Programable device

[KDC]

I'm making a game for a fate one of those where you follow the wire round until you reach the end I want to make it if you touch the wire you will lose a life and a buzzer will sound every time you lose one of your five life's after the last life has been lost i want the buzzer to sound longer and a light to go on how would I make something like this.

PS this is for my cadets so I would like to have replies ASAP as we have a fate in three weeks.

Thanks Kyle

[pebe]

Three weeks is not very long. Have you done anything like this before?

[KDC]

Yes I have done some basic circuits at school.

[pebe]

OK. You had best use a 555 as the tone length timer, and a piezo sounder that generates its own tone. Touching the loop to the wire would trigger the 555 for a certain time. It would also trigger the count of a 4017 decade counter, stepping it from 0 to 1.
At the 5th hit, the counter will advance to 5 and the CO output will go low. That can be use to increase the 555 timing period and switch on an LED. A reset button can restart the count to zero ready for the next contestant (after 10 attempts the counter will have gone back to 0, anyway).

Let me know if you want a circuit, but it will be several days before I can supply one.