vaguely related: MENACE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox_Educable_Noughts_and_...

"A Tinkertoy computer that plays tic-tac-toe" - https://tcm.computerhistory.org/Timeline/TinkerToy.pdf and https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/X39.81

"Great Tinkertoy Computer" - https://www.science20.com/brain_candyfeed_your_mind/great_ti...

Ah, so that's where Fred Saberhagen got the gimmick for his first Berserker story - "Without a Thought" / "Fortress Ship", 1963.

(A spaceman uses a pet that plays with beads to simulate not being temporarily incapacitated by a 'mind beam' attack.)

Thank you.