How To: Control a Real-Life Maze Game with Your Windows Phone and a Netduino

There are tons of different versions of maze games. First, there were paper mazes that you had to draw your way out of. Then, there were computer and video games, and later, smartphone apps.

Now, Windows Phone developer Matt Cavanagh has put a modern twist on the classic by creating an app that can control a physical maze game with the accelerometer on his smartphone. Whichever way he tilts his phone, the board also tilts, moving the metal ball through the maze.

The app also keeps track of how much time it takes to complete the maze. The accelerometer in the phone communicates via Bluetooth with a Netduino, which controls the two servos that move the maze.

Matt 3D-printed the maze himself using an online maze generator for the design and mounted it on a piece of fiberboard on top of the servos. Check out the video below to see what the setup looks like beneath the maze.

You can find more details on the build along with all the code and relevant downloads over on Matt's blog.