'The result was an interactive and innovative game'

Tobias Loogman is continuing a tradition. As the third generation in a family of electrical engineers—following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather—he is now in his first year of the Electrical Engineering program. For his first major project, he and his fellow students developed an innovative game: an electronic version of tic-tac-toe. The project combined his practical vocational training background with new theoretical challenges.

'We were given the assignment to develop a game that could be played by at least two people. We wanted to create something physical, something that would get players moving. We quickly came up with the idea of an interactive tic-tac-toe game, where players hit a sensor-equipped playing field with a ball. Soccer was too rough, so we decided on throwing instead. The frame needed to be sturdy, so we chose to use wood.

Building it was quite a challenge. The sensors had to work accurately and withstand impact. We tried all sorts of things: foam rubber or a nail with a drop of glue, but that didn’t stay in place properly. Eventually, we secured them more firmly with bolts and nuts. We also accidentally ordered sensors that were too small, which made the signal less effective. In the end, we found that one sensor per square was enough, which made construction much easier while still ensuring the game worked well.

To make the game visually appealing, we added LED lighting. The LEDs had to change color when the sensor was hit. Programming this turned out to be a challenge. At first, we attached the LED strips incorrectly, which caused the signal not to pass through properly. We quickly learned that LED strips have a fixed direction—something you only get wrong once! The game ultimately had two colors: red and blue, keeping it simple and easy to follow.

The LED strips play an important role in the game because they indicate which squares a player has hit. Each player has their own color: red or blue. When a player hits a square with the ball, the sensor detects it, and the LED lighting in that square changes to the active player’s color. This makes it immediately clear which squares belong to which player and which are still available.

The result was an interactive and innovative game that was very well received. The teachers also said it was a super fun game. We received good or excellent grades across the board, partly because our supervisor saw that we worked on it after school and even on our free days.

I definitely think this game is something new. I’ve never seen it before, and it’s a really fun way to play tic-tac-toe. You’re physically engaged, not just sitting in a chair—you actually have to throw a ball and aim. That’s also why we chose elementary school children as the target group. It’s fun for kids to be active, develop tactics, and learn a bit of strategy.

I learned a lot from this project, especially in terms of teamwork. Next time, I’ll make clearer agreements within the team so that everyone contributes equally. Technically, I improved my building skills and learned how to properly connect components. My learning goal was also to improve my programming skills, but due to time constraints, I wasn’t able to focus on that as much as I would have liked.'