Uploaded December 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Earlier this month, I visited the one and only @joelsinventions, and we built a mini golf mini-machine in the four days we had. Follow the white golf ball as it makes its way through all the tricks, and over each of the grass surfaces in the machine, before landing in the hole at the end!
Support me on Patreon! patreon.com/jackofallspades98
LINKS:
Subscribe to TheInvention11: youtube.com/theinvention11?sub_confirmation=1
youtu.be/RlkGSXpEDco
The story behind this machine is a bit strange! I needed a place to stay for the first week of my winter break, so I decided to reach out to Joel on the off chance his family could host me for a few days leading up to Christmas Eve. Luckily, they were super inviting, and I was all ready to drive up to Canada! Initially, we hadn't really committed to the idea of building anything during my visit, in fact it wasn't until the day after I arrived that we decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up and that we really should build something. Plus, since I was coming directly from school, I had practically ALL my building materials with me, PLENTY to work with for a mini-machine. (That's also why virtually the entire machine is built with my materials)
Making a one-ball path machine with the theme of mini golf was entirely Joel's idea, in fact it's an idea he's had for quite some time. It was also his idea to cut up little pieces of his roll-out practice putting green to use as small patches of grass throughout the machine. Beyond the basic premise and aesthetic of the machine though, we didn't really have much of a plan. All of the tricks in the machine were thought of on-the-spot!
Overall, the process of building this machine was unbelievably seamless. Joel's style meshes perfectly with mine, so as a result, the machine retains a unified aesthetic. Because we've worked together so much in the past, anticipating each other's building tendencies is almost second nature. I have a pretty good idea of how Joel will approach any given issue, and Joel seems to almost instinctively know what I'm planning next for a specific section. And we have such a solid grip on each other's aesthetic preferences that we never disagree about what looks best. Something else that was surprising was that there was never a period where we felt stuck. It never felt like we ran out of ideas, which is certainly a risk when building a machine with zero pre-planning. We were both pretty much always working on something, we were never struggling to figure out what to do next. We also always had a pretty clear idea of the overall flow of the machine; there was never really any issue with figuring out the sequence of steps at the last minute and needing to make emergency connections down the final stretch. This machine is relatively small and not overwhelmingly complex, but still, we managed to make a VERY solid, reliable, surprisingly compact, aesthetically pleasing machine in four days, without ever encountering any major conflicts, and without running out of time, space, or energy. A lot of things had to go right for us to end up with a machine this good, so I'm very proud of the work we did in such a short period of time. I'm so happy I got to visit Joel again, and I'm even happier we decided to build a machine!
MACHINE STATS:
Time taken to build: 4 days
Number of fails: 39
Time: 0:32
Favorite tricks: Sliding magnetic track segment/Ring of Fire & Billiard ball launch sequence
Most fails: Sonimod grass segments/Uphill ball kicker
Most frustrating trick: Not a trick, but most fails were caused by the ball rolling weirdly and unpredictably due to its uneven texture and weight, not usually by any mechanisms of the tricks failing
MUSIC:
Zukira - Outside World
youtu.be/RE9Xog6cB78
Subscribe to The Arcadium for more free music: youtube.com/thearcadium
Follow Zukira:
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCo0505GNeLQ4hgBXZV1z9cg
SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/Zukira
Twitter: twitter.com/ZukiraMusic
Facebook: facebook.com/ZukiraMusic
Instagram: instagram.com/ZukiraMusic
Want to hang out with other chain reaction artists and enthusiasts? Join the official Domino & Machine Community Discord server! discord.gg/9x8trKhS8K
I am also interested in commissioned work, such as live events, commercials, or product placements. Contact me via e-mail at jackofallspades98@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Earlier this month, I visited the one and only @joelsinventions, and we built a mini golf mini-machine in the four days we had. Follow the white golf ball as it makes its way through all the tricks, and over each of the grass surfaces in the machine, before landing in the hole at the end!
Support me on Patreon! patreon.com/jackofallspades98
LINKS:
Subscribe to TheInvention11: youtube.com/theinvention11?sub_confirmation=1
youtu.be/RlkGSXpEDco
The story behind this machine is a bit strange! I needed a place to stay for the first week of my winter break, so I decided to reach out to Joel on the off chance his family could host me for a few days leading up to Christmas Eve. Luckily, they were super inviting, and I was all ready to drive up to Canada! Initially, we hadn't really committed to the idea of building anything during my visit, in fact it wasn't until the day after I arrived that we decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up and that we really should build something. Plus, since I was coming directly from school, I had practically ALL my building materials with me, PLENTY to work with for a mini-machine. (That's also why virtually the entire machine is built with my materials)
Making a one-ball path machine with the theme of mini golf was entirely Joel's idea, in fact it's an idea he's had for quite some time. It was also his idea to cut up little pieces of his roll-out practice putting green to use as small patches of grass throughout the machine. Beyond the basic premise and aesthetic of the machine though, we didn't really have much of a plan. All of the tricks in the machine were thought of on-the-spot!
Overall, the process of building this machine was unbelievably seamless. Joel's style meshes perfectly with mine, so as a result, the machine retains a unified aesthetic. Because we've worked together so much in the past, anticipating each other's building tendencies is almost second nature. I have a pretty good idea of how Joel will approach any given issue, and Joel seems to almost instinctively know what I'm planning next for a specific section. And we have such a solid grip on each other's aesthetic preferences that we never disagree about what looks best. Something else that was surprising was that there was never a period where we felt stuck. It never felt like we ran out of ideas, which is certainly a risk when building a machine with zero pre-planning. We were both pretty much always working on something, we were never struggling to figure out what to do next. We also always had a pretty clear idea of the overall flow of the machine; there was never really any issue with figuring out the sequence of steps at the last minute and needing to make emergency connections down the final stretch. This machine is relatively small and not overwhelmingly complex, but still, we managed to make a VERY solid, reliable, surprisingly compact, aesthetically pleasing machine in four days, without ever encountering any major conflicts, and without running out of time, space, or energy. A lot of things had to go right for us to end up with a machine this good, so I'm very proud of the work we did in such a short period of time. I'm so happy I got to visit Joel again, and I'm even happier we decided to build a machine!
MACHINE STATS:
Time taken to build: 4 days
Number of fails: 39
Time: 0:32
Favorite tricks: Sliding magnetic track segment/Ring of Fire & Billiard ball launch sequence
Most fails: Sonimod grass segments/Uphill ball kicker
Most frustrating trick: Not a trick, but most fails were caused by the ball rolling weirdly and unpredictably due to its uneven texture and weight, not usually by any mechanisms of the tricks failing
MUSIC:
Zukira - Outside World
youtu.be/RE9Xog6cB78
Subscribe to The Arcadium for more free music: youtube.com/thearcadium
Follow Zukira:
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCo0505GNeLQ4hgBXZV1z9cg
SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/Zukira
Twitter: twitter.com/ZukiraMusic
Facebook: facebook.com/ZukiraMusic
Instagram: instagram.com/ZukiraMusic
Want to hang out with other chain reaction artists and enthusiasts? Join the official Domino & Machine Community Discord server! discord.gg/9x8trKhS8K
I am also interested in commissioned work, such as live events, commercials, or product placements. Contact me via e-mail at jackofallspades98@gmail.com if you have any questions.
