Ask Lemmy

I've yet to have a setup for mouse and keyboard. I've just used controller with steam input. But i plan on getting or making a folding table that i can use.

My main gaming pc is used like a htpc in my loft, so not my main living area, with an "occassional chair", kinda like a smaller armchair. So it shouldn't be too bad to whip something up that would fit that but i like to have things fully planned out before starting and my ADHD stops me from fully planning. Here's hoping i get it sorted some day soon in the next five years haha

I have the best cozy/lazy setup imo. Desk with pc next to bed. Monitor with monitor arm on the edge of the desk. Then just move monitor above bed. Bt mouse and keyboard works great on bed.

OG Steam Controller (I have the new one as well, but I'm not a big fan of the ergonomics).

Lapdesk

Trackball!

Steam controller.

The trackpads are great and weirdly make a decent keyboard too.

Not much of a PC gamer, but I have had a need to use a mouse without a desk. I swear by trackball mice. Personally I've been happy with the wireless Logitech trackball offerings, particularly the one with Bluetooth and a dongle you can tuck away into the mouse. Even at a regular desk, doing CAD work all day, it has saved my shoulder and wrist from stress and pain. I can basically sit in a relaxed neutral position and use my mouse wherever my hand falls, like on an arm rest. It may take some adjustment learning to use your thumb to navigate around, but for me it has been worth it.

Regular mouse and keyboard but on a lapboard with powered USB extension back to my PC.

Mine's an older, RGB-less (thankfully) version similar to this:

https://us.nerdytec.com/collections/couchmaster%C2%AE/products/couchmaster-lapboard3-gaming-lapdesk

mouse pad on big wide armrest

use something to create an armrest, like a box or book

but mostly I just don't do it, my hands and arms can't take using a mouse and keyboard that much anymore

You may find that a different mouse will work better. For instance, I have an MX Master 3 that won’t register movement at all on my couch. Meanwhile a cheap little $15 mouse reads just fine.

Unrelated, I miss my MX Master 2. The wheel was so much better.

I got a big enough armrest to use a mouse on.

Trackball mouse, either wired or wireless. No need to move the mouse at all besdes to get it into a comfortable position.

Only thing you really gotta worry about from there is occasionally removing the ball and cleaning where it rests from gunk that builds up and causes friction.

1. sock off
2. mouse on floor
3. foot mouse

I use a large sketchbook as a mousepad. The sketchbook sits on a pillow to lift it to the appropriate height. Works great.

I'm KBM at my desk, but controller on the couch.

If you insist on mousing, you're going to have to engineer yourself a stable flat surface. Options really depend on available anchor points and how permanent you want it, but start with a board and figure out how to to attach it, screws, clamps, dowels, zip ties, extra-strength velcro-strips....

If it's a couch upholstered arm rest, make it a table with the leg going to the floor on one side, and between the cushions on the other.

Worse case scenario, ditch the armrests and just put the board on your lap.

Edit: maybe thumb (trackball) mouse or trackpad.

I do all my PC gaming from the couch using one of those drawing boards with a pillow on the bottom, and a normal mouse and keyboard. I think we bought the drawing board for the kids, but I use it for gaming (and general PC use) almost exclusively.

I cut a piece of wood. One side sits on the arm rest, the other side has a pillow I use to prop it up. Works great!

The Steam Controller with its two trackpads and gyroscope paired up with Steam Input which lets you configure the controller (even non-Steam controllers) very granularly to your liking.

For shooters the best setup for me is to use the right stick for broad aiming and the gyro for precision.

For strategy and management games I use the right trackpad as a mouse and the left trackpad for hotkeys. In StarCraft I set up the left trackpad to be contained to the area on the screen where the selected unit's functions are displayed. Not good enough for multiplayer, but good enough for casual play.

Logitech Ball mouse. You move the ball with your thumb and your hand stays still. Takes a little getting used to.

Mostly a Steam controller. It works in almost every application or game.

I've also got a trackball for the few cases where the controller doesn't work. I don't use it very often because I don't think there's a comfortable way to use it on the couch without using a lapdesk or something.

Get a lap desk

I got a "CouchMaster" desk thing for working from home. Works pretty well. It's hard to setup an ergonomic couch though. It was very expensive for what it is though

KDE Connect Remote Input for me, but I mostly play mouse games on my desktop.

I just use a fat pillow and put a small mousepad on it if need be.

Steam controller

touchpad and thumb trackball are what I use.

I don't. Controller is for couch.

If I want to game with KB+M then I stream my lounge gaming rig to my desk workstation with Moonlight/Sunshine.

You could come up with some elaborate setup of lap tray or Steam Controller or Trackball or controller remapping...... They're all inferior to being at your desk.

Definitely not a gamer but what about one of those little tables for serving breakfast in bed?

Lap desk, book on the coach next to me, but steam deck/steam controller mostly

My usual gaming position is in my livingroom couch, keyboard in lap, mouse on the pillow next to me, and feet on the table next to my laptop. Mouse works fine in the couch. As long as it's not a reflective surface, it should work fine. Mine is cloth, so it's no problem.

Protip: I travel a lot, and often find myself in hotel rooms, trying to operate a mouse while in bed. Because I always travel with a plastic cutting board (regular white one I found at a shopping mall in Bahrain). It works well as a mouse pad, for when the sheets are no longer stretched perfectly flat. It also fits perfectly the bottom of the pelicase in which I carry my laptop.

I use my PC in the living room more than my office desktop these days so I've bought a bunch of shit.

So you'll spot the usual Logitech K400 Plus on my couch because it's the only available option for a trackpad wireless keyboard combo unit with physical left/right mouse buttons. Then I also use a separate wireless mouse, which works just fine on my couch arm fabric as is for regular browsing. K400 Plus is not backlit and it's creaky af, but the "competition" is tragically worse.

Generally I'll opt to use controllers for games, but sometimes I need a proper mouse+kb so I bought a cushioned wood lap desk and a better mechanical keyboard and then I reuse the mouse with it. Most recently Minecraft Eternal 2.

I use a logitech K400 and a bluetooth xbox or ps4 controller on the couch. Any game that needs intensive mouse usage gets played at a desk.