Activity Guide for SparkFun Tinker Kit

Contributors: Joel_E_B, bboyho

Circuit 7: Simon Says Game

The Simon Says game uses LEDs to flash a pattern, which the player must remember and repeat using four buttons. The classic [Simon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_(game)) game has been a hit since the 1980s. Now you can build your own!

Parts Needed

You will need the following parts:

• 1x Breadboard
• 1x SparkFun RedBoard
• 16x Jumper Wires
• 4x 330Ω Resistor
• 1x 10K Potentiometer
• 1x Buzzer
• 1x Blue LED
• 1x Blue Push Button
• 1x Green LED
• 1x Green Push Button
• 1x Yellow LED
• 1x Yellow Push Button
• 1x Red LED
• 1x Red Push Button

Didn't Get the Tinker Kit?

If you are conducting this experiment and didn't get the Tinker Kit, we suggest using these parts:

added to your cart!

Trimpot 10K Ohm with Knob

In stock COM-09806

This 10K trimmable potentiometer has a small knob built right in and it's breadboard friendly to boot!

$1.05

6

Favorited Favorite 56

Wish List

added to your cart!

Breadboard - Self-Adhesive (White)

Out of stock PRT-12002

This is your tried and true white solderless breadboard. It has 2 power buses, 10 columns, and 30 rows - a total of 400 tie i…

$5.50

48

Favorited Favorite 104

Wish List

added to your cart!

SparkFun RedBoard - Programmed with Arduino

In stock DEV-13975

The SparkFun RedBoard combines the simplicity of the UNO's Optiboot bootloader, the stability of the FTDI, and the shield com…

$21.50

50

Favorited Favorite 96

Wish List

added to your cart!

LED - Assorted (20 pack)

In stock COM-12062

We all know that you can never get too many LEDs. Don't worry, we've got you covered. This is a pack of basic red, yellow, bl…

$3.95

8

Favorited Favorite 75

Wish List

added to your cart!

Multicolor Buttons - 4-pack

In stock PRT-14460

This is a simple 4-pack of momentary, multicolor buttons, great for all sorts of projects! Unlike previous iterations of mult…

$1.75

Favorited Favorite 22

Wish List

added to your cart!

Mini Speaker - PC Mount 12mm 2.048kHz

In stock COM-07950

We drove it directly from a 5V PIC to generate the tones for our Simon demonstration game.

$2.10

5

Favorited Favorite 46

Wish List

added to your cart!

Jumper Wires Standard 7" M/M - 30 AWG (30 Pack)

In stock PRT-11026

If you need to knock up a quick prototype there's nothing like having a pile of jumper wires to speed things up, and let's fa…

$2.45

20

Favorited Favorite 48

Wish List

added to your cart!

Resistor 330 Ohm 1/4 Watt PTH - 20 pack (Thick Leads)

In stock PRT-14490

These are your run-of-the-mill 1/4 Watt, +/- 5% tolerance PTH resistors. Commonly used in breadboards and other prototyping a…

$1.05

Favorited Favorite 11

Wish List

New Concepts

For Loops

For loops repeat a section of code a set number of times. The loop works by using a counter (usually programmers use the letter “i” for this variable) that increases each loop until it reaches a stop value. Here’s an example of a simple for loop:

language:c
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++){
    Serial.print(i);
}

The for loop takes three parameters in the brackets, separated by semicolons. The first parameter is the start value. In this case, integer i starts at 0. The second value is the stop condition. In this case, we stop the loop when i is no longer less than 5 (i < 5 is no longer true). The final parameter is an increment value. i++ is shorthand for increase i by 1 each time, but you could also increase i by different amounts. This loop would repeat five times. Each time it would run the code in between the brackets, which prints the value of i to the serial monitor.

Measuring Durations of Time With millis()

The RedBoard has a built-in clock that keeps accurate time. You can use the millis() command to see how many milliseconds have passed since the RedBoard was last powered. By storing the time when an event happens and then subtracting the current time, you can measure the number of milliseconds (and thus seconds) that have passed. This sketch uses this function to set a time limit for repeating the pattern.

Custom Functions

This sketch uses several user-defined functions. These functions perform operations that are needed many times in the program (for example, reading which button is currently pressed or turning all of the LEDs off). Functions are essential to make more complex programs readable and compact.

Hardware Hookup

Ready to start hooking everything up? Check out the circuit diagram and hookup table below to see how everything is connected.

Circuit Diagram

Hookup Table

Open the Sketch

Copy and paste the following code into the Arduino IDE. Hit upload, and see what happens!

language:cpp
/*
SparkFun Tinker Kit
Circuit 7: Simon Says Game

The Simon Says game flashes a pattern using LED lights, then the player must repeat the pattern.

This sketch was written by SparkFun Electronics, with lots of help from the Arduino community.
This code is completely free for any use.

View circuit diagram and instructions at: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/activity-guide-for-sparkfun-tinker-kit/
Download drawings and code at: https://github.com/sparkfun/SparkFun_Tinker_Kit_Code/
*/

//set the pins where the butons, LEDs and buzzer connect
int button[] = {2,4,6,8};     //red is button[0], yellow is button[1], green is button[2], blue is button[3]
int led[] = {3,5,7,9};        //red is led[0], yellow is led[1], green is led[2], blue is led[3]
int tones[] = {262, 330, 392, 494};   //tones to play with each button (c, e, g, b)

int roundsToWin = 10;         //number of rounds the player has to play before they win the game (the array can only hold up to 16 rounds)
int buttonSequence[16];       //make an array of numbers that will be the sequence that the player needs to remember

int buzzerPin = 10;           //pin that the buzzer is connected to

int pressedButton = 4;        //a variable to remember which button is being pressed. 4 is the value if no button is being pressed.
int roundCounter = 1;         //keeps track of what round the player is on


long startTime = 0;           //timer variable for time limit on button press
long timeLimit = 2000;        //time limit to hit a button

boolean gameStarted = false;      //variable to tell the game whether or not to play the start sequence

void setup(){

  //set all of the button pins to input_pullup (use the builtin pullup resistors)
  pinMode(button[0], INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(button[1], INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(button[2], INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(button[3], INPUT_PULLUP);

  //set all of the LED pins to output
  pinMode(led[0], OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led[1], OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led[2], OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led[3], OUTPUT);

  pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT);   //set the buzzer pin to output
}

void loop(){

if (gameStarted == false){    //if the game hasn't started yet
  startSequence();            //flash the start sequence
  roundCounter = 0;           //reset the round counter
  delay(1500);                //wait a second and a half
  gameStarted = true;         //set gameStarted to true so that this sequence doesn't start again
}

//each round, start by flashing out the sequence to be repeated
for(int i=0; i <= roundCounter; i++){   //go through the array up to the current round number
  flashLED(buttonSequence[i]);          //turn on the LED for that array position and play the sound
  delay(200);                           //wait
  allLEDoff();                          //turn all of the LEDs off
  delay(200);
}

//then start going through the sequence one at a time and see if the user presses the correct button
for(int i=0; i <= roundCounter; i++){   //for each button to be pressed in the sequence

  startTime = millis();                 //record the start time

  while(true){  //loop until the player presses a button or the time limit is up (the time limit check is in an if statement)

    pressedButton = buttonCheck();      //every loop check to see which button is pressed

    if (pressedButton < 4){             //if a button is pressed... (4 means that no button is pressed)

      flashLED(pressedButton);          //flash the LED for the button that was pressed

      if(pressedButton == buttonSequence[i]){   //if the button matches the button in the sequence
          delay(250);                   //leave the LED light on for a moment
          allLEDoff();                  //then turn off all of the lights and
          break;                        //end the while loop (this will go to the next number in the for loop)

      } else{                           //if the button doesn't match the button in the sequence
          loseSequence();               //play the lose sequence (the loose sequence stops the program)
          break;                        //when the program gets back from the lose sequence, break the while loop so that the game can start over
      }

    } else {                            //if no button is pressed
      allLEDoff();                      //turn all the LEDs off
    }

    //check to see if the time limit is up
    if(millis() - startTime > timeLimit){   //if the time limit is up
      loseSequence();                       //play the lose sequence
      break;                                //when the program gets back from the lose sequence, break the while loop so that the game can start over
    }
  }    
}

  roundCounter = roundCounter + 1;      //increase the round number by 1

  if (roundCounter >= roundsToWin){               //if the player has gotten to the 16th round
    winSequence();                      //play the winning song
  }

  delay(500);                           //wait for half a second between rounds


}

//----------FUNCTIONS------------

//FLASH LED
void flashLED (int ledNumber){
  digitalWrite(led[ledNumber], HIGH);
  tone(buzzerPin, tones[ledNumber]);
}

//TURN ALL LEDS OFF
void allLEDoff (){
  //turn all the LEDs off
  digitalWrite(led[0],LOW);
  digitalWrite(led[1],LOW);
  digitalWrite(led[2],LOW);
  digitalWrite(led[3],LOW);
  //turn the buzzer off
  noTone(buzzerPin);
}

//CHECK WHICH BUTTON IS PRESSED
int buttonCheck(){
  //check if any buttons are being pressed
  if(digitalRead(button[0]) == LOW){
    return 0;
  }else if(digitalRead(button[1]) == LOW){
    return 1;
  }else if(digitalRead(button[2]) == LOW){
    return 2;
  }else if(digitalRead(button[3]) == LOW){
    return 3;
  }else{
    return 4; //this will be the value for no button being pressed
  }
}

//START SEQUENCE
void startSequence(){

  randomSeed(analogRead(A0));   //make sure the random numbers are really random

  //populate the buttonSequence array with random numbers from 0 to 3
  for (int i=0;i<=roundsToWin;i++){
    buttonSequence[i] = round(random(0,4));
  }

  //flash all of the LEDs when the game starts
  for(int i=0; i<=3; i++){

    tone(buzzerPin, tones[i], 200); //play one of the 4 tones

    //turn all of the leds on
    digitalWrite(led[0],HIGH);
    digitalWrite(led[1],HIGH);
    digitalWrite(led[2],HIGH);
    digitalWrite(led[3],HIGH);

    delay(100);         //wait for a moment

    //turn all of the leds off
    digitalWrite(led[0],LOW);
    digitalWrite(led[1],LOW);
    digitalWrite(led[2],LOW);
    digitalWrite(led[3],LOW);

    delay(100);   //wait for a moment

  } //this will repeat 4 times
}

//WIN SEQUENCE
void winSequence(){

  //turn all the LEDs on
  for(int j=0; j<=3; j++){
    digitalWrite(led[j], HIGH);
  }

  //play the 1Up noise
  tone(buzzerPin, 1318, 150);   //E6
  delay(175);
  tone(buzzerPin, 1567, 150);   //G6
  delay(175);
  tone(buzzerPin, 2637, 150);   //E7
  delay(175);
  tone(buzzerPin, 2093, 150);   //C7
  delay(175);
  tone(buzzerPin, 2349, 150);   //D7
  delay(175);
  tone(buzzerPin, 3135, 500);   //G7
  delay(500);  

  //wait until a button is pressed
  do {         
    pressedButton = buttonCheck();
  } while(pressedButton > 3);
  delay(100);

  gameStarted = false;   //reset the game so that the start sequence will play again.

}

//LOSE SEQUENCE
void loseSequence(){

  //turn all the LEDs on
  for(int j=0; j<=3; j++){
    digitalWrite(led[j], HIGH);
  }

  //play the 1Up noise
  tone(buzzerPin, 130, 250);   //E6
  delay(275);
  tone(buzzerPin, 73, 250);   //G6
  delay(275);
  tone(buzzerPin, 65, 150);   //E7
  delay(175);
  tone(buzzerPin, 98, 500);   //C7
  delay(500);

  //wait until a button is pressed
  do {         
    pressedButton = buttonCheck();
  } while(pressedButton > 3);
  delay(200);

  gameStarted = false;   //reset the game so that the start sequence will play again.
}

What You Should See

The circuit will flash all of the LEDs and play a melody. After a few seconds, it will flash the first light in the pattern. If you repeat the pattern correctly by pressing the corresponding colored button, then the game will move to the next round and add another color to the pattern sequence. If you make a mistake, the loss melody will play. If you get to round 10, the win melody will play. Press any button to start a new game.

Program Overview

1. Check if a new game is starting. If it is, play the start sequence. Reset the counter that keeps track of rounds, and randomly generate a sequence of numbers from 0 to 3 that control which LEDs the user will have to remember.
2. The game works in rounds that progress from 0 to 10. Each round the game will flash LEDs in a pattern, then the player has to recreate the pattern by pressing the button(s) that match the LED(s). In the first round, one LED will flash, and the player will have to press one button. In the eighth round, eight LEDs will flash, and the player will have to press eight buttons.
3. Use a loop to flash LEDs from the sequence until you have flashed the number of LEDs that matches the round number (1 for round 1, 2 for round 2, etc).
4. Start a timer, and wait for the player to press a button. The player has 1.5 seconds to press the correct button. a. If the time limit runs out before a button is pressed, the player loses. b. If the player presses the wrong button, the player loses. c. If the player presses the right button, move on to the next number in the sequence. d. Repeat this process until the player has lost or correctly repeated the sequence for this round.
5. If the player repeats the entire sequence for that round. Increase the round number by one (this will add one extra item to the end of the pattern). Then go back to step 3.
6. Keep incrementing the round until the player loses or the player finishes 10 rounds. If the player finishes 10 rounds, play the winning sequence.

Code to Note

Coding Challenges

Troubleshooting