Your Fellow coffee maker has a secret video game hidden in its interface – here's how to play it

Fellow makes sophisticated coffee equipment including a drip coffee maker, digital scales, and variable-temperature kettles. They're made for coffee afficionados, but it's not all serious business at Fellow HQ – each appliance has a hidden retro-style video game that you can play while enjoying your morning brew.

It's not at all obvious where to find these games, and they aren't mentioned in Fellow's manuals. When I tested the Fellow Aiden Precision Drip Coffee Maker in 2024, I had no idea what I was missing until someone mentioned it at a barista skills workshop I attended. At first I thought they were joking, but the games are quite real.

In fact, for its 10-year anniversary in 2023, the company held a two-day competition where it invited coffee-lovers to send photos of their high scores for the chance to win a top prize of "a $500 Fellow gift Card, a cape, a crown, and once-in-a-decade glory". Runner-up prizes included smaller gift cards and insulated tumblers.

There's a different game for each coffee-making appliance. The Aiden Precision Drip Coffee Maker has a Space Invaders lookalike called Spacey, Stagg EKG and Corvo EKG kettles have Wormy (which is very similar to the Snake game on old Nokia phones), Stagg EKG Pro kettles have Bricky (a remake of Breakout), and the Tally Pro Precision Scale has Jumpy (similar to Jump Man, or the Google Chrome Dinosaur Game).

Will the forthcoming Fellow Espresso Series 1 give you something new to play while sipping a cortado? We'll have to wait and see (it's currently available for pre-order) but I expect so. Here's how to play all the current games – and possibly prepare for the 2033 championships

1. Spacey

The Fellow Aiden Precision Brewer isn't your average drip coffee maker. It has several customizable user profiles, and a menu of dedicated brewing profiles for different types of coffee – and this is where you'll find the secret game Spacey.

Using the coffee maker's large dial, scroll through the menu to 'Edit profiles' and press the dial once to select it. Scroll through the next menu to 'Light roast' and press the dial again. Now scroll to 'Name | Light Roast' and press the dial three times in quick succession.

You're now at the helm of a tiny spaceship, which you can move left and right using the control dial. Shoot at enemies to destroy them, and collect as many Fellow logos as possible while you do.

2. Bricky

Fellow's EKG Pro kettles are designed for making perfect pour-over. You can set the temperature to the degree Celsius or Fahrenheit (many temperature-controlled kettles can only be adjusted in increments of five degrees), and the kettle will keep the water at that temperature until you're ready to pour.

EKG Pro kettles also have a hidden Breakout-style game to enjoy. To find it, turn on your kettle and remove it from its base. Press the menu button (beside the dial) once, then turn the dial at least six full rotations in either direction to launch the game.

Use your kettle's dial to move your paddle left and right, bouncing the ball to clear bricks. The game has multiple levels, which get faster as you progress. You have three lives, and your kettle will save your score for each level in your current session.

These scores will be cleared when you want to start brewing coffee again, though, so Fellow recommends taking a quick picture with your phone to remember your achievements. To exit the game, press the menu button once.

3. Wormy

If you ever owned a Nokia 'brick' phone, you'll remember Snake – the game where you control a tiny serpent that eat blocks, and must avoiding crossing over its own tail as it becomes longer. It's the first game Fellow ever built into one of its products, and it's hidden away in the Stagg EKG and Corvo EKG kettles.

As with Bricky, you begin by turning your kettle on and removing it from its base. Now just flick the Centigrade / Fahrenheit toggle back and forth, and eventually the game will load on its small circular screen.

Use the dial as a joystick to move the snake (sorry, worm) left, right, up, and down, and try to 'eat' as many Fellow logos as you can, as quickly as possible.

4. Jumpy

The Fellow Tally Pro Precision Scale might be small, but it's also hiding its own retro-style game. Jumpy takes its name from Jump Man, but it plays more like the Chrome web browser's built-in dinosaur game (which you can access by typing chrome://dino into the address bar).

You control a spaceman-like character (the titular Jumpy) as he runs along, dodging flying coffee mugs and jumping over Stagg tasting glasses. The longer you run without hitting an obstacle, the higher your score.

To start playing, turn on your scale, use the button above the dial to pick the 'Brew Assist' option, then turn the dial until you reach the ratio 1:42. Tap the timer button, and get ready to jump.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.