Note: This article is based on publicly available information about the 2024 Tiny Games Challenge, the Sub-Surface Simon project, maker coverage, ATtiny84A component references, and the history of the classic Simon memory game. External links are intentionally omitted for clean web publishing.
A Tiny Game With a Ridiculously Big Personality
Every so often, a maker project appears and quietly rewires your definition of “small.” Then there is Sub-Surface Simon, a project that does not merely shrink a game down to chip size. It stuffs the game physically inside the chip package, looks around, and says, “What, you needed elbow room?”
The project, created by the maker known as alnwlsn, was submitted to the 2024 Tiny Games Contest, also called the Tiny Games Challenge, hosted on Hackaday.io. The contest asked builders to create electronic games using minimal space, minimal parts, tiny code, unusual controls, clever packaging, or all of the above. Sub-Surface Simon took that prompt so literally that it became almost comedic: a working version of the classic Simon memory game placed inside the body of a DIP-14 ATtiny84A microcontroller.
In other words, this is not a “game on a chip” in the usual marketing sense. This is a game in a chip. The difference is small in wording and enormous in engineering absurdity.
What Was the 2024 Tiny Games Contest?
The 2024 Tiny Games Contest celebrated the delightful tension between limitation and creativity. The idea was simple: make an electronic game that delivers fun while keeping the setup tiny. Tiny could mean a tiny enclosure, tiny code, tiny power requirements, tiny components, or a tiny interface. As anyone who has ever dropped a 0603 resistor into carpet can confirm, tiny also means tiny panic attacks.
The challenge attracted nearly 80 completed projects, ranging from miniature arcade concepts to clever one-button games and unusual memory puzzles. The top projects received recognition and prizes, but the true reward was seeing how many ways makers could turn constraints into personality. Some projects relied on elegant software. Others used unusual displays. Sub-Surface Simon won attention because it transformed the physical package of a component into the game enclosure itself.
The contest categories encouraged builders to revisit classics, design pocketable games, experiment with controls, and polish the final look. Sub-Surface Simon managed to hit several of those notes at once. It was a classic game, it was pocket-sized to a hilarious degree, its interface was physically daring, and its finish had the strange beauty of a science fair project built by someone who has made peace with tweezers.
What Is Sub-Surface Simon?
Sub-Surface Simon is a working Simon-style memory game built around an ATtiny84A, an 8-bit AVR microcontroller commonly available in a 14-pin dual in-line package. Instead of mounting LEDs and buttons on a separate printed circuit board, alnwlsn milled away excess plastic from the top of the chip package and embedded the extra parts within the remaining space.
The result is a complete playable game that stays within the physical boundary of the chip package. Plug it into a powered breadboard, and the tiny object behaves like a miniature game console that somehow escaped from a laboratory drawer.
The Simon Game Formula
The original Simon electronic game was introduced in 1978 and became famous for its simple but addictive loop. The device plays a sequence of lights and tones. The player repeats the sequence. If the player succeeds, the sequence grows longer. If the player misses, the game ends. It is memory training disguised as a toy, or possibly a toy disguised as a tiny judgment machine.
Sub-Surface Simon follows the same core idea. Four LEDs display a randomized pattern, and four buttons allow the player to repeat that pattern. The gameplay is familiar, but the packaging is wonderfully unexpected. The original Simon was a colorful tabletop saucer. This version looks like a microcontroller that has been keeping secrets.
Why the “Sub-Surface” Idea Is So Clever
Surface-mount technology places components on the surface of a circuit board. Sub-Surface Simon jokes with that concept by going deeper. The extra components are placed below the surface of the original chip package, inside space created by removing unused plastic.
This works because many integrated circuit packages are larger than the actual silicon die inside. A DIP package contains the tiny die, metal leadframe, bond wires, and a molded plastic body. Not every cubic millimeter of that plastic is functionally sacred. Some of it is mechanical protection and packaging volume. Sub-Surface Simon exploits that reality in the most playful way possible.
Of course, “possible” does not mean “easy.” The project required careful milling, delicate wiring, patient soldering, and the kind of steady hand that makes ordinary coffee look like a lifestyle mistake. Small wires had to connect to the exposed leadframe. LEDs and buttons had to be arranged in an extremely limited space. The build also needed to remain functional after the chip package had been modified.
The Hardware Behind the Magic
The main component is an ATtiny84A, a small 8-bit AVR microcontroller. In its DIP-14 form, it provides a familiar through-hole package with 14 pins and enough input/output capability for a compact game. The ATtiny84A family is known for low-power embedded applications, simple development workflows, and enough flexibility for small interactive projects.
For Sub-Surface Simon, the microcontroller drives four LEDs and reads four buttons. That may sound modest, but in tiny hardware, modest is not a weakness. It is the whole sport. The challenge is not whether a microcontroller can run a Simon game. The challenge is whether the entire physical experience can live inside a package most people would normally treat as a single component.
A DIP Package Becomes a Game Cabinet
A dual in-line package, or DIP, is usually valued because it is easy to place in a breadboard or through-hole circuit board. It has two parallel rows of pins and a rectangular body. For beginners, DIP chips are friendly. For this project, the DIP body becomes something else: an enclosure, a stage, and a punchline.
That transformation is the genius of the build. Sub-Surface Simon does not hide its constraints. It performs them. The chip body is no longer just packaging; it becomes the arcade cabinet. The pins are not just electrical contacts; they are also the legs of a microscopic table where memory games happen.
Building Inside the Chip: Small Parts, Big Nerves
According to the project documentation, the package was milled to reveal usable internal structure and create space for the added components. The maker described using careful manual control, small wires, hot air, a fine-tipped soldering iron, flush cutters, a knife, tweezers, and flux. In maker terms, that is less a tool list and more a confession.
The assembly method involved connecting fine wires to the exposed leadframe and arranging small surface-mount components in a style related to dead-bug construction. In dead-bug electronics, components are often flipped upside down and wired directly rather than mounted on a traditional PCB. It can look chaotic to outsiders, but when done well, it is an art form. Think electronic taxidermy, but useful.
Sub-Surface Simon is impressive because it combines several skills at once: microcontroller programming, miniature assembly, mechanical modification, soldering discipline, and design restraint. None of those skills alone is shocking. Combining them inside a plastic chip package is where the project becomes memorable.
Why Sub-Surface Simon Won First Place
When the winners of the 2024 Tiny Games Contest were announced, Sub-Surface Simon took first place. The project reportedly earned an exceptionally rare perfect score from the judges. That result makes sense because the entry captured the contest theme with unusual precision.
It was tiny in size, tiny in interface, and tiny in parts count. It was also a real playable game, not merely a display piece. It referenced a beloved classic while adding a fresh technical twist. Most importantly, it made people smile. Engineering contests reward function, but the projects people remember usually have personality. Sub-Surface Simon has enough personality to require its own tiny dressing room.
The Power of Constraints in Maker Culture
Sub-Surface Simon is a perfect example of how constraints can create better ideas. If the contest had simply asked people to make “a game,” the result might have been another small handheld device. Nice, useful, and perhaps forgettable. But when the challenge asked for tiny games, the design space became more interesting.
Constraints force decisions. A tiny game cannot rely on a large screen, complex controls, or sprawling hardware. It needs a tight loop. It needs clarity. It needs to make every part matter. That is why Simon works so well here. The game’s core design is already compact: four outputs, four inputs, a sequence, and a player’s memory. It is almost as if the 1978 classic had been waiting decades to move into a microcontroller apartment.
Small Does Not Mean Simple
One of the funniest lessons from this project is that “small” and “simple” are not synonyms. A small object can hide a very complex build process. Sub-Surface Simon looks minimal, but it required careful decisions at every level. Which microcontroller package leaves enough room? How much plastic can be removed safely? Where can the LEDs and buttons fit? How do you route wires without turning the project into metallic spaghetti?
That is why tiny hardware often impresses experienced makers. The difficulty is not always in the schematic. Sometimes the schematic is the easy part. The real battle happens between the tweezers, the thermal behavior of the metal pins, and the universal law that tiny parts enjoy vanishing at dramatic moments.
Why the Classic Simon Game Still Works
Simon remains popular because its rules are instantly understandable. Watch the lights. Remember the order. Repeat the pattern. That is it. The challenge grows naturally because each round adds more information to remember. There is no manual the size of a sandwich. There is no skill tree. There is only you, the pattern, and the quiet suspicion that you were smarter three seconds ago.
This simplicity makes Simon ideal for experimental hardware. The interface can be large or tiny, colorful or monochrome, loud or silent. The basic design survives translation. Sub-Surface Simon proves that the game can even survive being compressed into a chip package.
Design Lessons From Sub-Surface Simon
1. A Strong Concept Beats Feature Creep
Sub-Surface Simon does not need wireless connectivity, a companion app, cloud saves, or a dramatic firmware update roadmap. Its concept is strong enough on its own. The project promises a Simon game inside a chip package and then delivers exactly that. In a world full of gadgets trying to do everything, there is something refreshing about a project that knows its joke and lands it perfectly.
2. Documentation Matters
Maker projects become more valuable when others can learn from them. Sub-Surface Simon included build details, photos, and explanation of the process. That documentation turns a clever one-off into a teaching object. Readers can understand not just what was built, but why it works and what made it difficult.
3. Playability Still Counts
A tiny game is still a game. It must be playable, even if the buttons are very small and the experience feels like challenging a microchip to a memory duel. Sub-Surface Simon succeeded because it was not only a technical stunt. It preserved the recognizable loop of Simon and turned the act of playing into part of the joke.
Why Makers Loved It
Sub-Surface Simon spread through maker communities because it has the rare quality of being understandable at a glance and impressive on closer inspection. Beginners can appreciate the absurdity: someone put a game inside a chip. Experienced hardware people can appreciate the deeper madness: someone exposed a leadframe, embedded parts, routed tiny connections, and still made the game work.
That dual appeal is powerful. Good projects speak to multiple audiences. Sub-Surface Simon is cute to casual readers, funny to retro game fans, and technically satisfying to electronics builders. It is also a reminder that innovation does not always require expensive equipment or massive teams. Sometimes it requires a small microcontroller, a strange idea, and the stubborn belief that plastic packaging is just unused real estate.
The Humor of Taking Words Literally
Much of the charm comes from the project’s literal interpretation of common phrases. “Game on a chip” usually means the code runs on a chip. Sub-Surface Simon says, “No, no, let us be precise.” The game is physically inside the chip’s package. It is a visual pun made of LEDs, buttons, and extremely patient assembly.
This is the kind of humor hardware people love because it is both silly and difficult. Anyone can make a pun. Fewer people can make a pun that requires milling a microcontroller package and soldering to an exposed leadframe.
Experiences Related to “2024 Tiny Games Contest: Spectacular Sub-Surface Simon”
Spending time with a project like Sub-Surface Simon changes how you look at ordinary components. A DIP microcontroller on a workbench usually looks complete. It has a body, pins, markings, and a job. After learning about Sub-Surface Simon, that same chip starts to look suspiciously spacious. You begin to wonder what else might be hiding inside everyday electronics, and whether the humble parts drawer is actually a neighborhood of tiny vacant lots.
The first experience this project creates is surprise. Most miniaturized games use a small PCB, a coin cell, a tiny display, or a compact enclosure. That is expected. Sub-Surface Simon skips the expected enclosure and turns the component itself into the housing. The moment the idea clicks, it feels obvious and impossible at the same time. That is usually the signature of a great maker project.
The second experience is respect. The build is playful, but it is not casual. Working at this scale demands patience. The parts are small, the tolerances are narrow, and the margin for error is thin. One careless movement can damage the package, lift a connection, or create a short. This is the sort of project that reminds builders to slow down, organize the workspace, and avoid rushing. For younger makers or beginners, it is best treated as inspiration rather than a first project, especially because the tools involved require care, ventilation, and experienced supervision.
The third experience is nostalgia. Simon is a familiar game for many people because it belongs to the history of electronic play. Its lights-and-memory formula feels almost universal. Sub-Surface Simon keeps that core emotion intact while making the object radically smaller. It is like hearing a classic song played on a music box the size of a postage stamp. The tune is recognizable, but the format makes you grin.
The fourth experience is creative pressure. The Tiny Games Contest showed that limitations can be energizing rather than restrictive. When builders are told to make something tiny, they stop asking, “What can I add?” and start asking, “What can I remove without losing the fun?” That question leads to better design. Sub-Surface Simon removes almost everything except the essential loop: show a pattern, accept input, increase difficulty, repeat.
The final experience is motivation. Many makers have a mental shelf full of “someday” ideas. A contest deadline can turn someday into late-night action. Sub-Surface Simon has that deadline energy baked into its story. It feels like the product of curiosity, humor, and just enough pressure to make a ridiculous idea real. That is why the project matters beyond its size. It is not only a tiny game. It is proof that a strong constraint, a classic concept, and a fearless sense of fun can produce something unforgettable.
Conclusion: A Tiny Game That Deserved the Spotlight
2024 Tiny Games Contest: Spectacular Sub-Surface Simon is more than a clever electronics stunt. It is a miniature argument for creative engineering. It shows that familiar games can feel new when the format changes. It proves that packaging can become part of the design. It reminds makers that constraints are not creativity’s enemy; they are often the mischievous little coach yelling, “Smaller! Stranger! Again!”
Sub-Surface Simon won first place because it understood the contest better than almost anything else could. It was tiny, playable, documented, funny, and technically bold. It took the classic Simon memory game, squeezed it into the physical space of an ATtiny84A DIP-14 package, and turned a microcontroller into a microscopic arcade cabinet.
In a maker world filled with ambitious projects, Sub-Surface Simon stands out because it is charmingly unnecessary in the best possible way. Nobody needed a Simon game hidden inside a chip package. That is exactly why it is wonderful.
