Introduction: Settler's of Catan - Speedy Settler Dice

I made this device to try and incentivize players to shorten their turns and make the game faster. Every time you press the button it generates a new dice roll and starts timing the next player's turn. It keeps track of each player's cumulative time and displays the player's color of who has taken the least amount of time and who has taken the most amount of time. We decided to give the speediest settler an extra victory point and the slowest settler minus a victory point.

You can hold the button to pause the game and display each player's time in minutes and seconds. It also shows you a histogram of all the dice rolls that have been generated for that game.

Games of Settler's of Catan usually take around 45-60 minutes, but the first time playing with this device we played a complete game in 23 minutes! Fastest game I've ever played.

This is my first instructable, let me know what you think.

Step 1: Bill of Materials

Assemble these components:

Arduino Nano

Piezo buzzer

12-Neopixel Rin

~1kOhm Resistor

~100uF Capacitor

9V Battery

9V Battery Adapter

Arcade Pushbutton

Toggle Switch

SSD1306 Display

LM317 5V Voltage Regulator

Jumper Wires

Solder

Solderless connectors

Heatshrink

Electrical tape

Access to a 3D printer (see files attached)

6 small screws

Other various tools/bits/bobs I may be forgetting

Step 2: Assemble

Print out the stl files on a 3d printer. Once you have all the components you should assemble the electrical components according to this circuit diagram I made. I just made it as tidy as I could with various solder joints and crimp connectors.

Screw the screen and neopixel ring into place. Screw the two halves of the 3d printed hexagon together.

Test and make sure everything is assembled correctly.

Step 3: Program the Arduino

Program the arduino nano with this sketch I wrote.

Step 4: Play Settler's of Catan!

Play a game and try it out! Let me know what you think and how it goes. You can decide what rules will work best for you and the people you're playing with. We decided the speediest settler would get 1 VP and the slowest would get -1VP and that seemed to work well. Let me know how it goes!

Pocket Sized Contest

Participated in the
Pocket Sized Contest