I'm making a Legitsauce game machine that clips to your keys. It's about the size of a car key fob, with a bright square screen on the front and real buttons on the back. There's a solar panel along the top edge. No power switch. Press a button and you're playing.
It's an early prototype right now, and it's coming in spring 2029.
Why put games on your keys
I build small Legitsauce games for the wait at the coffee shop or the DMV. Or those five minutes before a meeting starts. Play a round, then put it away.
I think of them as games for the TikTok generation. A round lasts about as long as a short video. Nothing autoplays the next one, so you can put it down when you're done.
But even a short game on a phone takes a while to get to. You unlock it, find the game, wait for it to load, and swipe away a notification or two. By then half the wait is gone. A game that lasts a minute should start the second you want it.
So what about small devices? Something that does one thing and is on the instant you press a button. I wanted to see how small I could make one. Small enough to hang off my keys, it turns out. I can see a few places I'd use it.
- In line. Play a round while you wait, then clip it back on your keys before you reach the counter.
- On the bus or train. Keep it on your backpack zipper so you don't have to dig through the bag for it.
- Waiting rooms and lobbies. I want something to play without picking up my phone and getting sidetracked by notifications.
- Kids in the back seat. A few rounds of something simple, with a screen too small to stare at for hours.
What it does
- It fits on your keys. About 32 by 33 millimeters and 12 millimeters thick. Small enough to forget about until you want to play.
- A little square screen. The 1.3 inch square screen is bright and sharp, and not much bigger than a quarter. I build every Legitsauce game around short sessions, which suits a screen this size.
- Rarely needs plugging in. It cuts its own power completely when you put it down, so it can sit in a drawer for months and still be ready. The solar panel along the top edge tops it up in the light, so you'll rarely need to plug it in.
- No power switch. Press any button and you're back where you left off. Leave it alone for five minutes and it saves your spot and powers off.
- Buttons you can feel. The front is all screen. The D-pad, A and B, start and select are on the back, under your fingers. Each button has its own texture so you can find it without looking.
- No internet needed. The games are built from scratch to run right on the device. Nothing is streamed, and it never needs a connection.
It all fits in a space smaller than a matchbox. The animation below pulls apart the shell and solar panel, the screen, the electronics, the battery, the buttons and the back shell.
The games
It launches with two Legitsauce games that fit a D-pad.
- Space Type 2: Upgrade War. A 1950s black-and-white space shooter where you upgrade everything, even the graphics. I like how the black-and-white art looks on this little screen.
- Dirt Rush. Gas or coast down a trail that keeps getting rougher, flipping your dirt bike along the way. The buttons work the throttle and the D-pad leans the bike.
There's room for more later. I want to get these two feeling good in the hand first.
When
Right now it's an early prototype. I printed the first shell this week to test the shape. Ten minutes of holding it was enough to want a bigger D-pad closer to the edge. A and B needed more room between them, and the holes for start and select needed to be bigger. I've already printed the next version.
Next I need to wire it together and get the first game running on that little square screen. I'm aiming to launch in spring 2029. I'll share more early prototype photos and screens as I go.
If there's a Legitsauce game you'd want on your keys, tell me which one.