Loop activities
For reasons that seemingly amount to japery, Google have unveiled a double-sided, endlessly looping keyboard design – but only in Japan, and they’re not actually making it. However, the blueprints for 3D-printing it are freely available onGitHub, which is enough to convince me that someone needs to develop some kind of chaotic party game that uses the Möbius strip-shaped Gboard (good spot,Tom’s Hardware) as a controller.
While the keyboard itself is quite literally a joke – see its tee-hee ho-ho ‘trailer’ above – I am dead serious that it could be the centrepiece for an enjoyably competitive, 2-4 player button mash-off that would make the averageJackboxsession look like a model UN meeting. The circular, omnidirectional shape makes it perfect for gathering round in a group, and its fully mechanical keys – besides giving the Gboard some cred as a gaming peripheral – should be hardy enough to survive the furious bashing that ‘friendly’ party games inevitably devolve into.
Still, bigger picture: a keyboard like this twisting monstrosity could easily allow us to recreate Karting Khaos’ madcap vibe, but in the comfort of our own homes, and without the need for a table-sized controller. Just one about as big as a generous birthday cake, and that can fascinate mathematicians for centuries.
