In response to COVID-19 related closures and stay-at-home orders, a maker has created a do-it-yourself tabletop bowling game that uses LEDs, photoresistors and an Arduino Uno with pin presence information to output game stats and display the frame, ball and score on an I2C liquid crystal display (LCD) screen.
The maker, who goes by the name lainealison, created the tabletop using a 5.5 ft lane made of medium-density fiberboard with a ball bearing used to strike miniature pins. Each pin is arranged on top of a photoresistor sensor that detects if a pin remains in place or if it has been knocked over by using 10 light emitting diodes (LEDs) shining from above.
In the video, the user plays a quick game with the bowling tabletop, showing how the LEDs and the pins work along with registering when a pin is knocked over through the photoresistors.
For users interested in building their own bowling tabletop, instructions are available on the Instructables website.