One of the most popular machines in any arcade is the Cyclone game, where a ring of LEDs illuminates in sequence and the player must push a button at the exact moment that a specific LED lights up. Get it just right and you can win a whole pile of tickets to spend in the arcade shop! But the machines in arcades tend to be rigged, with the timing altered slightly to make the game more difficult. This mini Cyclone game saves you a trip to the arcade and doesn’t employ cheats (unless you want it to).

This is the second Cyclone game built by Mirko Pavleski. The first was much larger, with a ring of 60 LEDs. The new version is smaller and simpler. It has a ring of only 12 LEDs. The original increased the speed with each round, but this version sets a random speed (within a predefined range) each time. It tracks the number of rounds completed by a player before they fail and saves that high score in EEPROM storage so it is persistent every time someone turns on the game.

The hardware is affordable and easy to find. It includes an Arduino Nano board, a WS2812B LED ring, a 16×2 character LCD with I2C interface, two buttons, a power switch, and a buzzer. Those components all mount to a basic stand made of PVC board and plywood wrapped in self-adhesive wallpaper. If you’re a fan of Cyclone games, this would make a great weekend project.