The Gravity Roll is a multiplayer coordination game where players work together to guide a metal bearing ball from the start to the end position through a maze path. The setup consists of a sturdy box with an interchangeable extruded maze placed on top. A ball mover platform sits above the maze and is connected to four strings (two for each player). By pulling and releasing the strings, players tilt and steer the ball mover to roll the bearing ball along the maze. This setup encourages cooperation and precision.

Teamwork and Collaboration

Players must coordinate their actions, communicate effectively, and collaborate to succeed.

Cognitive Development

players must understand the orientation of the maze and how their string pulls affect the platform. They learn to plan moves in advance and adjust based on feedback (the ball's movement).

Fun and Engagement

The game is engaging, making it ideal for group activities, team-building workshops, or family events. Encourages friendly competition and goal-setting .

Patience and Precision

Players develop patience as they learn from trial and error and avoid sudden or jerky movements.

While I was working on the serial robotic manipulator, I got an urgent task for the development and management of the game section for the Kerala Innovation Festival , directly assigned by the Chief Operating Officer of the Kerala Startup Mission , Mr. Tom Thomas.

My task is to discover, design, and fabricate games for the KIF. However, I decided to not just go with the common games; instead, I took some time to research a few interesting exotic games.

As per the given task, I proposed 10 different games; 7 games are shortlisted based on the number of players and players engagement, uniqueness, and number of players (single player or multiplayer).

There is a long procedure to get the funds for any projects in the Kerala Startup Mission. After the final discussions, due to the lack of time, 3 of the games are shortlisted from the 7 games. They are Zig Zag, Gravity Roll, and Hook & Toss .

The game could be played by 2 players, 3 players, or even 4 players.

The players need to move the ball from the blue spot to the yellow spot along the extruded maze without falling, and the time will be tracked and recorded. The team that completes the maze in the shortest time will be the winner.

Notion is a powerful tool to manage projects. I created a notion page for the KIF games dashboard.

There are different types of materials available for this task, like plywood, OSB, and MDF. However, I decided to choose plywood because of its quality at a reasonable price.

Since the game does not require any complex structure to balance, it is good to go with 12 mm plywood ✅ .

Usually, I like to draw a rough sketch of the model that I would like to design, using a mechanical pencil and then I try to digitalize to get the form of the project.

Initially, I decided to draw a sketch of the game to obtain the form factor of the game, and after several attempt, I ended up to a final design.

The design is completely parametric, and the maze is interchangeable. There are few key factors in this design, such as the diameter of the ball, material thickness, the distance of the thread holes from the maze, and the height of the holes. These parameters are the key factors of the design and need to be chosen wisely.

The design is completely done using Fusion 360.

There are few other factors that need to be considered while designing, such as the type of the machine used, the material used, the tool diameter, and so on. Once you are aware of these, then only you can design for manufacturing.

Follow the link below to learn more about computer controlled machining.

Utilized the ShopBot CNC machine to cut the 12 mm plywood.

1. Initially all the body is converted to components in Fusion 360.

2. Arranged the components on a sketch whose dimensions are equal to the dimensions of the 12 mm plywood sheet.

3. Added the dog bones to the inner 90-degree corners

4. Projected the sketch and exported it in DXF format

5. CAM is done using the V Carve software.

6. Performed the machine setups and successfully completed the fabrication process.

   

3D Printed Parts:

Meanwhile, I also 3D printed the following parts:

1. The ball mover (where the fishing lines are tied from the 4 holders to control the ball).

2. Path smoother (attached to the walls for the smooth movement of the threads).

3. Handles (to which the fishing lines are attached to control the ball).

Safety first, always wear:

1. Hand gloves

2. Safety gloves

3. Safety goggles

4. Respiratory mask (at least a normal mask)

Post-processing is the hardest and takes most of the power. The plywood comes with the branding marks on one side of the sheet, and it is hard to hide them. I want to get the wood finishing. For that, I need to sand the part’s surface to make it smooth and remove those markings.

Finishing Works:

1. Wood Sealer

2. Brush

3. Disposable Glove

4. Respiratory Mask

5. Disposable Container

Initially, I thought of using wood stain with wood sealer. However, I tried the wood stain on a waste piece, and I found it destroyed the appearance of the wood. So I used just the wood sealer. It took around 1h to try completely. Varnish is also another option. However, varnish takes around 1-2 days to cure completely, so I found wood sealer works like a charm to get a good finish.

Here is a final finished game.