Reminds me of a toy I had back in the 70's where you attempted to drop bombs into cut-outs in a rotating horizontal disk by looking through an eyepiece with an attached 90deg mirror. The only controls were a lever that moved the mirror side to side and a trigger to release a bomb. It used a wind up spring motor and was entirely mechanical - I played it for hours.
Iain Sharp has built two physical Lunar Lander games, one of which is on permanent exhibition at the Under The Pier Show in Southwold, UK: <a href="https://www.underthepier.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.underthepier.com</a><p>* 2009: <a href="https://lushprojects.com/lunarlander/" rel="nofollow">https://lushprojects.com/lunarlander/</a><p>* 2022: <a href="https://lushprojects.com/lunarlandermk2/" rel="nofollow">https://lushprojects.com/lunarlandermk2/</a><p>He just built an absolutely beautiful mechanical version of Flappy Bird: <a href="https://lushprojects.com/appybird/" rel="nofollow">https://lushprojects.com/appybird/</a><p>Unfortunately I can't find any video of it running, but there's a picture here: <a href="https://oldbytes.space/@rc2014/112557511719828847" rel="nofollow">https://oldbytes.space/@rc2014/112557511719828847</a>
A "sweded" Lunar Lander with a moon that looks like a prop from an elementary school production of The Little Prince.<p>I love it.<p>Now, let me gently suggest they put the lander closer to the poles so I can see the distance between the lander and the "moon" more clearly.<p>Also, put a Go-Pro on the lander and give me a touchdown display.
This brings to mind a vague memory of a physical game in the 70s where you had a bomber above a rotating plate with landscape drawn on it. With target holes maybe? I'm not sure. You had to drop little heavy bombs, probably with lead in them, and had to try to hit the targets. The bombs may have been magnetic?<p>Weird game, but in the same vein of mechanical simulation.<p>EDIT: It was called "Chutes Away". Work blocks access to any board game site so I can't verify whether there's a good article on it...
Another Lunar Lander challenge: Land a 3oz paper bath cup on a paper plate without it or the cup tipping over, in Earth's gravity and atmosphere, multiple times.<p>Tools/Materials: Cup, Straws, Scissors, Masking tape, Paper plate
Reminded me of an electromechanical lunar docking arcade game (docking the Apollo Command Module to the lander on the way to the Moon). Can't find anything about it on the web, though.
Arcade game play + some ports: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plS_BH2ecS0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plS_BH2ecS0</a>