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Star Seeker Game
A simple wooden contraption, with even simpler rules of play, Star Seeker may be the most popular attraction at your carnival. And although it takes a little construction know-how to assemble one, it's a game the kids will want to play with long after the party is over and which you can trot out to any future events. Players place a golf ball on the rotating launch shelf, release the ball, then watch it bounce through the course of screws until it comes to rest in a slot with a star (a winner!) or without (try again?). Here's how we put ours together.
- What You Need
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- 3/4-inch Plywood, 3- by 4-foot sheet
- 3 8-foot lengths of 1- by 4-inch boards (cut into three 4-foot sections, two 3-foot sections, and eight 31/2-inch square blocks)
- Latex Paint
- Paintbrush
- 120 3-inch Decking Screws Colored Paper or Stickers (for stars)
- 1 hinge
- Golf Balls
- Instructions
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Start with a 3- by 4-foot sheet of I-inch plywood. Screw the 1- by 4-inch boards to the sides and bottom. -
On the top, create the launch shelf from another length of 1 by 4 cut to fit loosely within the two side walls. Set the board 1/2 inch or so off the plywood so it can easily rotate in place, and secure with 1 screw on each end.
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Paint the plywood (before putting in the screws!) with latex paint.
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When dry, set the screws in place by first drawing 10 parallel pencil lines across the plywood, 3 or so inches apart, then driving in the screws along the lines about 3 1/2 inches apart and 1/2 inch deep. Have each row be staggered so the screws from one row fall in between the screws above.
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Along the bottom, create 9 slots with the eight 1 by 4 squares, screwing them in from the bottom and back. Mark every other slot with a paper or sticker star.
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Hinge a 4-foot length of 1 by 4 to the top of the unit for a support leg.
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Lean the unit back on the leg, place a golf ball on the launching shelf, and shoot for the stars!
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- Tips:
- Stagger the rows of screws for maximum ball bouncing.
- Launch shelf rotates on one screw on each end.
- Hinged support leg holds unit at an angle.
- If your ball lands in a slot with a star, you win!
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