As a PC player who generally opts for mouse and keyboard gaming, I feel a little cheated. You hear from friends and stories online, of people who get in after a hard day’s work, kick off their shoes and slum it on the sofa, controller in hand. PC gamers usually have to sit at a desk to get some comfortable gaming done. But not anymore, thanks to the Nerdytec Couchmaster Cycon 2, which enables PC gamers to comfortably sit on their sofas with their mouse and keyboard and not have to balance each peripheral on one leg or of the end of your knee.

The Couchmaster Cycon 2 comes in several parts. The main bulk of the product lies in the mainboard, which measures at 82 x 22 centimetres. The board sits on two cushions that are designed to go either side of you, enclosing you in the centre, giving you somewhere to rest your elbows while gaming. The cushions measure at 60x20x16 centimetres and are a perfect height to rest your elbows while playing, and I must say I felt no real strain when using the Couchmaster, like I have done with other lapboards in the past that rely on using your legs to balance. The cushions are covered in some form of suede type material that’s not only soft, it didn’t irritate my skin either, or feel sticky like when you’ve sat for too long on a leather sofa.

In the box, there are also some accessories you can dive into. The mousepad, which is branded with Couchmaster has a 3M sticky pad on the bottom of it so you can stick it down to the board itself so it doesn’t slide around. There’s also a small pouch that you can stick to the back right of the board to store your mouse when the Couchmaster isn’t in use. There are also some pockets on the left cushion for drinks, controllers, remote controls, snacks or whatever else a gamer wants to use it for. You also get some 3M velcro pads for the bottom of your keyboard, so you can also stick that to the Couchmaster to stop it from flailing around.

Okay, so how does it all work? Well, the Couchmaster Cycon 2 acts as a USB Hub. On the bottom of the board, itself are two magnetic doors, that are also held in place with screws if you wish them to do so. Inside these sections are two USB 3.0 inputs on each side, in which you would plug your keyboard and mouse into, as well as other peripherals. The cables trail through two holes at the top of the board, making it all nice and neat. From here, the Cycon 2 requires a single cable, which is provided to go between the board itself and your PC. It also requires power too, which is also a port that included on the same USB cable. It’s all very neat and tidy, and the way that Nerdytech have done this is great, as it means it only really has one cable leaving the board. The cable that runs between the board and PC is five meters long, plug an extra meter or so for the plug, so you can run it behind a desk or TV unit or similar. On top are two more USB 3.0 inputs, and one has fast charging capability for a mobile phone or tablet or similar.

It’s a complete all-in-one solution for PC gamers who want to sit back and relax on their couch and play games, and for the most part, it’s been built really well too. You could easily punch it a few times in frustration if you die a few too many times in games. The advantage here is the fact you can choose your own peripherals. If you’re looking at similar lapboards from Razer, Corsair or Roccat, you’re looking at being locked into their own keyboards. But, with Nerdytec, you get to choose. However, compared to something similar, like the Corsair lapboard, it has a space cut out that’s been made for Corsair keyboards. You can’t pick and choose. However, saying this, the Corsair lapboard costs around £59.99 online, and okay while you have to buy a keyboard on top of that, you have to do the same for the Couchmaster Cycon 2. Though the Cycon 2’s going to set you back £145 without a keyboard. So it could make it a pricey addition to creating your living room gaming setup. But it does have all the USB inputs and is comfy as hell to use, so there is that too.

There are also a few versions you can buy, which include a grey and black finish as well as a special limited edition Cyberpunk type style. You can find more information on the whole setup on the Nerdytec website.

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