The most popular bar game for competitive socialising is a darts game and it's modern version "interactive darts".
Typically, when a bar designs its "competitive socializing" space, it plans for a total group of 6-10 people per game lane or table.
This includes the 4-6 active players and the 2-4 friends who are there
for the drinks, food, and social atmosphere surrounding the game.
My electronic game is designed mainly for two players. It is difficult for bystanders to see what's going on in this game.
I have an idea to make this game more spectable.
For this purpose I am going to remove embedded displays at all and replace them with smartphones owned by players and bystanders.
I have tested this concept and it looks real!
ESP32S3 ( 4$ price) can support up to 8 WIFI connections. So up to 8 persons can play this game ( in turn) or watch it with their smartphones in browser's window .
This game occupies1square foot on the table and needs no space around.
Standard table in the standard bar is for 2 or 4 persons . Bigger table is for 8 persons. So such table game fits most possible cases.
General layout looks like this:
My first prototype is made from cheap plastic box.
AI rendering ( Vizcom) shows possible variant with wooden housing and spinners made from bronze.
There are several electronic games where spinners are used as game controllers. The most well-known is "Spinner Frenzy".
The game concept of this game looks pretty strange. You have to reach 500rpm for jackpot.
I have created a different game concept. Instead of rpm the game counts rotations. In addition, my game will be a competitive one. Initially, I thougth about 1D golf simulator. In order to go through all 18 virtual holes player has to make the prest number of rotations for each virtual hole.
This was a solo variant . And this is how 2-player game looks like.
Golf-themed game need too much time - about 30 minutes or so. To match arcade style, game should be played about 3-5 minutes Such pivot may be realised by changing the game concept and scoring system.
Imagine the virtual "bocce" game , where arcade machine offers two players one reference number of rotations , that may be understood as a "pallino" ball's position. Both players have to make 4 spins in one round . Scoring is exactly like in a real "bocce" game: the player whose "ball" is the closest to "pallino" gets the points.
Two players need about 4-5 minutes to perform 4 spins each.
To make such arcade game even faster , I have an idea of "Blitz " variant.
Blitz spinner game has two "four spinner" sets. Spinners may be started one by one without any pauses. In this case , one round has duration about three minutes. Such game is very flexible. It may be played by 2,4 or 8 players . I guess it is good for "competitive socializing" projects.
When I asked "Perplexity" how it feels about my project, I have got a rather positive answer:
Your electronic
game concept using fidget spinners as controllers with a scoring system
inspired by bocce ball sounds both innovative and engaging. Here’s an analysis
of its appeal and potential interest:
Strengths of Your Game
Concept
·Unique
Control Mechanic: Measuring the total number of rotations rather than RPM
introduces a fresh challenge that emphasizes precision and control over speed
alone. This could appeal to players who enjoy skill-based, measurable
performance metrics.
·Bocce-Inspired
Scoring: The
idea of moving an object closer to a reference value (like bocce balls aiming
for the pallino) is simple yet strategic. Bocce’s scoring system is
well-regarded for balancing luck and skill, and adapting it to rotations adds a
novel tactile dimension while preserving strategic depth
·.
·Two-Player
Competition:
Head-to-head gameplay encourages social interaction and competitive spirit,
which is attractive in arcade and casual gaming settings.
·Round
Duration (~5 minutes): This is a good length for arcade-style games, long enough to build
tension and strategy, but short enough to maintain engagement and allow multiple
rounds or players in a session.
Considerations for Interest and Engagement
·Skill
Accessibility:
The challenge of matching preset rotation numbers within four spins per round
could be intuitive and rewarding, but it will be important to ensure the learning
curve is not too steep. Clear feedback on how close each spin is to the target
will help players improve and stay motivated.
·Replayability: Varying the reference rotation
values each round and possibly introducing modifiers (e.g., weighted spinners,
time limits) could keep gameplay fresh and competitive over multiple rounds.
·Social
and Spectator Appeal: Because bocce ball’s scoring is easy to understand and visually based
on proximity, your game’s scoring should be clearly displayed and easy to follow.
This transparency is key for social and spectator appeal, especially if played
in arcade or party settings.
·Physical
and Digital Integration: Combining the tactile satisfaction of spinning with a strategic scoring
system could appeal to players who enjoy physical interaction and mental
challenge, including Gen Z players who value hybrid experiences.
Conclusion
Your game
concept has strong potential to be interesting and engaging, especially for
players who appreciate skillful, social competition with a tactile twist. The
adoption of bocce ball’s scoring system is a clever way to introduce familiar
strategic elements while leveraging the unique control method of fidget
spinners.
To maximize
interest, focus on intuitive user feedback, clear scoring visualization, and
maintaining a balance of challenge and accessibility. Given the growing
interest in hybrid physical-digital games and social competition, your game
could attract a niche of players looking for novel, interactive experiences.
While making my fidget spinner projects I like to watch videos about fidget toys worldwide and how people use them.I was very impressed by the following video from Youtube:
It looks that existing fidget spinners are not very interesting for blind people as they do not feel spinner's rotation.
Hearing does not help much as the bearing inside spinner gives limited sound.
Sense of touch does not add much also, because any touch will stop the spinner .
Initially, my project was for people with normal sight.
I got utility patent for my game this year .
To adapt my game for blind people I am going to use loudspeaker and mp3 player module.
While arduino coding is not a great problem, making several hundreds of small mp3 files with audio comments is a very time consuming job. I guess I need a couple of months to make an audio files.
Every rotation of the spinner will be marked with one short beep sound and every action will be explained by voice .
To be continued......
January 1st 2025
Today I have fixed major bugs and my prototype is able to create sounds now.
January 5th 2025.
Below you can see a clip with working prototype. Close your eyes and feel like a blind ....golfer!
Some comments :
- short single beep is created for every rotation of te fidget spinner;
double beep is created after spinner stopped.
For better sound I need better loudspeaker as well as an additional amplifier.
It will be cool to find a company (for licensing) that already manufactures talking toys .
As Google says there are over 1 million blind people in USA and more than 43 million worldwide.
I hope my project can add some fun to the life of blind people.