3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Human Whack-a-Mole arcade machine game

Human Whack-a-Mole arcade machine game

A version of the arcade whack-a-mole game where 5 people are the moles, and one person hits them with a foam hammer. This was created as a not very serious, one-off art exhibition piece.

Here is video of it in action:


 
Remove these adsRemove these ads by Signing Up
 

Step 1General instructions

It's basically a table with holes in the top and cloth round the sides. It then has an ipod shuffle and speakers taped to it so it plays music. This game is quite a good size for 5 medium sized adults.

MAIN BIT
top surface: 1.8m x 1m MDF, thickness 12mm
backboard: about 1.8m x 50cm MDF, thickness 6mm
legs: 1.1m long, screwed directly into top surface
sides: 4 x 2m x 60cm cheap black scarves (bought in an asian dollar store for 1.50 GBP (3USD) each)

HAMMER
4 large sponges, as the type you get for washing cars. bought from asda walmart or dollar store
a short handle: 20mm dowel , which extends halfway into the hammer
lots of duct tape

OTHER
5 cheap cushions for people (the moles) to sit/kneel on
ipod shuffle and computer speakers (taped onto legs of unit)

That's about it really. I recorded 12 songs onto the ipod shuffle, each which lasted about 40 seconds. To give it that tacky videogame sound, I used midi versions of songs like:
haddaway - what is love
las ketchup - asereje
a-team theme
2 unlimtied - RU ready for this?
tijuana taxi
...you get the idea.

The unit was designed to be a bit of laugh for drunk people, not to be a serious game. If I was building it again I would incorporate fun lights and a generally sturdier build. It's quite difficult to persuade people to get under it, so perhaps a good idea would be helmets for the moles, which could have a hit sensor (linked to the hammer, very much like fencing gear).

Anyway, here's a video of a hot girl playing it. Feedback welcome. This project was a lot of fun.


« Previous StepDownload PDFView All StepsNext Step »
5 comments
Aug 2, 2008. 3:56 PMEnigmaMax says:
headache...
May 5, 2007. 4:54 PMlemonie says:
This is a very cool idea, but it looks more like tap-a-mole, why weren't people geting whacked?

L
Apr 19, 2008. 2:31 PMstandupclothing says:
yeah beat the hell outta 'em!
Dec 3, 2007. 4:35 PMbloody0986 says:
Looks cool. Was funny when they were making faces as they were being "Tapped".

Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

All Steps Viewing
View all steps of an Instructable on the same page when you're a Pro Member.

Upgrade to Pro today!
20
Followers
7
Author:deadinsect
I am interested in the boundaries between engineering and art, with a slightly eco/nature vibe.