This week we finished the first board and got ready for the interim demo. We figured out how to connect the button board to the LED board and assembled the stack. We also finished the software that maps buttons to LEDs. It now enforces that the robber is in only one place. If two presses happen at the same time and they aren’t adjacent, we ignore them without an error.
After the demo, we built the second board using what we learned from the first. We cut and assembled the switch matrix, reworked the LED layout, and did the soldering. We fixed switch-matrix issues and a Raspberry Pi connection bug. We also glued houses, glued LEDs, cut dowels, and laser-cut extra pieces and tokens. We updated the software for the second board too.
Both boards are now fully assembled with full functionality, so we can shift our focus and prioritize software.
Validation:
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- Board synchronization: We will trigger the same action on both boards and compare LED states and game state after each step. The test passes if there are no mismatches in the test log.
- End-to-end latency: We will measure time from a button press to LEDs lighting on both boards using timestamps or a simple stopwatch video. We will check the result against our latency target from the design report.
- Full gameplay run (rule-agnostic): We will run a short game flow: setup, placements, resource rolls, robber moves, and a long turn. The run is valid if interactions work, states stay consistent, and no manual rework is needed to recover from normal play.
- Usability check: Two people not on the team will set up the board and play a short game without our help. We will record task times and note any confusing steps.
- User Study: We’ll ask 4–6 participants to rate (1–5 Likert) setup ease, feedback clarity, responsiveness, piece placement, and confidence to use without help, plus note one confusion and one change.
- Safety and Durability: We will tug-test connectors and inspect for sharp edges or exposed wires on the final build. The build passes if nothing comes loose and there are no hazards.
Shared Verification:
- Button board + dowels: Measure dowel height and press each site 20 times. Pass if each press triggers once (≤1 miss) and no double-triggers.
- Switch matrix: Press every button 20 times and try adjacent/non-adjacent simultaneous presses. Pass if ≤5% misses, 0 ghosting, and non-adjacent pairs are ignored.
- Solder/continuity: Inspect joints and check rows/cols and LED conncections with a multimeter. Pass if there are no opens or shorts.