After entering the world of electronics with my first project, I was eager to move onto something a little more complicated. Luckily, a Christmas gift from my girlfriend provided the answer, the Classic TV Game or Pong to you and me.

The concept of the kit is simple but brilliant. Once you've put together and soldered all the componets in the kit you're rewarded by hooking it up to the TV and playing virtual tennis against the computer or friends.

As with the previous MiniPOV kit, construction was relatively simple but that's kinda the point. These kits are designed as an introduction to electronics and allow you to practice soldering on real circuit boards. While I'm very new to electronics I have learnt some basics points:

1. A clamp that holds the board in place is essential (magnifying glass is a bonus)
2. Flux is your friend
3. A multimeter is a trusted companion that helps put your mind at ease during a build
4. Lighting is very important. Lots of good strong light on your build makes life a lot easier

One of the unexpected outcomes I've noticed while building these kits is the relaxing effect they have. I spend a lot of time coding wed sites, jumping from social network updates to emails, only giving each one some of my attention. However, when building these kits I become very focused, especially when soldering. A steady hand, precision and full concentration is required for quality solders and I find this level of focus very relaxing.

For my next project I've decided to ramp up the difficulty, and hopefully the fun, by building a robot. The term robot is a little misleading here as it's actually two motor powered wheels and half a ping-pong ball. Nevertheless, the construction and programming are significantly more complex and should provide a worthy challenge.