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Idea

Extreme coin slide as a fun way to donate money

Image credit: photo by Greg O'Beirne

Darko Savic

Darko Savic Mar 16, 2022

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Long downhill coin slide as a fun way to donate money. A coin rolls down a long thin gutter, jumps from a ramp and lands on a target far away, then slips into a collection box.
Why?
Gamified micro-donations - a fun way to donate.
A way for people to compete while donating.
How it works
A large thin slide is constructed. It goes from the top of a hill to nearly the bottom. You insert a coin at the top and let it roll downhill. It gains speed and in the end jumps off a ramp. The U-profile is made from a thin aluminium or stainless steel:
The slide is calibrated with different coins to see where they land. A target is constructed and sized accordingly to where the coins usually land. Many experiments are done before the target is permanently fixed. 
After the coin hits the target it slides down into a funnel and ends up in a locked steel collection box. Someone periodically takes the coins out.
Imagine this, but with a coin instead:

Analog (metal gong target)
The target is created from 3 pieces of metal which make a sound when the coin hits them. The biggest round piece is in the background. It makes a dull sound. The middle piece is slightly smaller and positioned in front of the biggest one. The smallest (bullseye) piece is in the front. It makes a high-pitched "ding" sound.
The coin can hit only one piece of metal. When you hear the sound of the target, you know how well you did.
Digital
Optionally, a camera is pointed at the target and the feed can be seen from a monitor at the top of the slide. People can see how their coin performed and where it hit the target.
With a bit more complexity, the system can offer a replay of the latest several hits. It can even overlay the latest several hits so that people can compare how well they did.
The game
Friends compete to see how well they did with their coins. Each has 3 attempts, then they count the average score.

donation altruism games

5

Creative contributions

Release coins from multiple slots to create a melody

Darko Savic

Darko Savic Mar 16, 2022

Inspired by J. Nikola's and Spook Louw's contributions I propose the following:
A multi-lane slide that fits multiple coins simultaneously. One way to use it is for people to release their coins at the same time and have a race.
Another way to use it is to put multiple coins in pre-defined positions (lower, higher, etc). Then release them all at once. The result is a melody that gets created when the coins hit different pieces of metal at the target site.
It reminds me of this:

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Vandalism-proof design

Darko Savic

Darko Savic Mar 16, 2022

The U-profile is thin enough so that only cons can fit. Every so often there is a bar on top of the profile so that anything taller than the tallest coin gets pushed sideways. This removes pebbles and anything else people might put on the slide.

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Coin creates a pleasant melody while sliding

jnikola

jnikola Mar 16, 2022

I like the idea of gamified donations!
I would like to add an idea of coin sliding over the "keys" that produce different sounds. That way the coin could create melodies and make the whole thing even more interesting.

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Povilas S

Povilas S3 years ago

But how would you create different melodies by coins sliding the same exact path? Or would it just be always the same melody?

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jnikola

jnikola3 years ago

Povilas S It would be the same melody on one path. If there are multiple paths, as Darko suggested then we could combine melodies to get new ones.

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Darko Savic

Darko Savic3 years ago

What if the coin hits the target (structure) in a predictable way so that it results in a melody. People would then hit the target and be rewarded by more than just the "ding" sound.

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Universal token/chip

jnikola

jnikola Mar 16, 2022

What if you insert 1 euro and get a big coin, a token, or a small cart? You could just take it home as a souvenir or slide it down the specially designed track. That way people could "compete" under the same conditions and the results could be more comparable.
Of course, not everybody would like to donate the same amount of money, therefore, you can design slides for different coins, tokens, or cart sizes and create different leagues. Maybe it got too complicated, but I hope this will trigger more cool ideas.

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Darko Savic

Darko Savic3 years ago

If everyone in the group uses the same denomination coins, that's as equal conditions as it gets

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Make it a race

Spook Louw

Spook Louw Mar 16, 2022

Installing two such structures next to each other would allow people to compete against each other to see who's coin reaches a predetermined target first, which would add to the gamification and capitalize on people with competitive natures which could encourage even more donations!  
This might be a simpler alternative to your original idea.

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Povilas S

Povilas S3 years ago

If the slides were identical, whose coin would first reach the target would depend on who released it first, or if one slide is slightly more efficient in delivering the coins faster that would also show off soon. Therefore people would soon get bored with such "competitions", to make it more interesting you need to allow for more degrees of freedom in this.

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Darko Savic

Darko Savic3 years ago

Povilas S the slide is so long that even randomness plays a role. Coins randomly bump the sides which slows them down or jump a little which gives them an advantage.
If 2 or more coins are racing, people could release them all at once using a pen or a stick.

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Darko Savic

Darko Savic3 years ago

Perfect! Aluminium profiles exist that already have 2-3 or more slots. Those could just be welded together

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Add your creative contribution

General comments

Spook Louw

Spook Louw3 years ago

This could also be an excellent solution to this problem.

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Darko Savic

Darko Savic3 years ago

Spook Louw Indeed. A miniature version that fits inside the bar/shop. I added it here.

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