This DIY gauntlet “rolls” the die for you. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 6 sided die or a 20 sided die since no physical die are involved. It’s a wearable cuff that will roll 100, 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4-sided die for you in response to your arm movement, thanks to an accelerometer, an Arduino controller, and a 7-segment, 4-digit yellow display.

This would come in handy for quite a few games that I can think of besides D & D. Just flip the switch, shake your arm, and it works it’s magic. If you want to make your own, follow the instructions found over at the Spark Fun Electronics Blog.

[via The Mary Sue]

When Angry Birds hits Facebook, it will have some new tweaks compared to the mobile versions and will be a much different experience for players. Rovio is being coy with the details, but the developers have said the new game will be much more collaborative for players. I assume that means that you will be able to invite friends to play with you.

One the most interesting tidbits is that the game will be more focused on the pigs on the Facebook version. That makes me hope that what they’re talking about is maybe the friends you invite play Angry Birds on Facebook with you will be able to play as the pigs and even build out your own levels. That would be pretty awesome.

[via Mashable]

Everything else looks great. Will I still play it? Of course. It’s Doctor Who. Will I enjoy it? Hopefully, but I doubt it – given the abysmal track record of game and TV show/movie tie-ins. What do you guys think?

[via Kotaku]

The cake was created by Imelda Wikamulia as a present for Technabob reader Greg Off’s birthday, and it’s loaded up with all of our favorite PvZ characters. In the pics, I can see some sunflowers, peashooters, kernel-pults, wall-nuts, a couple of potato mines and torchwood among other defenses. There are also ample zombies on the attack.

Virtually the entire thing is edible, including the hardened sugar pool, and the coconut-dusted green lawn. About the only thing you can’t eat are the tiny cloth costumes made for some of the zombies. As the individual plant and zombie pops get finished off, there’s a whole bunch of additional ones for the eating.

Kudos to Imelda for a great geeky cake, and thanks again to Greg for sending along the pics. Now I need to go find me some sugar, so I can stay up late to finish those pesky mini-games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Mbbhc9bHsHQ

You can probably find it for free eventually if you really want to try it, over file-sharing networks. And since the real Mario is not available for iPhone, who could blame you.

[via Kotaku via Geek]

This chess set was created by DeviantArtist Joker-laugh. While he doesn’t say much about how he made the actual chess pieces, the board measures 25 × 25 inches, so it’s quite big for a chess set. He used wood, small tiles, and stone for the board. He tried to make it match the pyramid temple in the AvP film.

On the Predator side, I like how he made the cloaked pieces, and all those tiny skulls. There’s no doubt that it must have taken Joker-laugh hours and hours of meticulous painting to get all these pieces just right.

[via Make:]

The game is called Urban Flipper and it was designed by Carol Martin and Thibaut Berbezier of CT Light. They can project the game onto any surface, in this case, the Celestins theater in Lyon. Using 3D projection mapping technology, they to turned the details of the building’s facade into bumpers and obstacles, and allowed visitors to actually play a game using a few buttons located near the projection booth. It even has the appropriate accompanying pinball sounds.

Let the giant pinball wars begin. He who controls the high score on the Empire State building is king.

[UFUNK (FR) via Ubergizmo]

Cue the Strap Game concept by Sweden-based designer Jiang Qian. The Strap Game is a gaming system that’s been built into the usual safety handles and straps found on trains, subways, and other means of public transport. Qian envisions the game to automatically power up once the commuter grabs hold of the handle. The user can then play the game single-handedly (and we mean that literally) by just grabbing on to it and using the thumb controller on its side.

The Strap Game would have games like Tetris, pinball, and various sports titles loaded up. It’s a pretty neat idea, but I think it’s something that’s going to make a lot of people miss their stops or forget where they’re actually headed in the first place. Though the strap does have built-in vibration and a route information to alert you of upcoming stops to help snap you back into reality.

[via Designbuzz via Ubergizmo]

The cartoon is called Om Nom Stories. In it, Om Nom pops out of an iPad when the person isn’t looking and goes exploring. He happens on a tennis ball and tires to eat it, but we all know those things don’t taste good. He spies a bag of eats on the counter and goes searching for candy, when on the way, he encounters the family cat, and wacky hijinx ensue. Check out the cartoon below and see for yourself.

Not an Oscar-worthy plot, but still good fun.

The Rubitone was designed by Ignacio Pilotto back in 2008, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it. The cool thing about this cube is that not all of the cubes on the same side are the same color. Instead, they are different intensities, which makes things interesting and a bit more difficult to solve. At least each row has the same shade. He could have made it even more challenging by making each individual cube a different PMS color.

If you’re a digital artist, it definitely makes choosing the right Pantone color quick, since you have access to 18 selections in one handy cube.

[via Jay Mug]

To play Gumball Pinball, you simply turn the crank to release three 1-inch gumballs into the field of play. Woo-hoo! Multi-ball on the first try! As the gumballs start to head South, you bat away at them using a pair of flippers. The field has a total of seven holes on it, four which will win you the gumball, and three which result in no prize at all. Gumballs you get in the right holes drop into the candy collection area, while those you miss are returned to a storage bin for later reloading.

Ok, so it doesn’t sound like it will have much replay value after you collect your gumballs, but it still looks like fun for at least a few seconds. And kids will should a blast with this thing. All told, the Gumball Pinball Machine can hold up to 1,700 gumballs (it comes with 850), and the whole machine only weighs 97 lbs, so it shouldn’t be that difficult to transport and set up. It’s available over at Hamamcher Schlemmer for $1,000 (USD).

Getting your butt out of bed isn’t exactly why the Questli app was created, but you could use the game that way if it helps you start your days with a little more motivation.

The Questli is actually a “treasure hunting game platform” for iOS. With the app, you can create virtual and web-based quests based on simple tasks and chores. For example, you can create quests for finding an object, going to a certain location, or doing a certain activity. Aside from that, the app boasts that you can “win real money and prizes just [by] using your brainpower.”

So how do you get goods? By participating in social or “competition” quests: By signing up with others you all will start playing simultaneously. Whoever gets to the end first, wins. This type of Quest may be played for real money. You pay a fee to participate and if you win, you will get 70% of all the raised amount of money. 15% will go to the person who made the Quest.



The app is available for download for free from the iTunes App Store.

[via TechCrunch via Dvice]

Along similar lines, this new Super Mario Bros. Air Hockey game which uses a spinning Koopa shell in place of a puck, and bounces around the turtle in his shell across your tabletop.

While the Koopa shells have “Super Mario Bros. Wii” stamped onto them, there’s no reason you can’t play a game with these, even if you don’t own a Wii or a 3DS. All you need is a table and a little space. Unlike most air hockey games, the fan is built into the puck, so you can play on any smooth surface – as long as you don’t mind scratching it up with the hockey bats (sticks? red hats?)

Just don’t try throwing this thing around at any of the Goombas in your office, because you’ll probably end up breaking something, or the Goombas might try and beat you with it instead. Mario fans can get their hands on the Koopa shell air hockey game over at Strapya World for about $14 (USD).

If you are still a fan of the rump-shaking anthem, sir Mix-a-Lot has a new app for the iPhone that you can grab today. Naturally, the app is called Baby Got Back and it will work on your iOS device. The app offers games, Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Booty Calls and a lot more. The app also comes with the official video for the song from the early 90′s.

You can get the app for 99 cents right now, but you have to be 17 to buy it. One of the more fun parts of the app is that you can take photos of people you know and then tweak their ASSets. And the app doesn’t discriminate – you can make any body part you want in the photo larger or smaller.

Developer Jim Welch has kicked off a project to build a new game for the trusty old NES, called GOATS vs NAZIS. And what, might you ask, happens in this game? Well, we’re not 100% sure, but the 1- or 2-player game involves goats spitting bullets at the evil Nazis, and muching on helmets, guns, tin-cans, grass and other stuff to restore their energy. Oh, and goats riding motorcycles. And blowing up spaceships. Sign us up.

If you want to be playing GOATS vs. NAZIS on your NES emulator (physical carts and mobile versions might come in future), you’ll want to head on over to Kickstarter and contribute to the cause. Jim is looking to raise $14,000 to complete the game, which he plans on releasing freely to the public once finished.

While you might think that $14k is a lot of money for an NES game, that cash will be used to cloth, feed and shelter Jim as he sequesters himself to build the game over the next 12 months. And if just 2800 people each pony up just 5 bucks, Jim will hit his goal, and you’ll be playing GOATS vs. NAZIS this time next year. If you don’t believe that Jim is up to the challenge, be sure to check out some early test footage he created.

The SMELLIT (yes, that is seriously it’s name) is a new gadget from French company Olf-action (as in “olefaction”, get it?) and it’s designed to add “the smell dimension” to various forms of digital entertainment. And given the face that Olf-action already makes a smell-syncronization system for movie theaters called Odoravision, there’s a good chance this is going to be made into an actual product you can buy someday.

It’s certainly more stylish than the ScentScape device, but to be fair, they’re device was only a prototype when I saw it. They don’t say much about how it works, or what sort of smells it will emit, but from the picture of Kratos below, I can only imagine that they plan on offering the scents of body odor, blood and maybe death.

I’m guessing they’ll also offer more pleasant aromas like flowers, food and the ocean for other experiences. Here’s a list of fragrance cartridges they offer for their other systems I found up on their site (translated). My favorites have to be “Smell naked body” and “Bad smells”:

If you’re interested in sniffing out the SMELLIT, you can smell it for yourself at the Lisbon Design Show in Portugal show betwee October 11th and 15th.

[via Behance]

The game has 12 levels, with 10 models per level, and you can choose “novice” or “expert” difficulty settings. It is for one or two players. So, who is this George guy? He is described as a “software engineer by day and adventurer by night,” and you are building stuff from this guy’s photo album.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

This game has a ton of potential. In the future I can see them taking it a few steps further by incorporating your own creations into playable games. I’m thinking something like Little Big Planet. You can get the free Life of George app from the iTunes App Store now, and you’ll be able to order the physical components from LEGO starting on October 1st here.

[via Time]

The idea is that you drink a shot of beer every time the song changes. That should get you good and pissed in no time. You get songs like “I’m Fine Occifer” and “You Won’t Remember This Song.” The shot glass also has a lanyard, which will come in handy as you are staggering about and puking. Once you wipe off your face and fall on your butt, you’ll notice that the shot glass is still attached to you, and then you can drink some more.

The Power Hour Shot Glass USB set is $30 (USD) here. You get a 30 second bonus track, a poster, and an explanation of the game, along with the full 60 song album. You can also just buy the album from iTunes for about $12, or just buy the CD for about $17 if you are still rocking a Compact Disc player. Drink up people!

[via Chip Chick]

Other features include over 290 custom game pieces, which include: 5 PMC Armies, 8 Bosses, Outer Haven Battleship, Drebin’s Shop Cards, Territory Cards, PMC Headquarters, Custom Outer Haven Game Board, Custom Earth Game Board and 7 dice.

This is a game that any serious MGS fan will want to own. You can pre-order it from October 3 through November 15 and it ships in November. You don’t even need to be sneaky to get it. Price is unknown at the moment.

[via Albotas]

Still, droid surgery sounds kind of fun, and Hasbro makes it a little more entertaining by replacing the old Operation buzzer with “Realistic Sound Effects” (as realistic as a fictitious droid from a galaxy far, far away can be.)

Well, at least 3PO gets a little screen time with a couple of small malfunctions to repair, but nothing quite as dramatic as “limbs severed and stuffed in a backpack.” That’s one malady I’d like to see you fix with a pair of tweezers.

Star Wars fans who need just one more item to round out their collection (this week) can head over to ThinkGeek, and order this special droid edition of Operation for $29.99 (USD).

[via Laughing Squid]