Over at MAKE:, Bob Knetzger shows how to build your own miniature bagatelle with a clicking ballpoint pen providing the parts for the ball launcher.
They're ubiquitous: those clicking ballpoint pens. Find them at the bank, the doctor's office, or almost any place where forms and signatures are needed. Go grab a freebie pen and make this fun bagatelle: the Ballpoint Penball game! For the ball launcher, use the ink cartridge as the plunger, the button as the tip, and the compression spring for the launching force.
Toy Inventor's Notebook: Ballpoint Penball! (MAKE:)
