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Couch PC gaming in 2025

S

shleepy

Limp Gawd
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Oct 23, 2008
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146
I'm a little surprised to not find a thread with "couch" in this forum since 2013!

Personal context: I'm mostly a PC gamer, and most of my little twice-weekly gaming friend group has switched to (or stayed with) PC's. But one friend is sticking with his PS5 because he's become accustomed to only gaming casually, with a controller, from his couch. Ironically, he's never gotten great at FPS/similar games with a controller, as a former PC gamer. My goal, if possible: find a keyboard/mouse solution or SOMETHING like it to get him to switch to PC gaming from his couch.
(And yes, it's obviously possible to get him a setup with a regular (e.g., Xbox) wireless controller with a PC, but I'd also like to to branch out to non-controller-friendly games sometimes.)

What I've found so far:
  • Lapboards seem dead, and can only be bought used:
    • Razer Turret still seems like the sleekest / most compact option
    • Other options, like Roccat Sova, Corsair Lapdog, or Couchmaster Cycon are much bigger... and even harder to find for sale
  • Hybrid controllers, like DarkWalker ShotPad / IFYOO GTP01, seem badly reviewed by users
  • Steam Controller is dead and was just a slightly non-traditional controller; Steam Controller 2 is likely coming out in the next year or two, though
Any other ideas? Does anyone else game with a non-traditional controller or keyboard+mouse from their couch and have any tips?
 
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Honestly, ive been pc gamer a LONG time. Since having our baby my gaming has become much more casual (at least for now) so I picked up a ps5 and put it in the living room and it has been a life changer as opposed to not gaming at all. And since I have picked up a few wfh days, i don't have to sit at the same pc for work and gaming. And low cost of entry.

Not what you are asking but don't discount it either.
 
A trackball seems like it would be better for couch use because you don't need a surface to move it around on. Either that or a trackpad, they have keyboards with trackpads built in that are meant for couch use.

They keep releasing new lapboards or whatever but they're never popular and since they're so niche they're expensive.
 
Darunion said:
Honestly, ive been pc gamer a LONG time. Since having our baby my gaming has become much more casual (at least for now) so I picked up a ps5 and put it in the living room and it has been a life changer as opposed to not gaming at all. And since I have picked up a few wfh days, i don't have to sit at the same pc for work and gaming. And low cost of entry.

Not what you are asking but don't discount it either.
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I am a long time pc gamer and now game almost exclusively on consoles and all the better if my friends and or wife can play with me.
 
make a lap desk or get something like this or accept using a controller...

https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Overbed-Table-Silver/dp/B002VWJZ8S
1737400371574.png
 
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Darunion said:
Honestly, ive been pc gamer a LONG time. Since having our baby my gaming has become much more casual (at least for now) so I picked up a ps5 and put it in the living room and it has been a life changer as opposed to not gaming at all. And since I have picked up a few wfh days, i don't have to sit at the same pc for work and gaming. And low cost of entry.
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Definitely a common sentiment among ~30+ year olds, including the whole work vs rest area thing (for those of us lucky to WFH at least sometimes). We have been sticking with crossplay games to accommodate that, but PC's just have so many more games!
 
shleepy said:
Definitely a common sentiment among ~30+ year olds,...but PC's just have so many more games!
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Most PC games these days seem to want a huge investment in my time before they are enjoyable. Well that isn't going to happen when you work 2 jobs and average 55 hours a week (and the wifey works full-time). I have way too much stress to spend 20 hours to get something out of a game. Games like God of War give you almost (within the first 30 minutes) a fun story and a sense of reward.

When I am fully retired and you early 20 year olds are in the swing of things I don't want to hear shit about me driving 5 miles an hour under the speed limit in the middle of the road (my half happens to be in the middle), at 7:30 AM on my way to get a coffee with the boys.
 
1.1.2.3.5... said:
Most PC games these days seem to want a huge investment in my time before they are enjoyable. Well that isn't going to happen when you work 2 jobs and average 55 hours a week (and the wifey works full-time). I have way too much stress to spend 20 hours to get something out of a game. Games like God of War give you almost (within the first 30 minutes) a fun story and a sense of reward.

When I am fully retired and you early 20 year olds are in the swing of things I don't want to hear shit about me driving 5 miles an hour under the speed limit in the middle of the road (my half happens to be in the middle), at 7:30 AM on my way to get a coffee with the boys.
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Single player grindy games can be balanced for those of us with work and families with trainers like wemod and things.
 
i used a strip of 1/2 plywood, then cut it the size of a large desk mouse pad thing, sanded it and used some glossy paint and the back of the mouse pad sticks to it, used cheap yoga blocks for the lifts. held them on with those large screw type wall anchors for dry wall and craft glue. i had the wood already, it cost me 35$ for blocks, mouse pad, and wall anchors. then over time i did fancy it up some.

i ran USB under the floor and up under the couch. great for flash drives and when wireless stuff isn't working.

using the steam controller settings I can use an xbox controller to navigate windows and surf the web. i set it up when i WFH during covid i didn't want game at my same desk worked at so I moved to couch gaming. i only use my desk for online FPS, most games are couch games now.
 
gesicht said:
i used a strip of 1/2 plywood, then cut it the size of a large desk mouse pad thing, sanded it and used some glossy paint and the back of the mouse pad sticks to it, used cheap yoga blocks for the lifts. held them on with those large screw type wall anchors for dry wall and craft glue. i had the wood already, it cost me 35$ for blocks, mouse pad, and wall anchors. then over time i did fancy it up some.

i ran USB under the floor and up under the couch. great for flash drives and when wireless stuff isn't working.

using the steam controller settings I can use an xbox controller to navigate windows and surf the web. i set it up when i WFH during covid i didn't want game at my same desk worked at so I moved to couch gaming. i only use my desk for online FPS, most games are couch games now.
Click to expand...
This is the only thing I miss about a crawlspace.
 
So i have the Turret, it's ok but it's not the one i like the most. I hate the idea that you can't really replace it if it breaks and i also hate the proprietary cable that they used for the mouse. The Corsair lapboard is the one to find. I have two, one for me and one for my wife. Using this 3d model (https://www.printables.com/model/866149-k65-plus-adapter-for-corsair-k63-lapboard), you can use the K65 Plus which is WAAAAY better than the old k63.

IMG_2888.jpeg
 
Benlehot said:
So i have the Turret, it's ok but it's not the one i like the most. I hate the idea that you can't really replace it if it breaks and i also hate the proprietary cable that they used for the mouse. The Corsair lapboard is the one to find. I have two, one for me and one for my wife. Using this 3d model (https://www.printables.com/model/866149-k65-plus-adapter-for-corsair-k63-lapboard), you can use the K65 Plus which is WAAAAY better than the old k63.
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That makes sense, but those lapboards are super expensive on eBay (the only place I can find them)... and I'm guessing quite a bit larger than the Turret? Kind of shocking to me that seemingly no-one has made a cheap modern alternative. I guess there wasn't much of a market for it.

Those adjustable overbed tables seem like a decent, economical option, if my friend is up for it, though! Thanks for those recs.

1.1.2.3.5... said:
Most PC games these days seem to want a huge investment in my time before they are enjoyable.
Click to expand...

Not to get into a video game argument here, but I definitely disagree with this. All kinds of PC games out there, from multiplayer-only games to tiny, short indie games. Much less variety with console games, across all fronts... and much, much less variety for crossplay games, which was the impetus for trying to get my friend group all on PC's!
 
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