Pandora

A party game in one box · ETHGlobal Mumbai

Open…
or steal?

Everyone puts $1 in the box. Press gold and the box is shared. Press red and you take it all, unless someone else pressed red too.

Round 1Tap in
In the box$0
MAYA

Press Start to watch one table play three rounds.

What's happening

One table, three rounds, about two minutes. Watch how the deals work.

  1. Nobody trusts
  2. Buying gold
  3. Double-cross

How a round works

One box goes round the table

1

Tap in

Tap your wristband on the back of the box. $1 leaves your wristband and goes into the box.

2

Talk for 60 seconds

Press the joystick to start the clock. Promise anything. Make deals.

3

Choose in secret

The box goes round. Tap in to unlock it, then press A to open or Y to steal. Nobody else sees. Pass it on.

4

Reveal

Press the joystick to show each choice, one by one.

  • All goldEveryone shares the box.
  • One redThat player takes it all.
  • Two or more redNobody gets it. The money stays for next round.
Any time

Make a deal

The payer taps, then the receiver taps within 5 seconds. $1 moves from one wristband to the other. That's the only deal there is, and it works after the reveal too.

The deal

Why would anyone pay?

  1. Only one thief can win.Two reds block each other, and the money stays in the box.
  2. So the thief pays everyone else to press gold.$1 each gets their stake back.
  3. Nothing makes anyone keep the deal.Take the dollar. Press red anyway.

Round 2 of the show: $8 in the box. Lisa pays Alan, Josh and Yana $1 each, then steals.

Lisa −$1 into the box −$3 deals +$8 steals the box +$4
Alan, Josh, Yana −$1 into the box +$1 from Lisa pressed gold $0

Everyone gets their dollar back and Lisa keeps the rest. Round 3 is where Josh takes the dollar and steals anyway.

The box

A screen, a joystick, two buttons and a tap spot

Built from a Waveshare Pico-LCD-1.3, a Pico 2 W and an NFC reader, in a printed case you can hold in one hand.

See every part

People: Microsoft Rocketbox avatars (MIT). Room: Poly Haven Studio by Greg Zaal (CC0).