3D Printed Tactile Texas Hold 'Em Game Board and Pieces

I am currently a senior at Innovation Academy Charter School in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts.

My inspiration for the Tactile Texas Hold ‘Em model was memories of playing poker with my grandfather when I was little. It gave me so much joy bluffing and trying to beat him, and I wouldn’t want visually impaired people to lose out on the experience of playing.

To make the game accessible to visually impaired people, I added braille and every aspect of the board has different physical characteristics to tell them apart from each other. For example, each of the individual card holders have a different amount of circular corners, so the players do not lose their place on the board. There are also holders to keep all of the pieces in consistent places.

How to Play:

Texas Hold ‘Em is a popular variation of poker. In Texas Hold ‘Em, each player must “buy in.” Traditionally, Texas Hold ‘Em is played for money in casinos, but it doesn’t have to be played for money. Each chip type represents a different amount of currency. For example, a chip with one indent could represent 100, two indents could represent 250, so on and so forth.

To win Texas Hold ‘Em, you must be the only player remaining at the table. You lose Texas Hold ‘Em when you run out of chips or when you forfeit. If you were playing for money, you can quit at any time and would be considered a winner if you left with more currency than you started with. In casinos, players must give a portion of their chips to the house each round, typically a small amount.

Every round is played the same, but not every round is played to the end. First, each player is dealt two random cards from a standard deck of 52 playing cards. These cards are kept secret from the other players. One player must put up a fixed amount of chips called the “big blind,” and another player puts up half of the big blind called the “small blind.” Then, it goes around and each player is given three options. Their first choice is to fold and give up their chances at winning the round and any chips they have bet thus far. Their second choice is to knock/call and match the current highest bet of any player still in the round. Their third choice is to raise the bet, but it must be raised by at least the amount of the big blind. Once all players have met the highest bet or folded, all of the chips are collected and moved to the pot. If only one player remains (all others have folded), then that player collects all the chips that were bet.

The flop reveals three community cards, after the dealer “burns” one card (puts it face-down aside). Betting just like before commences and chips are collected in the pot. If more than one player remains, the round continues.

The turn reveals one community card, after the dealer “burns” one card (puts it face-down aside). Betting commences and chips are collected in the pot. If more than one player remains, the round continues.

The river reveals the final community card, after the dealer “burns” one card (puts it face-down aside). Final betting commences. If more than one player remains, each player reveals their two cards to see who wins. If you folded, you are not required to reveal your cards, though you can if you want to. Who wins is determined by the chart attached under the "Supplies" section.

  The winner collects the pot and all the betted chips. If there is a tie, the chips are distributed evenly. All cards are collected and shuffled, and the next round begins.

Texas Hold ‘Em has many rules that prevent you from doing certain things. However, the important ones are: don’t ever tell the truth about your hand, don’t look at other player’s hands before they are revealed, and don’t card count.

Winning Texas Hold ‘Em requires knowledge of the percentage chance of winning, bluffing, and attempting to guess your opponent’s cards. You may bet a high amount even if you have weak cards to get other players to fold, for example.

You will need a 3D printer and 3D printing filament.

The software I used to create this project was Fusion360.

Attached is the guide to poker hand rankings. Taken from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/betting/casino-guides/poker/hand-rankings-chart-cheat-sheet/

Note: The scale of my model is 1:6 (model size:actual size)

First, I created a circle and extruded it up 15mm. I then sketched out a rectangular chip holder for the pot, individual circular chip holders, individual rectangular card holders, community card holders, and a deck-of-cards holder. Every card holder, except the deck of cards holder, has circular corners in order for the cards to be removed. Every individual card holder has a different number of circular corners. I then extruded each of these elements 5mm into the circular game board. I then added indicators which separate the flop, turn, and river of the community cards, extruded 2mm up. Each of the individual chip holders has a rectangular extrusion in order to allow a player’s fingers to get at the chips.

Next, I added labels in braille for the flop, turn, and river of the community cards. Each of the dots has a diameter of 2mm and is extruded 1mm up. For the turn and river, I ran out of room so used “t” and “r” to represent them.

Then, I created one of the cards. The card is a 10mmx20mm rectangle, extruded 1mm up. It will be able to fit in the card holders on the game board. Each of the cards has an arrow indicating how it should be orientated to be read. For my example card, I created an ace of spades. The top half reads “ace” in braille, and the bottom half reads “spades” in braille. The braille and the arrow are extruded 0.5mm up. Underneath the card is a rectangular hole 0.5mm tall, so the cards can be stacked. I then sketched curved lines on the corners so it would be easier to fit into the card holders.

Finally, I created one of the chips. The chip is a circle 1.5mm tall with a diameter of 20mm. The circle has rings 0.5mm deep into the chip representing the type of chip it is.