Wire Loop Game (Arduino)

A simple, family-friendly wire loop skill game built with Arduino. It uses an I2C 16×2 LCD for on-screen prompts and a piezo speaker for win/lose jingles. RGB button LEDs indicate state, while two result LEDs show win/lose. The game measures how long the player takes between the start signal and either win (reaching the goal) or lose (touching the loop).

Tested on Arduino Uno-style boards. Adjust pin numbers if you use a different board.

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📊 Status & Info

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Features

• Start countdown (3…2…1… GO!) with tones and LED cues
• Live time display while the game is running
• Win and Lose detection with dedicated LED indicators
• Short win/lose melodies on a piezo speaker
• Clean separation of logic and display; easy to customize

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Bill of Materials

• Arduino Uno (or compatible)
• 16×2 I2C LCD (commonly address 0x27)
• Piezo speaker/buzzer
• Momentary push button (start)
• RGB LED for the start button (common cathode assumed)
• 2 × single-color LEDs for result indicators (Win/Fail)
• Wire loop + probe (electrically connected to sense touches)
• Resistors appropriate for your LEDs (e.g., 220–330 Ω)
• Jumper wires and breadboard or perfboard

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Pin Assignments

Signal	Arduino Pin
Wire Loop Sense	D2
Win Target Sense	D3
Start Button	D4
Button LED – Red	D5
Button LED – Green	D6
Button LED – Blue	D7
Speaker	D8
Button LED – Common (C)	D9
Result LED – A (Win)	D10
Result LED – C (Lose)	D11
I2C LCD SDA	A4 (Uno)
I2C LCD SCL	A5 (Uno)

Inputs (D2/D3/D4) use INPUT_PULLUP. Wire your loop/probe, win target, and button so that an active event pulls the input LOW.

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Wiring Notes

• LCD: Connect VCC to 5V, GND to GND, SDA to A4, SCL to A5 (on Uno). Many 1602 I2C backpacks use address 0x27; change if yours is different.
• Button: One side to GND, the other to D4. INPUT_PULLUP removes the need for an external pull-up resistor.
• Wire loop & probe: Arrange so that a touch creates a path to GND, pulling D2 LOW.
• Win target: Similar to the loop, touching the finish pad should pull D3 LOW.
• LEDs: Use resistors. The RGB button LED is treated as R/G/B anodes with a common cathode on D9 (or vice versa if your LED is common anode—see customization).
• Speaker: Piezo from D8 to GND (series resistor ~100 Ω optional).

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Software Requirements

• Arduino IDE (or Arduino CLI)
• Libraries:
• LiquidCrystal_I2C – for 16×2 I2C LCD
• pitches.h – Arduino example header defining musical note constants used with tone()

Installing LiquidCrystal_I2C

1. Open Arduino IDE → Sketch › Include Library › Manage Libraries…
2. Search for LiquidCrystal_I2C
3. Install a commonly used version (e.g., by Marco Schwartz or Frank de Brabander). If your LCD does not display correctly, try an alternative library or adjust the address.

Getting pitches.h

pitches.h is the header used in Arduino tone examples. If you don't already have one, you can use the included template in this repo or copy from the Arduino example (File › Examples › 02.Digital › toneMelody).

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How to Build & Upload

1. Download this repository (ZIP provided below) and extract it.
2. Open src/WireLoopGame.ino in Arduino IDE.
3. Connect your board, select the right Board and Port.
4. Click Upload.

If your LCD shows gibberish or stays blank, verify the I2C address (0x27 vs 0x3F) and contrast. Update LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(0x27, 16, 2); accordingly.

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Gameplay

1. The display shows “Next Player!” while idle.
2. Press the Start button. You’ll see “Get Ready!” and a 3–2–1 countdown with beeps.
3. At GO, the timer starts. Keep the probe from touching the loop!
4. Win: touch the finish target → green indication, win melody, final time shown.
5. Lose: touch the loop → red indication, lose melody, final time shown.

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Customization

• I2C Address: Change 0x27 to your LCD’s address.
• LED Polarity: If you have a common anode RGB LED, invert LED writes (HIGH/LOW) or wire the common to 5V and drive R/G/B LOW to turn them on.
• Melodies: Edit the melody[] and noteDurations[] arrays in winMusic() and loseMusic().
• Update Rate: LCD refresh is throttled to ~8 Hz (every 125 ms). Adjust LcdUpdateMillis logic if needed.

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License

MIT License. Do what you like—just include attribution.