Picture the chaos of a 90s living room: someone shouting commands at a plastic gadget that barks orders faster than anyone can possibly follow. One maker decided that particular brand of nostalgia deserved a glow-up, and rebuilt the whole frantic toy from scratch with modern electronics tucked inside a 3D printed shell.
What they built
The result is a handheld reaction game that fires off five randomized commands — push, slide, flip, shake, and spin — and dares you to nail each one before the timer runs out. A 14-segment alphanumeric display calls the next move and tracks your running score, while a mini speaker pumps out music and snappy sound effects. A NeoPixel stick works as a countdown bar that drains as your reaction window closes, so the pressure is visible as well as audible. The whole thing lives inside a retro-future enclosure printed to look like it fell out of an alternate-timeline toy aisle, and the layout keeps every control within thumb's reach for genuinely fast play.
How they built it
The brains is the Feather RP2040 PropMaker running CircuitPython, a board purpose-built for props with audio and addressable LED support baked right in. Each move maps to its own physical input:
- Push → a key switch
- Slide → a slide potentiometer
- Flip → a toggle switch
- Shake → an accelerometer
- Spin → a hall effect sensor reading a magnet on a ball-bearing spin wheel
A rechargeable 2200mAh cylindrical battery keeps it portable, and that magnet-activated spin wheel delivers the satisfying tactile click that sells the arcade illusion. Because the PropMaker handles sound and lighting natively, the wiring stays surprisingly tidy for a project juggling this many inputs at once.
The takeaway
What makes this build sing is how it turns five dead-simple sensors into one cohesive toy. None of the parts are exotic — the magic is in the orchestration: random sequencing, timing pressure, audio cues, and lights all firing together in rhythm. It is a good reminder that a memorable maker project is often less about rare components and more about clever choreography. Grab a Feather, a handful of sensors, and a free weekend, and you have your own pocket-sized chaos machine ready to torment your friends.
Originally published on blog.circuit.rocks.
