Trying to start a new boardgame using microcontroller - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: INeverBluff1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 29, 2025, 07:33:29 pm
content: Hi,First of I would to say this is my first post here and i have absolutely 0 knowledge in electronics at this point but I do have a project for a new boardgames that I'm working on with my associate and we need some help to achieve it. Hope anyone can help us a bit.So the project is to create a 7-8 inch foam animal which the players will be throwing to others while doing very rapid action. Inside the foam, I need to have a mecanism that make a bip sound and accelerate until an "explosion" is heard. The explosion can take between 10 sec to 1 min before a explosion like is heard.I asked chatgpt for help and this is what it suggest me:- Buzzer (Piezoelectric): Produces the bip sound.- Microcontroller (e.g., ATTiny85 or Arduino Nano clone): Controls the timing of the bips and triggers the "explosion" sound.- Power Supply: A 2x AAA battery holder or similar.- Resistors and Capacitors (Minimal): For basic circuit stability (depends on the microcontroller).- Plastic Case or Housing: Recycled or simple materials to enclose the electronics.- Speaker (For better sound)Start Button: A push button initiates the timer.Bip Timing: The microcontroller generates regular pulses for the buzzer. These pulses gradually accelerate over time.Explosion Trigger: After a random or preset time (10–60 seconds), the microcontroller plays a loud continuous tone (or a dramatic sound) to simulate an explosion.My first question is:Does it seems like a good and cost effective plan? I will have to produce between a 100 to 1000 units and planned to buy from somewhere like aliexpress.Chatgpt wrote a code Example for Arduino to create a timer accelerating bips and explosion sound, the thing is I need to know how to assemble all the components together. I'm trying to find somewhere I can find good tutorials how to builds something like this. Can someone show me where would you start if you have almost no idea how to assemble everything to make it work?Sorry for my english, I'm french and trying my best.Feel free to ask me more question if I'm not clear.Thanks you very much!--- Here in amazon is probably the thing that look the most with what i'm trying to make: But instead of a song playing, it will be '' bip accelerating sounds with a random explosion sound at the end'' :https://www.amazon.ca/Ideal-Electronic-Potato-Musical-Passing/dp/B000NX0IQK/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3E2ZUSHQVSNF5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VIhrecPW3L42woFpdZ3hjEXK83YXfjgMp_0XdlENjwgfqLL0hsxnYKKL8-MiDVsWmxl-Y0WEv0u1bRLMKoSvwumMkoGKc9ipwzWdwTvlauvq3cnlRlxRBq7WwFy-CY7ChVzL1_KiiuT5SKSnZxfTGyiz1tG8BG9hEutTHV_GAFeT8JmvhzX6Ayi63O06A_MtI0AAvta2qARxcWT5KIs-ZvBTugmwnx-QdVBO_CG1prXuqtXUxpQtdrAtUNjoH7qPAitcKvj6yci03IFThU2i09XzFxFDuFWKp0qXXbaLa9Z_GZ4X_LPOJvLSFjNMhuEZO4RE5nMu37grmxiJYHUcuaL5jNZ7XKbhasxUGRbUda1w0EYpp8Oh4vyMPwSy-T9k5GDshvaiT_O7S4K8U_0nQ5FD9a9J0v8wFikBveeKhVGFGnb2dw72WZu5Siv7r1fH.CHV9zNr9T42Cz1wQ-3AYO5TN-StI8UageXwpi7-_Iy0&dib_tag=se&keywords=patate+chaude&qid=1738177776&sprefix=patate+chaude%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-5

author: xvr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2025, 11:49:45 am
content: QuoteIMHO this is a key factor for design - it should be VERY durable. If you want that your animal will produce 'explosion' after 10th throw but not falling apart you need to make all electronics on one PCB and reduce wiring to absolutely minimum. Battery holder also should be reliably closing - preferably on screws. Sound device (one for all will be enough) should be riggid (oredinary speaker is not suitable) and mount directly on PCB. Whole PCB should be covered with something like epoxy.

author: jonovid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2025, 12:37:04 pm
content: seems like you are seeking to design a plush electronic toy under your own license by a Chinese toy manufacturer.with your original sounds , your original plush design , original product art for the board game packaging but everything else is off the shelf design.seems like you are seeking a manufacturing plan for your game. for all the subassembly it helps if you can go look at some manufacturer.known for design of plush electronic toys. get business contacts for suppliers .

author: jwet
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2025, 05:18:13 pm
content: I would recommend that you talk to an industrial design firm. There are a lot in the US, "Astro" in San Fran, "Whipsaw" in San Jose or "Continuum" in Boston are top notch. There are likely some near you. They vary in what they specialize in and how "turn key" they work. A good firm can take this design at any stage and help you get it to market. They have electronic/firmware contacts for the board, have contacts with China for plush toys, prototyping resources, etc., etc, they can help with patents- whatever you want. The more they do of course, the more it costs but it generally doesn't cost anything to talk to them for an hour or two. This is what they do everyday.

author: INeverBluff1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 30, 2025, 07:10:54 pm
content: Thanks for the replies, You guys are right, i'll seek and call some suppliers as suggested and start from there.

author: PedalChase
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2025, 06:19:48 am
content: Not exactly what you are describing but you might look at some similar things that are already on the market and see how they designed their products to withstand use/abuse. This one came to mind:https://www.amazon.com/Ideal-Potato-Electronic-Musical-Passing/dp/B000NX0IQK?th=1