Why Games Work, and How to Build Them
<img width="800" height="484" src="![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Eclipse.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>Most humans like games. But what are games, exactly? Not in a philosophical sense, but in the sense of “what exactly are their worky bits, so we know how to 
alt=""/>Most humans like games. But what are games, exactly? Not in a philosophical sense, but in the sense of “what exactly are their worky bits, so we know how to Hackaday
Why Games Work, And How To Build Them
Most humans like games. But what are games, exactly? Not in a philosophical sense, but in the sense of “what exactly are their worky bits, so...
Hackaday
Why Games Work, And How To Build Them
Most humans like games. But what are games, exactly? Not in a philosophical sense, but in the sense of “what exactly are their worky bits, so...
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/How-Lacquer-Masters-are-made-changed-my-mind-about-vinyl.-JUST-LISTEN-TO-IT-2-20-screenshot-banner.png?w=800")
alt=""/>Most of us are familiar with vinyl LPs, and even with the way in which they are made by stamping a hot puck of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into a record. 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hadimg_mentraos_feat.png?w=800")
alt=""/>There are a few very different pathways to building a product, and we gotta applaud the developers taking care to take the open-source path. Today’s highlight is [Mentra], who is 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/diesel-heater-featured.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>Not a huge percentage of our readers probably get their heat from diesel fuel, but it’s not uncommon in remote areas where other fuels are hard to come-by. If you’re 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/dashboard_01ad7d-e1764829295531.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>Cats can be wonderful companions, but they can also be aloof and boring to hang out with. If you want to get a little more out of the relationship, consider 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Automation.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>Al and I were talking on the podcast about the Home Assistant home automation hub software. In particular, about how devilishly well designed it is for extensibility. It’s designed to 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/lactose-biohack.jpg?w=800")
alt="A biohacker with her lactose-rich slurry"/>A significant fraction of people can’t handle lactose, like [HGModernism]. Rather than accept a cruel, ice cream free existence, she decided to do something you really shouldn’t try: biohacking her 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hadimg_pjon_hw_feat.png?w=800")
alt=""/>Did OneWire of DS18B20 sensor fame ever fascinate you in its single-data-line simplicity? If so, then you’ll like PJON (Padded Jittering Operative Network) – a single-wire-compatible protocol for up to 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/bearsq.png?w=625")
alt=""/>Admit it or not, you probably have a teddy bear somewhere in your past that you were — or maybe are — fond of. Not to disparage your bear, but 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/giant_insects_the_thought_emporium_youtube.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>Have you ever found yourself looking at the insects of the Paleozoic era, including the dragonfly Meganeuropsis permiana with its 71 cm wingspan and wondered what it would be like 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/librepods_app_f500c0.png?w=800")
alt=""/>Apple’s AirPods can pair with their competitors’ devices and work as basic Bluetooth earbuds, but to no one’s surprise most of their really interesting features are reserved for Apple devices. 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Not-Just-a-Walnut-%E2%80%94-Its-a-Secret-Camera-I-Created-4-31-screenshot.png?w=800")
alt=""/>Typically, if you happened across a walnut lying about, you might consider eating it or throwing it to a friendly squirrel. However, as [Penguin DIY] demonstrates, it’s perfectly possible to 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/doomrate_fcfce5-e1765521710843.jpg?w=800")
alt="rat playing doom"/>We all know that you can play DOOM on nearly anything, but what about the lesser known work being done to let other species get in on the action? For 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/cherry-G84-4100-featured.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>The choice of a good keyboard is something which consumes a lot of time for many Hackaday readers, judging by the number of custom input device projects which make it 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/microphone.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams met up to cover the best of Hackaday this week, and they want you to listen in. There were a hodgepodge of hacks 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/I-Built-a-Retro-AI-Console-That-Shouldnt-Exist-7-20-screenshot.png?w=800")
alt=""/>The Landel Mailbug was a weird little thing. It combined a keyboard and a simple text display, and was intended to be a low-distraction method for checking your email. [CiferTech] 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/darkarts.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>Microsoft has published a patch-set for the Linux kernel, proposing the Hornet Linux Security Module (LSM). If you haven’t been keeping up with the kernel contributor scoreboard, Microsoft is #11 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/mars-1.png?w=800")
alt=""/>When the orbit of NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft took it behind the Red Planet on December 6th, ground controllers expected a temporary loss of signal (LoS). 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hadimg_iphone_backupper_feat.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>What if you find yourself as an iPhone owner, desiring a local backup solution — no wireless tech involved, no sending off data to someone else’s server, just an automatic 
![image](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Diapasonix-v1-1536x864-1.jpg?w=800")
alt=""/>There are a million and one MIDI controllers and synths on the market, but sometimes it’s just more satisfying to make your own. [Turi Scandurra] very much went his own 