This idea came to me when I read a similar project on Intructables.com by kurt-beheydt. How cool would it be to go on a real next generation treasure hunt? Instead of finding pieces of a map that would guide you to the treasure, you need to find long lost electronic keycards to by solving puzzle to eventually unravel the mystery and unlock the treasure chest.

Step 1: Started With a Plan and Drawing

I started looking for a worthy treasure chest and found one at a second hand store for €8,-.

Most of the electronics I had already laying around.

Below the list of hardware:

Arduino Uno
RFID-RC522
16x2 LCD
I2C LCD controller (to minimize the number of wires)
4 NeoPixels
resistor for the neoPixels (470 Ohm)
Servo (with enough torque to lock and unlock)
Reed relay (to determine if the chest is open or not)

You will find the schema attached to this step

Step 2: Preparing the Chest

It was a big challenge preparing the chest, because it had a metal casing all around. Conveniently it was internet of things blue but at the same time it was difficult to drill, cut and grind. After wards it also proved to be a B!T(# as it interfered with the RFID reader.

The interference I solved by raising the card reader.

Step 3: Getting Creative

From family members who heard I was working on this cool project, I got a bucket of old coins and worn Swarovski crystals. Some of the crystals I used as a shielding on top of the LED’s (which gives them an awesome shine). Some I used on the outside of the chest for decoration together with some soldered transistors. The rest I glued to a big Styrofoam block which I painted gold. This block can be put into the chest to shield from a ‘hidden compartment’.

Step 4: The Keys

Last but not least I was able to print some RFID cards in the appropriate theme to make the whole experience complete. The only thing left now is to start reading Treasure Island for more inspiration on the game itself.