Tech-Charades

Tech Charades is a digital version of the classic game charades intended to be played by two or more people. Tech Charades consists of a hat with an LCD screen displaying photo clues on the player’s head. The other player will then act out and give hints for the first player to guess the image.

Step 1: Gather All Parts

We ordered most of our parts off of the Adafruit website, but many of the parts were available through Creatron or Sparkfun as well. Attached is a Bill of Materials with a link and price for all the parts we used.

Parts you'll need:

• Adafruit 1.44" Color TFT LCD Display with MicroSD Card breakout - ST7735R
• USB MicroSD Card Reader/Writer - microSD / microSDHC / microSDXC
• 2 PIN BREADBOARD TACTILE BUTTON Staples®
• 16GB MicroSDHC Card With SD Adapter
• Arduino Uno R3 (Atmega328 - assembled)
• 9V battery clip with 5.5mm/2.1mm plug
• Alkaline 9V Battery
• 22AWGHookupWire
• Clear Enclosure for Arduino - Electronics enclosure -
• 1.0 HALF SIZE PROTOYPING BOARD
• 100 Set Metal Buttons Snap Fastener 10mm White Hat

Tools you'll need:

• Wire cutters
• A soldering iron with solder
• A hot glue gun

Tools you might need:

• A dremel
• A drill
• A multimeter

Step 2: Compile and Format Images

To use the Adafruit screen all images have to be 128px by 128px and saved as 24bit bitmap files. You can select any images you want from the internet as long as they are formatted to this size and file type. You can do this in Photoshop by cropping the photo then saving the image as the correct file type.

When you're happy with the images you have drag and drop them onto your micro SD card just like moving files onto a USB.

Included in the zip file are some properly formatted images to get started. New images need to be added into the array in the code.

Step 3: Assemble Your Circuit and Upload the Code

It is best to solder the headers onto the protoboard first – not all of the headers will be needed if you use a full set, but they provide some extra support when soldering.

After that, wiring is best done in the configuration provided in the photograph above., for the screen first. Test to ensure all connections are secure.

Lastly, the button should be soldered into place.

For our code specifically we used pins 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. We used the Adafruit examples and changed the code to store all the images in an array and randomly generate one. You can find the code on Github here.

When you have all of the components soldered onto the protoboard put it into your enclosure making sure to leave the battery accessible in case you need to charge it.

Step 4: Create the Box That Will Hold Your Casing on Your Hat

In order to attach the Arduino enclosure to the hat you have to create a box made out of thick paper or cardboard. The outlines for the box are attached so all you have to do is print, cut, and glue it together!

Once you have the box built sew on one side of the snap buttons to the hat and glue the other side to the box so the box can easily come on and off the hat.

Step 5: Put All Pieces Together and Play!

Once the hat has the box attached you are ready to put in the enclosure and play with your friends!