UPDATE: Restocking

I am going to restock in increments so if you miss the restock notice, please be patient as more will be added as I get back up to speed. (my lab is a mess at the moment)

The Explorer Badge

This is the Explorer Badge which is also the 2024 eChallengeCoin.

As the eChallengeCoin, it replaces the series of interactive and story challenges with a completely new text adventure game Sara and the Dark Labyrinth.

But that is less than half the story.

This is primarily the Explorer Badge learning platform running CircuitPython. Its core purpose is to give the next generation of hackers and makers an all-in-one device for exploring Python programming and CircuitPython programming for hardware.

Call it the 2024 eChallengeCoin or call it the Explorer Badge - it is loaded with hardware to explore and learn, including:

• ePaper Display
• Neopixels
• Touch Sensors
• Traditional LED
• EEPROM
• Accelerometer
• IR Receiver and Emitter
• Polyphonic Sound with built-in speaker and I2S output
• USB-C
• LiPo Charging (battery not included)

It comes fully assembled and ready to challenge your skills!

If you're worried you won't be able to solve the text adventure game, the "Tips, Clues, and Spoilers" will be added to the webpage later in the year. If you are not interested in the hardware and just want to play the text adventure game, Sara and the Dark Labyrinth, it will be made available at the same time as a Python program.

While past eChallengeCoins, have been so much fun, I really wanted to pivot to something for the next generation to explore and learn new STEAM skills (science technology engineering arts mathematics).

To jump start exploring the Explorer Badge, there is a workshop series. The series starts with two workshops covering basic Python. These are designed for anyone - even if you do not have an Explorer Badge. The third workshop is an introduction to CircuitPython and all of the hardware of the 2024 eChallengeCoin / Explorer Badge. But users shouldn’t stop there! Adafruit has hundreds of CircuitPython learning guides and new ones are added every month.

Fun in a Less Little Package

The 2020 thru 2023 eChallengeCoins were about the size of a traditional challenge coin. For 2024 I needed to go bigger to accommodate all the new hardware. It’s now 84mm in diameter! The new size required having a custom coin case manufactured.

For 2024 we have Sara and the Dark Labyrinth where she finds herself in a huge maze and the only way out is to go through! This is a custom text adventure game reminiscent on Colossal Cave, ZORK, and more. Along the way you get to learn more about Sara - where she grew up, her childhood crush, her time at university, some of her adventures, and more!

The game is accessed through the USB serial connection so plug in and start the adventure!

One More Thing ...

Speaking of “plugging in”, you will need a USB cable so we include that too! The orange lanyard is a custom USB cable which supports USB-A and USB-C on one end and USB-C, USB-micro, and Apple lightning on the other end (so it is handy for all your devices).

Learn more

You can learn more about the Explorer Badge on its webpage.

International Shipping

Shipping rates, destination tax codes, and packaging restrictions have becoming too big of a challenge. We regret we have had to make the tough decision to suspend shipping to EU and UK destinations.