Humans are instinctively drawn to throwing. Whenever we encounter something spherical, we throw it, and if it’s a bit heavier, we’re likely to kick it. This behavior of ours is reflected in the games we play. We see a ball, we kick it, we see a coin, we toss it, and when we see a dart, we throw it. While games that involve kicking and tossing have seen substantial technological advancements, there is still some room for innovation in games that involve throwing.
I am not talking about field events like Discuss Throw or Javelin, I rather referring to darts. Darts is one indoor sport that involves throwing pins (darts) into a dartboard. And I wouldn’t be kidding when I say, nothing is more gratifying than hitting a bullseye.
Initially, I had no interest in darts, but I couldn’t help but tune in to watch two of my favorite English cricketers Alastair Cook and James Anderson face off in the William Hill World Darts Championship. But my curiosity was recently piqued when I came across a Kickstarter campaign focused on reimagining the classic throwing game with an electrifying twist.
Unlike traditional dartboards and darts, Pixeldarts integrates Chessnut’s (Parent company of Dartsnut) innovative ‘identity and position recognition technology’, adding layers of depth, flexibility, and variety to the gameplay. “This system allows for creative interactions and strategies, ensuring that every game feels fresh. Players can aim for the bullseye or experiment with different throwing techniques, all while enjoying a visually stunning experience,” explains the company.
Pixeldarts comprise a dartboard and darts. The dartboard is a wall-mounted display that comprises a 21-inch touchscreen on top, along with a pair of buttons, a D-pad, and a smaller touchscreen at the bottom. Then we have custom darts with soft tips that are tailor-made to stick to the screen surface. This is done to ensure that the display doesn’t wear or tear.
What however elevates the status of Pixeldarts from a regular board game to an electric game is the Pixeldarts’ cutting-edge recognition technology that utilizes sensor chips embedded in the darts. This advanced system, along with internal sensing circuits, quickly and accurately identifies the position of each thrown object.
As a result, you need not keep track of your score, Pixeldart will do that for you. Additionally, players are no longer confined to taking turns sequentially; instead, they can throw simultaneously while Pixelboard accurately tracks each player’s score. The company touts that by the time the product is delivered, it will ensure that 10 fun throwing games are officially available to the user, with the likes of Classic Darts Game, Hostage Rescue, Spin the Wheel, Splash, Mini Golf Challenge, and many more.
As aforementioned, the game requires two accessories: Pixelboard and Pixeldarts. The former of these comes equipped with the Raspberry Pi Zero 4 Model B. It is fully compatible with all Pixeldarts animated GIFs and widgets, featuring a 128×128 pixel screen in a slightly smaller size, making it perfect for desktop display.
Housed in a beautifully crafted wooden frame, the board also serves as a multifunctional device for your home. Featuring a variety of widgets, it can display a clock, real-time weather updates, traffic conditions, finance updates, sports scores, and even play entertaining animations. If you’re not particularly excited about throwing games, it can serve as a nice wallpaper or photo frame too. Whatever the case, Pixelboard adds an elegant touch to any space while showcasing vibrant pixel art and dynamic content.
Then we have the Pixeldarts. Powered by the Raspberry Pi Zero 4 Model B, the darts feature a quad-core Cortex-A72 processor running at 1.8GHz and equipped with 1GB of RAM. This robust processing capability ensures smooth gameplay and quick response times.
It has been less than six days since the launch of the Pixeldarts crowdfunding campaign but the project has already amassed its funding goal, and with more than 40 days to go, it’s on track to becoming one of the highest-grossing campaigns of the year. If you are intrigued by this electronic throwing game you can reserve a unit of Pixelboard and Pixeldarts for yourself at a super early bird price of $499.
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