The Quirky Little Yellow Handheld That Helps Keep London’s Iconic Clock Ticking
If you thought the Playdate was just for indie games and cranking through puzzles, think again. Panic’s beloved handheld gaming device has found an unlikely second career — helping a clock mechanic keep Big Ben chiming on schedule.
The revelation came during an episode of Best of the World with Antoni Porowski, the National Geographic travel show hosted by the Queer Eye alum. During Porowski’s visit to London, he met up with Andrew Strangeway, a clock mechanic for the Houses of Parliament, who showed off an unexpected tool in his kit: a Playdate.
A Game Console in the Clock Tower
Strangeway, it turns out, has programmed his Playdate to assist with the precise timing checks required for Big Ben’s famous bells. The iconic clocktower — officially known as Elizabeth Tower — is renowned for its nearly 165-year history of reliable timekeeping, and maintaining that accuracy requires careful, consistent measurements. Rather than relying solely on traditional tools, Strangeway turned to the little yellow handheld as a portable timing aid.
This isn’t the first time the Playdate has appeared in a Big Ben context either. An earlier video showed Strangeway and a colleague using the device during preparations for Big Ben ringing in 2025 on New Year’s Eve — a globally watched moment that requires split-second precision.
Easy to Program, Easy to Love
Playdate, created by Panic Inc. and released in 2022, is best known for its distinctive crank controller, black-and-white screen, and curated seasons of indie games. But the company has always emphasized that the device is designed to be hacked, sideloaded, and repurposed — a philosophy that’s now paying off in spectacularly unexpected ways.
Taking to Bluesky, the official Playdate account celebrated the news, writing, “for real, though, this is the kind of surprising magic that happens when you make hardware that’s easy to program for, sideloadable, and with a nice SDK!”
Beyond Gaming
The Playdate’s use in the hallowed halls of the Palace of Westminster is a testament to what happens when hardware is built with openness in mind. While most gaming devices are locked-down ecosystems, Playdate’s SDK and sideloading support have enabled everything from custom games to — apparently — precision clock-tower maintenance.
“This is the kind of surprising magic that happens when you make hardware that’s easy to program for, sideloadable, and with a nice SDK.” — Playdate (on Bluesky)
The Playdate community has long celebrated creative and offbeat uses of the device, from music sequencers to tiny productivity tools. But helping maintain one of the world’s most famous clocks might be its most prestigious non-gaming job yet.
Why This Matters
The story highlights a growing trend in consumer electronics: open, programmable hardware finding unexpected real-world applications. As devices become more capable and easier to code for, the line between consumer gadget and professional tool continues to blur. For Panic, seeing their brainchild on a National Geographic show — cranking away in the shadow of Big Ben — is validation of their bet on an open, weird, and wonderfully useful little machine.
The episode of Best of the World with Antoni Porowski is available now on National Geographic.