A Belgian gamer and content creator has successfully revived a rare and lesser-known arcade game from his youth by constructing his own unique hardware and software entirely from the ground up.
Although not widely recognized, Belgium once had a modest arcade industry. The Shuffle-Ton, a device inspired by an old Belgian folk game where players aimed to toss metal coins into designated holes, was adored by children in the country.
These lesser-known arcade machines modernized the traditional game with electronic scoring and the option for four players to compete against each other.
In the early 1990s, Erron introduced an updated version of the concept, incorporating advanced electronics and offering various game modes. However, despite its name, Shuffle Box failed to gain popularity and the company was forced to halt production. As a result, there were several partially assembled cabinets remaining, with the electronics yet to be installed.
Overtinker, a YouTuber who can be found on his channel
Overtinker, successfully located an incomplete cabinet and utilized it as the foundation for his undertaking.
Although it had never been used, the arcade cabinet shell was in excellent condition aside from a layer of dust and dirt. The initial task was to install a display screen, and an old 19″ Dell monitor was a perfect fit for the backglass once it was securely mounted.
For this project, the Raspberry Pi 3B+ was chosen to handle the display and other electronics, including the beam sensors for detecting coins and the addressable LEDs. Its compact size and user-friendly interface made it the ideal option for this task.
Despite the considerable effort required to install the necessary wires and LEDs and create additional components like coin chutes through 3D printing, the next step was to focus on the software. Overtinker had no existing resources to rely on, meaning that the software had to be completely conceptualized and developed from scratch.
Based on early advertising footage, he reconstructed the text, outlines, and images for the background display. Utilizing the Pygame library for its simplicity, he built the code from the ground up.
The outcome appears incredibly professional, which is quite impressive considering it was achieved by a sole enthusiast in a DIY project.
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