzle Box Mini Game

[@TheBookDoctor]

"As a man with a lathe, my whole world is getting rounder." You, sir, just earned a subscription. :)

[@slowdaze]

10 year old me pictures playing with this pretending it is a time bomb made by some evil genius that I must diffuse. I could have spent hours with this as a kid. As an adult I could see throwing a battery source and a shoulder strap to use as part of a SteamPunk cosplay. Good stuff as always Grady!

[@SilentGloves]

I can solder almost anything to almost anything, and I routinely develop complex modeling and machine learning software that deals with credit and risk analysis, but the woodworking in this video is quite intimidating to me. I thought you'd appreciate the opposite perspective. :)

[@rdoetjes]

Hahahah you got me hooked when you said: "As a civil engineer I don't really trust my own sense of style" Brilliant made me laugh because the other week we were chatting about the fact that viaducts, most bridges and aquaducts these days are not styled like the used to in the 20s and 30s where the architects showed off their proud pieces of engineering. Now they need to just be functional I guess. I love the puzzle box simple but cool!

[@michael-gary-scott]

"As a man with a lathe, my world is getting rounder" was my favourite quote xD

[@JayBates]

I can totally picture myself wasting a lot of time playing with it. Learning something new is so much fun. Good job.

[@matthiaswandel]

The game play itself is not that important, other than justification for building the neat hardware.

[@TimothyHall13]

***** I love the integration of the various skill sets with the personal learning experience you went through.

[@gavinhowe9897]

you should buy or build a synthesizer

[@Troy_Campbell]

Quote of the day, month, year... "As a man with a lathe, my whole world is getting rounder" Great project, the wood adds immensely to the appeal of this project and it turned out looking fantastic, it is hard to beat the look of walnut and maple together!

[@FavioRamirez]

What soldering iron did you end up with? I have had similar frustrations with mine and have been looking for an upgrade.

[@dialmformostyn]

Very clever and the box in particular is very neat indeed. And is 'soldering' pronounced 'sawdering' in a North American accent?!

[@FavioRamirez]

***** thanks! Fantastic results by the way. Great project to mix your passion for woodworking, electronics, and arduino programming. Love everything about this project.

[@hamsta218]

i liked that one and also that items would look more appropriate with some ligneous modifications

[@leighvanderwal3438]

Honestly one of the coolest things ive seen all year. Beautiful creation mate!

[@locohombre79]

Everything about your project videos is absolutely perfect. Thank you for making them. All the best, Martin

[@skeols]

I really like it. Yes, you dont go to play it for hours but you have a beautifull and vintage like toy that you can put in a place you see every day and you go to stop and play it a little every time.

[@jacksonvanderkooy]

Modify the code so that there is a time limit and if you fail it changes and after each round there is less and less time and when you win the needles go crazy

[@umnikos]

also he can add the conami cheat code so you win immediately

[@tempest_dawn]

Yeah, put in a buzzer or something to let you know as the time limit ticks down, decrease the time you are given each round - instant difficulty curve. If you're really ambitious have it track high scores or whatever.

[@tjja7321]

for the high score, you're better off with a raspi and a little touchscreen.

[@SuperMrClone]

Nice work! I am really impressed how you combine your woodworking skills with engineering.

[@JohnHeisz]

Neat project! I've got that same crappy Weller soldering iron. Put any pressure on the tip on mine and it cuts out. Your new one looks like a Hakko. Thanks for the mention and I'm glad you found the countersink idea useful :)

[@MichaelOlsen-Engineer]

I fully agree with you John Heisz. Weller's lower end tools leave much to be desired, and are generally very overpriced for their quality level. In my opinion, Hakko is definitely the better choice for the occasional electronics user. Their quality, performance, and ease of use tends to be well above the Weller's lower end fort a very modest, if any, increase in cost. To be fair however, I should note that Weller has two distinct lines: hobbyist and professional. I have owned and used their professional level tools for many years with great ease, confidence and success. I chose Weller because they had a local dealer for their professional line (most of my systems are +$100), and provided impressive support throughout my military career and training as an electrical engineer. So if it is something you will use daily for "mission critical" work, I would strongly recommend Weller's high end tools, just realize they have a corresponding price.

[@JohnHeisz]

Michael Olsen I have a Weller WES51 and it works great. The piece of crap one was a pretty good idea (low voltage, interchangeable tips, heats up fast, has an LED light), but the execution was terrible. Very poorly made, very uncomfortable to use. A lemon! :)

[@pv2803]

Wow, the enclosure looks amazing. Great work!

[@jeffcarr392]

As an electronic engineer this project appeals to me, I also like puzzles and its uniqueness is great, well done! 👏👍👊

[@RegisLeQueb]

"During my shower, my commute and before I go to bed". I know what its like to fiddle with ideas in your mind every waking moment you have for yourself.

[@MmeAdmin]

things you will learn to love: twisty ties, electrical tape, zip ties, and heat shrink. generally on the order of least to most permanent. i like to keep mini boxes devoted to each so the picking is always good.

[@PBeringer]

And THANK YOU for rejecting the lazy, downright ableist use of "OCD" in the sense of "preference for neat and tiny". God, it kills me. Thank you

[@dr_knots]

you should make the goal light blink then once you aline it should stay solid and a new light should start to blink. this would make the goal to light all of the lights and the reset should put you back to no solid lights. that way you can play a longer game keeping your attention longer. and if that's not exiting enough make the levels on timers first light is 60 seconds them then take 5 seconds off every level to increase the difficulty if they don't get it it goes back a level. When you get it all done make a little light show and dance the needles with some vibration to celebrate

[@dr_knots]

By the way it's a really cool box nice work

[@Gorom101]

This is the coolest thing. Great job! I think my new dream in life is to become you

[@lbpaganelli]

Incredible project! I believe that all you need to make this game more addictive is to add cool mechanical counter and a reward system with points. For instance, the counter adds a value when you solve a puzzle, but continuously subtracts it with time, with increasing velocity.

[@irritadad1848]

That's great Grady! I immediately think of letting the kids try it to help grow their brains with a little problem-solving. Shoot... in that case I ought to try it too.

[@wadamyssampaio]

Your channel is amzing! Loving all your projects. Keep on, man. =)

[@ninam6826]

This was really, really cool! You should definitely be proud of what you've accomplished with this project! :)

[@reececrump8483]

modesty is admirable but you can be a little more forward when your proud of your project. no need to say "its probably nothing impressive" you made something and that is awesome. congratulate yourself with a bit more abandon is all I'm saying. don't worry over how people might perceive your bragging, because you accomplished something and have therefore earned it. Have some DIY pride baby :)

[@peterlaanguila6089]

Great project. Looks amazing.

[@DemetriusCoutinho]

heres how i think how this could be more fun. people will have a limited time to aling the needle. the time up alarm could be the vibration motor. maybe strong enough to give the person a jump scare. the button could be used to something more game related like finish the puzzle. if the needles are aligned the the person dont push the button in time the game is over. maybe a flip switch could be added to do the reset work. very sorry for the typos.. im using a keyboard the size of a remote control in a but of a hurry. lunch time. great channel, btw.

[@CMRWoodworks]

This is so insanely cool. I love that you made the knobs and remade the button out of wood. Very sharp project.

[@HouseOfHacks]

Wow. Very cool project. Love the whole wooden control vibe. The LEDs shining behind the veneer is a great touch. And thanks to Jay Bates for pointing you out in his weekly newsletter. One thought I had to make it more interesting is some way of keeping score, possibly based on time to solve. And possibly making it multiplayer.

[@wallywutsizface6346]

Here's an idea for a game. The meter will show light up a random LED, and you have to turn it to it. Each time you do this successfully, it will show the same LED, then another one, and you have to point it to both. So each round, another LED that you have to point to would be added to the sequence. To make it more interesting, you could use LEDs from either meter, so you'd also have to remember which meter the LED was on. When you lose, it will vibrate and reset. So so it's basically Simon with more buttons

[@frankmakes]

I love it! Make it so you can play minecraft on it. (I'm only half kidding)

[@MrA2intl]

I'd make the leds go up and down according to a sine wave of random frequencies and phases, and the three knobs have a random effect on the frequency of each meter needle, and it's your goal to synchronize the motion of the needles to the lights. For variety, you could switch, per game, whether the knobs control the lights or needle

[@ChertineP]

What a great project! My only change would be to add a speaker and an assortment of sounds to select from randomly as the "reward" for winning. After all, all arcade games have sounds!

[@JeremyMcMahan]

What a fun educational project. Education in the building. Fun conversation piece at least afterwards.

[@PBeringer]

Oh, my god! The Trident console at 1:43 is BEAUTIFUL! As is that Marantz 2270 ... Easily my favourite video of the channel ... so far. It was a combination of an early childhood fascination with buttons, switches, faders and anything electromechanical, and making stupid noises in interesting sounding spaces that led me to become a researcher in acoustic and electroacoustic engineering. Much to the chagrin of my parents, this meant I never shut up or stopped disconnecting and reconnecting the stereo components, the television, VCR and all those things that seemed like total magic to a 4/5 year old mind. I can remember sitting there staring at the stylus in absolute amazement that the huge sound I was hearing came out of a groove you could barely see in a piece of plastic; how the VU meters swung in time to the transients in the audio; or that little pieces of iron positioned by magnets onto a tape could reproduce any sound you wanted (not exactly true, but I wasn't aware of the bandwidth and dynamic constraints/losses of recording media aged five). Thank you for evoking those wonderful memories, which only further reassured me that I'm probably "on the right track" with my life (at least in some way). I don't know how many people end up doing the thing they were obsessed with as kids ... and I don't take that immense privilege (and a lot of hard work, obviously) for granted. And is there anything a Dremel CAN'T do? One of my favourite toys ...

[@sootlet8894]

wow I'd really love to have one of these. it's a simple concept and would be a great you for fiddlers to have at their desk, doesn't take too much thought but gives their hands something to do.

[@EvgenyAlterman]

Really cool one :) Great videos!

[@empresador]

36 dislikes? Those sure are the people who don't understand the function relationship between the knobs xDD. Awesome project, concept and explanation. Really inspiring. Keep making things (y)

[@barrykent9877]

I gave you one plus.. becaouse I couldn't give you more - this is very nice work and so much work! Great!

[@knightshousegames]

I actually kinda love this design. It reminds me of something that would be a puzzle in an old Resident Evil game or something. If you reworked it to make the wiring setup a bit more...managable, you could make it like a treasure box, or a way to open a secret passage in your house or something.

[@paulinaimbert]

your ideas are incredible

[@brainfornothing]

Man ! This is a very good game and project ! Just add more math challenges ! Thanks for sharing !

[@Happyfaceshock]

I don't usually think 'wow' when watching these kinds of videos, and puzzle boxes rarely hold my attention, but this was really cool! I'd love to see it so that you could but an actual box underneath that opened when the puzzle was complete, someone with your abilities probably wouldn't find it hard to do at all.. It just feels as though it should have some kind of function, or reward for completing. Nice job, truly, well done. Love the buttons too. If I had the skills, or equipment, I'd love to coat all of my electronic buttons with wood (thinking amplifier here :D)

[@DrathVader]

"As a civil engineer I don't really trust my own sense of style" As a programmer I know precisely what you mean. It's better for everyone involved if I don't go around trying to design a GUI.

[@MakeCrazydays]

Awesome project. The intersection of woodworking and electronics and programming.

[@bassmasta9117]

All you need to make it fun is a countdown timer that restarts your score at 0 if you don't match it in time (maybe 10 seconds per round). After several successful rounds, the speed increases and you only have 7 seconds to match the dials. Like a Bop-It!!

[@hanif72muhammad]

I take electrical engineering and ATM i'm doing my final project with arduino. And yet you... doing a lot of things already, I envy you, especially to the tools that you have. I love your content anyway

[@Kickerinthehead]

Awesome idea! Looks like something straight out of Myst.

[@PKedByBlade]

awesome concept... and great craftsmanship! definitely better than I thought it was gonna be

[@parsifal335]

Great toy and a great video. Really enjoyed watching this marriage between woodworking and electronics. The only thing I would have done differently is to use end grain for the face plates rather than long grain. That would have let a lot more light from the LEDs through the wood. End grain veneer is extremely brittle, but the face plates are protected anyway.

[@BenBrandt22]

Great project, and a fun combination of electronics & woodworking. I found this video (and channel) from your reddit post. Thanks for the video, you've gained a new subscriber.

[@mfwoodshop]

Very interesting. Looks like fun to build

[@willierants5880]

I'm coming into this very late, but adding a countdown timer to the game would make it more challenging and a way to count successful solves before running out of time would make it more competitive.

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

I love things that work that have a bunch of wires inside it!!

[@aarondcmedia9585]

So cool remaking the button no wait. So cool with the ligneous updates :D Muchly imaginative and inspirational -- keep going.

[@IdRatherMakeItMyself-Net]

My wife says you are crazy and made this way to complicated. She also says I would do something like this. I think she meant it as a compliment to both of us. I say, awesome vid!

[@UsernameSystemBlows]

Put a visible timer on the reset circuit, so that with each success the time for the next puzzle decreases. Would turn this into a really fun survival puzzle.

[@VanessaScrillions]

I was just introduced to your channel via Reddit and I am overjoyed

[@nikanj]

You can program it into a troll box. As you are turning either knob it moves both needles at random rates in random directions. Tell people to figure out the underlying principle that governs the movement.

[@rogerhaffner5731]

this looks like something that amateur radio operator would love to play with

[@RachekChiresh]

Looking at that, all I can hear is Atrus' voice, over and over, saying, "Try moving the slider." Ahh, memories.

Don't know if you still with this but something that could add more chalenge is time. Make the LEDs blink faster as the times goes on, if you solve it in time, next one has a shorter time, if you don't, it shows on LCD, as binary, how far had you gone, until you press reset and starts it all over again ^^

[@xanokothe]

Very cool. Looks like a minigame that you find in modern games. Like opening a door or activate a machine

[@bryang9495]

Pretty much this exact puzzle is used in the Resident Evil 2 Remake when restarting a generator in the sewers. Can't remember if it was also in the original game.

[@JoshSideris]

Hey man that looks like an awesome project. I have a suggestion. You could probably simplify the electronics quite a bit by removing all the LED resistors. Instead, solder all the negative LED ends together into one resistor that connects with gnd. I know how deceptively long it can take to solder and insulate 10 resistors :P. Also, it would be really neat if you made your Arduino play a sound through a small speaker when you win. Take a look at Examples -> Digital -> toneMelody.

[@misterhugs5817]

this would make a good escape room prop. once the needles are lined up, a door opens somewhere

[@NoName-os9lx]

Very nice project, and the result is great. Good job! The game itself doesn't seem that challenging. To spice it, you could add a limit time. Use a buzzer or the vibrations to inform the user, by triggering it more and more often. The amount of time you have to complete the puzzle decreases after every success. When the gamer fails at completing the puzzle in time, game ends. And another game suggestion : one knob directly linked to a panel meter (the one in the centre becomes useless). Leds are lightened sequentialy, one by one. Goal is to be able to follow leds using knobs. You can easily adjust difficulty level by adjusting speed. I'm not sure if you see what I mean, ask for details if interested.

[@graff5274]

Hi fleb. Iv always c9nsidered myself pretty smart....but just avarage guy smart lol your intelligence blows me away. I love to watch your ideas and builds. And listen to what you have go say while solving. You deserve alot of respect. You rock! Much love crom New York. Ohh yeah where are you from my friend

[@morganminecraftlegion9101]

"No idea whether it will work or not". Let me tell you - when your idea has been as thoroughly mapped out as that has been, you just make it work. Design flaw? Revise it and try it out again! I didn't stop developing Findaratish when I was stumped after 4 linguistic improvements. I continued by finding other ways to further develop the language: By developing a non IPA-based character set for the grammar, and using the shortest form every word in every Google Translate-compatible language (quickest way of obtaining short words). Now, I've got a cryptographic language that I can use if I ever need an additional layer of security in messages. I started it out of boredom in Geometry. Practical Engineering - You have more experience and more thorough planning. Yours couldn't have gone wrong.

[@GadgetBoy]

I've sold SO many of those Hakko FX888D's at work. It's a solid piece of equipment.

[@SeanHodgins]

Awesome! Grabbing a sub, this is a great project. Out of sight out of mind for the internal wiring stuff. I'm great at soldering but I've never been good at making my fly wires look like they weren't a rats nest. haha You could always add a time factor for the game too. Make the buzzers tick time down(buzz once a second or so) so that the user knows that they are running out of time. Since you didn't use the UART lines, its always fun to throw in an ESP8266 into the project and make it connect to the internet. I don't know what you would do from there, make it tweet something, grab new puzzles from online. Great work.

[@graff5274]

That game is really really awsome!!!! The knobs move the needles differently every time? Please sell these

[@torvurd]

I first used Arduino for my finals project and I can tell you one thing you did a lot better than I did. Make proper comments in your code, oh boy my teacher was not happy.

[@Davesoft]

Beautiful work! It would fit in perfectly in the tardis control pnel :D

[@annabellethepitty]

Add a timer a try counter and a wining and losing sound. That could jazz up game play a little. The timer would add a new challenge and the counter could compound that because the game could start over if you "run out of lives". Maybe a game panel 2.0 with more switches and different dials for different stages in the game. Just throwing out ideas.

[@NoQuestions4sked]

Wow. Just found this channel from AvE... This is really great content, seriously. Keep it up.

[@WoodworkingManiak]

***** This thing is super cool. Great project!

[@AnnieMay14]

I didn't understand a thing you were talking about, but I'm really amazed by this box and i think i would really love to own one^^

[@satibel]

you could add a speaker or just the audio out (via a follower op amp) so that in addition to the visuals you can have an audio puzzle as well. You could also add a midi output, so that you can use it as a real midi controller.

[@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker]

Nice project, wood and electronics really goes together. I never used an external microcontroler board, I find I can do more by designing my own circuits. You should try it. I keep my good soldering iron at my cottage, I can rely on using a crappy one. I solder with one at home.

[@get-the-lead-out.4593]

As a machinist and carpenter who likes to work on projects without having clutter that often causes things to get in the way or otherwise hinder progress, I like my work area and tools to be clean, organized, and otherwise orderly. In today's world of so many people's ideals consisting of don't do what's traditional or responsible work ethics, I can't count the number of times that someone has made mention of how someone else has an OCD (and being said in a negative way) just because they go to 'extra' steps/work in order to prevent more steps/work later on down the road. Many of these extremists who hype up the circumstances/extent of what an OCD actually is, are most often the ones who have their clothes laying around everywhere, dishes and other stuff cluttering up the sink and counter top, all kinds of tools and forgotten projects piling up on the work bench and around the rest of the garage, etc etc One of the best times I had was when my neighbor, who's a notorious clutterist, came over asking to borrow my crowbar and claw hammer and I told him that I would but ended up using them a couple days ago and didn't put them back and so now I have no idea where I left them lol He probably has 3 of each but since he just throws things here and there, he can't hardly find anything when he needs it.

[@kelsnake]

Love it, ...now, if you replaced the buzzer with an open/closed switch it could lock/unlock a drawer or door? Add one more set of controlled dials inside that drawer, ...or maybe a set of 6 push button switches that turn on/off your ability to turn on the power to the next section, etc. Brother, I could do this all day!

[@jimmoon5997]

I have a fear of chewing gum while lying on my back

[@ShadowZero27]

although your box is very beautiful, the lack of visual reference might be what is making the game less fun. for instance, if there was a clear marking for the knobs, then your mind might think in degrees or some other calculation. as it is, the game looks fun and could be more sensational with added visual cues. another thought is to implement an audio cue for each knob function. I realize this would make the game easier but I still think more stimulation would help the game. great project. I really love this stuff.

[@JorgeSantosMoment]

Awesome project. Have an arduino a good friend gifted to me sitting around that i haven't done anything with. MIght just try this out in the future.

[@marlinbundo2409]

This is really cool, but when I read the title "puzzle box" I was expecting it to be a puzzle you had to solve to open the box. I think that might add something to the project! If you clean up your wiring a bit, there will be plenty of room to add an interior peg that can only be unlatched by winning the game :)

[@IncroyablesExperiences]

Great !! Well done :)

[@EpicFishStudio]

There are ton of "puzzle boxes" out in youtube. What about a box which had many, many knobs, buttons and sliders!

[@associatedblacksheepandmisfits]

love the smell when working with walnut..

[@younalazzawi]

Everything is about "The rewarding pleasure". You might have met this during your work by properly bringing out the implementation, the feel and touch of the product you were longing for. There might be something missing for the people who are crazy about replicating the machine. I suggest incentivize the successful process of reaching the right match on the panel meters. Something like displaying the elapsed time with the best score.

[@anthonyverdin6743]

I think it’s a great idea!!!

[@Cozycozycozycozy]

Looks interesting. I would definetely play at least once :)

[@alexia3552]

6:57 nicely said distinction

[@jacksonvanderkooy]

you should use low voltage controls and transistor to be able to choose a different game just by touching a screw

[@AndreaArzensek]

That is crazy cool!

[@deefstes]

Very cool idea and nicely executed. I love those animated 3D designs of yours. What software do you use for those?

[@PracticalEngineeringChannel]

Thanks. Those were done in Sketchup

[@jhlofficixl]

Is there a way where you get some specific number of wins that a secret compartment opens? And so, can you please make a tutorial or explanation?

[@n00blord111]

Beautiful!!!

[@totally_not_a_bot]

The rat's nest is an issue of wire management, not design. Think about what's going where, group and position things accordingly, trim the wires to an appropriate length, use zip ties. Color coding the wires also helps, but I couldn't tell if you did that or not and I can't be bothered to check. Have fun modding the code!

[@JadeLockpicker]

Common Design Principles. Yes, this looks about right.

[@junedahmed4260]

Why not make a simple App with the same logic for the rest of the mankind ;) I guess the term "journey is the reward" is so true in this case. Not every one of us is capable of executing ideas the way you did. You must have felt special kind of satisfaction when this was done! Awesome! Keep up the good work.

[@theflyingdutchman787]

Great video! (All your video’s are awesome). How about a video on PID’s (Proportional Integral Derivative)? Or: How does an Arduino work?