Continuing with the Shooting for charity – building the Hunger Games project, we’ve got a frame to design.
Re-focusing on project tenets
…and how they apply to the frame:
BE FUN
It should feel like a carnival game, that means colourful art/design, places to hang rewards/toys/plushies, angled header banner, LED lighting, the works. Also, fun is best had with friends, so the frame should be large enough to allow ~3 players to participate at once.
BE REUSABLE
Perhaps the most applicable tenet, the frame needs to disassemble into parts no larger than 6″ folding table (hint for next tenet), each part should also support several iterations of reassembly so no wood screws for major frame components. Expecting lots of bolts and (t) nuts. This also factors into the build material itself, it should be accessible (lots of Pine!) and simple enough to shape and replace in the frame.
BE FRIENDLY
To setup staff, game masters and players alike.
Setup staff in the sense that parts are small and light enough that anyone can assemble with minimal power tools – hence the 6′ folding table requirement for storage but also as the game base – the intent is the frame will literally sit on 2 side-by-side folding tables.
Game masters in the sense that darts should be kept in the game as much as possible (soft, foam-core back board material maybe?), helps if there’s an enclosed area to collect the darts (the area above the folding tables!).
And finally Players in the sense of accessibility, other than the 2 folding tables above for the frame, we’ll have another 2 several feet in front of the game for players to stand/sit behind and rest their arms on, hold darts, etc.
The first frame draft
red/maroon => supports, contains a loosely defined dimension, standard Pine but can be any dimension (using primarily 1×4/2×4/2×6).
cream/peach => key frame, strongly defined, all Pine.
gray => back boards, strongly defined and made of plyboard or some other cheap 1/4″ material. Holes not made yet.
Couple of key notes:
- The top and bottom are open, with the top expected to have a black drape over it with LED lighting hanging from it and the bottom against the surface of the 6′ folding tables
- Triangular supports on the top are deliberately made obtuse to angle the 1×12′ banner facing down towards participants – with average height of a folding table being 3′ and the game volume being 12x3x4′, the total height is a little less than 8′ with the banner
- Backboard (and sides) are sliced, comprised of a total of 6 3×4′ panels, these will have foam core artwork adhered to the front and are to slide into the frame for assembly
- Red holders on each side for A/V (speakers)
Not really visualized well here is 2 2×4’s keeping the top frame bar straight mounted at 1/3rd and 2/3rd’s point of the base along with an additional channel at the front bottom for stuffies (part for the aesthetic, other part as awards for small kids).
Just for wood, estimating ~$300 CAD with an extra $100 for fasteners (bolts are not going to be cheap).
Next steps for the team are to finalize the design then start scavenging local Home Depot for non-scoliosis boards, perhaps the biggest challenge of the frame build yet…