Hackaday Europe 2026: PCBs With A Plot

Printed circuit boards were developed first for function over form. They were a way to mount components and connect them in a stable, solid fashion, while taking into regard things …. Europe 2026: PCBs With A Plot.

Circuit boards often end up looking cool in a techy kind of way, but their aesthetic is usually very much secondary to their actual purpose. Katrin Dietzsch likes to use her PCBs a little differently, however. She designs boards that are intended to be a narrative tool for tabletop roleplaying, and came down to Europe 2026 to walk us through the development of this very whimsical hardware.

Roll For It Katrin starts her talk by explaining how she came to design circuits specifically for tabletop gaming. She saw an opportunity to combine her hardware hobby with the world of TTRPGs to help maintain both hobbies amidst a busy lifestyle. She also found that hardware she built could be a great artistic medium for supporting mystery and storytelling in the tabletop world.