CircuitPython and Library Setup

The dreidel code is written in CircuitPython. So, first make sure you have the latest firmware installed, which can be downloaded from the CircuitPython website here:

Then make sure you have the following libraries installed. These should go in your CIRCUITPY/lib folder:

You can download the library bundle from here:

Bitmap Image Files

Next, you'll need these two BMP files, which contain the dreidel background image and symbols. Put these in your root CIRCUITPY folder (same place the .py code will go):

Dreidel Code

And here's the code for the dreidel game. To have this run automatically, save it as code.py in your CIRCUITPY folder.

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 Carter Nelson for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import time
import random
import displayio
import adafruit_imageload
from adafruit_circuitplayground.bluefruit import cpb
from adafruit_gizmo import tft_gizmo

SHAKE_THRESHOLD = 20

#pylint: disable=bad-continuation
# define melody to play while spinning (freq, duration)
melody = (
#      oh       drei       del      drei      del
    (330, 8), (392, 8), (330, 8), (392, 8), (330, 8),
#     drei       del         I       made      it
    (392, 8), (330, 16), (330, 8), (392, 8), (392, 8),
#     out        of       clay
    (349, 8), (330, 8), (294, 16), (0, 8),
#      oh       drei       del      drei      del
    (294, 8), (349, 8), (294, 8), (349, 8), (294, 8),
#     drei        del      then      drei      del
    (349, 8), (294, 16), (294, 8), (392, 8), (349, 8),
#       I       shall      play
    (330, 8), (294, 8), (262, 16),
)
melody_tempo = 0.02
#pylint: enable=bad-continuation

# setup TFT Gizmo and main display group (splash)
display = tft_gizmo.TFT_Gizmo()
splash = displayio.Group()
display.show(splash)

# load dreidel background image
dreidel_bmp, dreidel_pal = adafruit_imageload.load("/dreidel_background.bmp",
                                                   bitmap=displayio.Bitmap,
                                                   palette=displayio.Palette)
dreidel_tg = displayio.TileGrid(dreidel_bmp, pixel_shader=dreidel_pal)
splash.append(dreidel_tg)

# load dreidel symbols (sprite sheet)
symbols_bmp, symbols_pal = adafruit_imageload.load("/dreidel_sheet.bmp",
                                                   bitmap=displayio.Bitmap,
                                                   palette=displayio.Palette)
for index, color in enumerate(symbols_pal):
    if color == 0xFFFF01:
        symbols_pal.make_transparent(index)
symbols_tg = displayio.TileGrid(symbols_bmp, pixel_shader=symbols_pal,
                                width = 1,
                                height = 1,
                                tile_width = 60,
                                tile_height = 60)
symbols_group = displayio.Group(scale=2, x=60, y=70)
symbols_group.append(symbols_tg)
splash.append(symbols_group)

# dreidel time!
tile = 0
while True:
    # wait for shake
    while not cpb.shake(shake_threshold=SHAKE_THRESHOLD):
        pass
    # play melody while "spinning" the symbols
    for note, duration in melody:
        symbols_tg[0] = tile % 4
        tile += 1
        cpb.play_tone(note, duration * melody_tempo)
    # land on a random symbol
    symbols_tg[0] = random.randint(0, 3)
    # prevent immediate re-shake
    time.sleep(2)

This guide was first published on Dec 12, 2019. It was last updated on Dec 12, 2019.

This page (Dreidel Code) was last updated on Mar 24, 2023.

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