What Are ALT+CTRL Games?
ALT+CTRL (also styled alt.ctrl and altctrl) stands for Alternative Controller games—a community of video game makers that break away from the conventional ways we play.
Think beyond keyboards, mice, gamepads, or even motion controllers like the Wiimote or Kinect. ALT+CTRL games use unconventional, repurposed, or custom-built physical interfaces to create entirely new gaming experiences. A banana piano? A game controlled by breathing? A cardboard contraption that doubles as a controller? Yes, yes, and yes.
The term doesn’t just refer to the controllers themselves—it also captures a growing genre of experimental, playful, and often deeply creative games that challenge how we interact with technology and play.
Want to see more? Dive into the archive at Shake That Button to explore a treasure trove of ALT+CTRL game ideas.
Aren’t ALT+CTRL Games Only Playable at Events?
It’s true that ALT+CTRL games often debut at festivals, exhibitions, and showcases like alt.ctrl.GDC (North America), A MAZE Festival (Europe), Playtopia (Africa), or Make.Ctrl.Japan (Asia).
But they're not limited to on-site installations! With a bit of creativity, ALT+CTRL concepts can absolutely be adapted for at-home play, reimagining how we use everyday devices in unexpected ways.
Check out past altctrl@home creations like:
And from the broader indie scene:
-
B.U.T.T.O.N and J. S. Joust by Die Gute Fabrik and the Copenhagen Game Collective
These titles show how ALT+CTRL design can be accessible, hilarious, intimate, and deeply engaging—even from your living room.
Get Inspired!
Check out this playlist of ALT+CTRL games that you can play at home for free on itch.io. And here are some more... These games showcase innovative uses of standard devices in unique and playful ways. Unleash your creativity by turning your keyboard into a guitar, your gamepad into a phone, or connect multiple mice to your computer for chaotic fun, just like in Holy Shit and Mice Fight!
Divert a standard device to create a game that uses an ordinary controller in an unconventional and creative manner!
You can ask players to gather simple everyday objects—like a tennis ball in Trackball Driver Installation Disk, or a helmet in the wild Bang Bang Roguelution.
Or you can ask players to follow basic assembling instructions—like tightening a rope to the joysticks in Clever Cowboys Never Ever Bite That Cactus, or putting on gloves in the creative Shuriken.
Or, you can flip the script entirely: turn a mouse upside down to create a rolling car in Rollercars, or transform a gamepad into a ringing phone in Please Hold.
Join the ALT+CTRL @home Game Jam!
Let's see what extraordinary games you can make with ordinary controllers!
---
A Brief History of altctrl@home
The altctrl@home initiative was born out of necessity in 2020, when creators of alternative controller games suddenly lost access to physical exhibition spaces due to the global pandemic. Without festivals or galleries, we were challenged to find new ways to share and experience these uniquely physical games—right from our homes.
That challenge sparked a wave of creativity. The result? A new format where players could discover, build, and play ALT+CTRL games remotely. Since then, altctrl@home has become a yearly celebration of inventive, at-home alternative controller experiences.
Here’s a look back at the editions so far:
-
2022 - 2023 - Video presentation of the projects (→ [Play here])
-
2024 - 2025 : Short demo video of some projects (→ [Play here])