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Boom Balloon

An electronic party game where players use playing cards to inflate a balloon until it bursts.

Boom Balloon is a card game together with a machine you can insert the cards into. Every card you play either inflates or deflates the balloon attached to the machine. It swells, the tension rises, and nobody knows which card will be the one too many.

How It Works The Card Deck Build Guide

See it in action

Explore the build

The fully assembled 3D-printed enclosure, iso view. EnclosureThe printed housing — parts, dimensions, and CAD downloads The three electronic modules — card reader, control board, and display. ModulesThree custom PCBs: card reader, control board, display Breadboard-view wiring diagram connecting all modules to the Arduino Nano. WiringHow every module connects back to the Arduino Nano A scattered spread of printed Boom Balloon cards — Weltuntergang, Blockierung, Yin Yang, and others. Card DeckThe optical code behind every card, and the full deck

Boom Balloon was a hobby project built between roughly 2016 and 2018, reaching a working, multi-unit prototype with complete firmware. Dig into the build guide or the reference section for the full technical detail.