Can a New Screen Actually Fix Our Screen Addiction?

Techishly Jenn

A screen that fixes screens? That’s the bold new idea behind a brand-new gadget called Board — a 24-inch tabletop console where physical pieces are the controllers: knives that cut, stairs you build, spaceships you fly — all on a shared digital board.

Founder Brynn Putnam (who sold Mirror to Lululemon for half a billion dollars) and game veteran Seth Sivak (ex-Blizzard, World of Warcraft) join Jennifer to talk about their bigger bet: ending solo screen time and making face-to-face play effortless for toddlers, teens, parents, and grandparents alike.

We dig into how it works (and why an iPad can’t), why the “Best Family Game” can’t keep being single-player, what $499 actually buys at launch (12 original games and the pieces), and what it takes for a woman-led hardware startup to create a whole new category in 2025.

What starts as “Isn’t this just a big iPad on a table?” quickly turns into a deeper conversation about how we use screens, what real connection looks like, and why this one — powered by physical play — actually feels like magic.

🔑 What You’ll Learn

• Why Board exists: the problem with “family” tech that still keeps everyone alone on their own screens

• How the hardware + software + object recognition work together (and why a tablet can’t do this)

• Why Board’s games beat nostalgia, especially when the controller is a robot, a spaceship, or a stair block

• The intentional multi-generational design: From toddlers to grandparents, Board needed to figure out a way to make the platform seamless, regardless of age

• Price and value: why $499 aims to compete with consoles, not tablets, and what comes next

• Category creation in 2025: the realities of fundraising, shipping hardware, and a woman leading in gaming

📌 Episode Resources

• Board - ORDER TODAY [URL]

• lululemon athletica inc. to Acquire Home Fitness Innovator MIRROR [URL]

• Jenn’s Board review on Techish.com [URL] and USA Today [URL]

💬 Tell Us What You Think

Would you spend $499 to bring everyone back to one screen? What game would sell you on the concept? What topic do you want us to tackle next? Drop a comment and send your questions and hot takes for our follow-up Q&A.

💬 Connect with Jenn

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