Slot machines are land-based casino staples. These venues’ star attractions, and they have been around for more than a century. The appeal of these games lies in their simplicity: they come in all kinds of themes, so they have variety on their side, and they feature big prizes.
All of this holds for old and new online slots, which are even more diverse and engaging than their land-based counterparts. But here, we get into how you can create your own do-it-yourself slot and experience some casino magic at home.
The Materials You’ll Need
Cardboard, a lot of cardboard, and glue. The best kind of cardboard is the corrugated kind. It is easy to cut but not flimsy, and it can fold well. Any paper glue should do, but for strong fusion, you may be tempted to go with a hot glue gun. The heat from the gun’s nozzle is unlikely to cause any paper-based material to catch fire, as its temperature is lower than paper’s ignition point, but it can still cause burns. If that scares you, use regular glue.
You will also need some fasteners for the spinning parts, a few wooden sticks for the base structure, and some paper on which you can draw or print symbols.
If cardboard panels are not easily accessible, you can use packaging from purchased appliances. For the reels, toilet-paper tubes are the smartest choice. A dowel of any kind is a must, which passes through a plastic straw inside the reels/tubes.
To jazz things up a bit extra, and add that Sin City pizzazz, you can opt for LED strips powered by batteries, and maybe a small mounted speaker to play looping music.
The Structural Assembly
If this project seems complicated, remember that people built functioning slots in the late 1800s. You should be able to make something similar in the 2020s at home.
Your device’s housing, the cardboard box, should hide the mechanics and be structurally sound to support all the inside parts. So, do a firmness test to ensure that it is stable enough.
The front panel should be cut so that it just shows the reels, but none of the internal workings.
After all that is done, mount the dowel, the stationary axle of your machine. You do this by poking holes through the sides of the box you just built. This must be done at the same height. Position the fixed dowel so the reels hang slightly above the edge of the window.
For the reels, which will be toilet-paper tubes, push a plastic straw through the center of each one. Then, slide the tubes onto the dowel. The straws provide a bushing. This lets them spin – independently. You’ll have to add washers to separate them so they do not rub against each other. That is important.
Nonetheless, what is most vital is the drive system. Without it, the reels do not spin, and the slot does not work. For this, you will need a lever on the pivot point, on the outside of the box, which will have an attached crossbar inside, one that runs behind the reels, horizontally. You will need to glue three flicker flaps on this bar, each aligned to an individual reel, and attach a rubber band, a strong one, to the lever, so when you pull it, the crossbar swings and the flaps flick the tubes into motion.
Once the lever is released, the band snaps it back into its initial position. For a sound effect, you can glue flexible flaps that will hit the tubes as they spin. This will create a clicking noise for higher immersion.
Decorating Your Slot Machine
In our opinion, you want to make your device super colorful. Make it look like a real one. Adding old lightbulbs around the frame may be a nice touch, but you should be careful that no one hits and cuts themselves on these.
Gluing coins is another good idea, as is giving your machine a name and coming up with a logo for it that you will paint on it.
For the symbols, we recommend going for the classics: bells, cherries, lemons, bars, sevens, and melons. Google old-school fruit machines, and copy the reel tokens you see on your screen. Remember, each reel should have the same symbols, so you can form a winning combo of three matching images on your one-row slot.
