Connect 4 Game

Using Arduino Project Guidance
1

I am making a game with 25 "plates" set up in a 5x5 grid and the players(two) have to throw a ball at the plate they want to be theirs. Each plate has an LED that lights up to the player's color and the opponent can "steal" a player's spot by hitting it after them.

Each plate has a mechanism that hits a push button to indicate where the ball was thrown. Can anyone get me started on what the best way to connect 25 buttons to one Arduino would be? I know very little about Arduino and thinking about this is overwhelming lol.

I already figured out I am going to be using a WS2812b LED strip for the multiple LEDs, but I'm not sure what the best option would be for the buttons. I'm also assuming I would need an external power supply.

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best way to connect 25 buttons to one Arduino

I don't know about the best way, but one way would be to use a Mega, so you had sufficient pins to do one pin per plate.

Then your going to need to figure out how to read what will probably be short button presses. Sounds like the game will be turn-based so that will be helpful.