Mike Murray from The Geek Pub and co-owner of the Time Rift Arcade repairs a broken Flintstones Lucky Eggs arcade machine using an Arduino Uno and a stepper motor.
The Flintstones Lucky Eggs, released in 1978, is a vintage arcade machine. Players insert a coin and watch as a mechanical Fred Flintstone character release a small plastic eggs. These eggs roll down a chute, and the player collects them to find small prizes or trinkets inside. The game is cherished for its nostalgic appeal and simple, engaging gameplay, making it a classic favorite in arcades.
Watch the Flintstones Lucky Eggs Video
Finding Flintstones Lucky Eggs
Mike Woods from Electric Starship Arcade and also co-owner of the Time Rift Arcade is the absolute master of finding games that we’re looking for. He found this Lucky Eggs machine for sale at the Stevie’s Diner going out of business sale (they were located in Keller, Texas). It was a sad time because Stevie’s was such a great place to grab breakfast. But it was also a happy time for us to be able to take possession of their amazing Lucky Eggs machine!
Condition of the Machine
The machine was in great shape, but unfortunately the motor and gear box were toast. The motor was missing the bearings and the magnets were missing. The gearbox worm gear was also so worn that it was skipping and it was just a matter of time before it failed completely.
Flintstones Lucky Eggs Replacement Motor & Arduino
Mike decided to replace the motor with a stepper motor he had in our parts bin connected to a closed-loop driver.
I used a Geek Pub Arduino clone for the main-board and rewrote all of the functionality in C. I also added some amazing cool new features such as an attract mode, addressable LEDs, and more.
The LEDs are normally just solid white, but when the game is coined-up or playing an attract mode, it goes into a fireworks display.
The Finished Flintstones Lucky Eggs Game
The game functions way better (and cooler) than the original game did. This will be far more reliable and should last for years to come.
For those who are wondering we did keep all of the original parts in case we ever wanted to sell the machine or put it back to original for some reason.
