Whether you’re having guests over or you just want to kill a few hours on a slow afternoon, there are few things that are quite as much fun as a slot machine. The endless thrills, the unpredictability, and the chance to win something at the end of it all has kept millions of people enamoured with slot machines for countless decades and turned them into one of the world’s favourite pastimes.

Slot machines, surprisingly, are not that difficult to build, although this can depend entirely on the complexity of the machine you plan to build. For anyone wanting to build one for their next casino party, these are the two easiest ways of going about it.

The Simple Method

This is a lot easier and cheaper than the next method, but it also doesn’t provide as good an experience. Here, you will need to gather a number of different supplies, such as cardboard, skewers, printed stickers, bearings, rubber bands, and much more. There are countless slot machine plans that can be found online and choosing the right one might take a little research. The idea is to build a very rudimentary but functional machine out of cardboard that is similar to the earliest slot machines. Despite how simple the device is, it can be made to look like the real thing with the right stickers and is even able to accept handmade coins. This is more of a DIY project that might appeal to younger kids and might not go over that well with your guests.

Fortunately, there is an easier way of making a working slot machine.

The Complex Method

While this is more costly and time consuming, the end result is a lot more professional. Here, a case will be needed, along with a Raspberry PI, a large enough screen, and a small hydraulic arm or lever that can be attached to the circuit board of the PI. The first step would be to find the right programming, and surprisingly enough, there are software companies that specialise in writing simple but fun slot machine programs that can be easily loaded onto any piece of hardware, such as a Raspberry PI, which can play just about anything, from poker to online https://canadiangambling.net/keno/. Once a case has been designed and made, the screen needs to be mounted along with the Raspberry, with enough space for cords. From there, either a lever or a series of buttons can be attached – buttons would make a much easier choice as this requires fewer moving parts.

Once the basics have been completed and the software has been installed, you will need to plug everything in using the IO strip that can be found on the PI, which allows for a customised control board to be attached. It’s also possible to avoid this step by having the entire experience done on a touch screen, which modern Raspberry Pi’s are more than capable of supporting and can even provide access to LED lighting and sound effects.