Constraint and creativity.
405 machines. 81 flaps each. Every word, drawing, and game has to find its way through that little board.
Not every detail survives. Sometimes that’s where the magic happens.
About ClackSnack
A board of little machines, made for the room you live in.
ClackSnack turns your TV into a split-flap Display made of 405 little machines. Each turns through its own wheel of letters and colors until the right one falls into place.
You choose what they show from your phone. Some days it’s a good-morning message. Other days, a drawing, a riddle, or a game that gets everyone in the room playing together.
How it started
Hi, I’m Adam.
I’m a dreamer, and ClackSnack began with a fairly simple idea: I wanted a split-flap board for sending silly messages to my family from the other room.
A good morning here. A terrible joke there. Nothing terribly ambitious.
I should probably mention that I have a tendency to obsess over the smallest details. The sound of a flap. The timing of a turn. Whether 28 degrees is precisely the right angle for a slash. You know, the important things.
Then we started playing games.
Guessing a word as its letters clattered into place became a favorite at home. One game led to another, and before long, those little machines were hosting family game nights.
And the ideas kept coming. Artwork, stories, weather forecasts, card readings, and little glimpses of what’s happening in the world. Ways to make the board useful, surprising, or simply delightful. And there are still more ideas rattling around in my head than I know what to do with.
What started as a simple message board had become something much more interesting. A little machine for curiosity, creativity, and connection.
Things have gone a little off the rails since then. Which is funny, considering this whole thing started with a railway departure board.
It’s brought so much laughter into our home that I thought it might be worth sharing.
A little history of the clack
There’s something about the sound of an old railway departure board.
A sudden clatter, hundreds of little flaps turning, and a room full of people looking up to see where the world might take them next.
Behind each character was a small machine carrying a wheel of printed flaps. To change a letter, the wheel turned, flipping through characters until the right one fell into place.
Multiply that by a few hundred and you had something remarkable. A whole board coming to life, letters tumbling into place at different speeds, followed by stillness.
The information didn’t simply appear. It arrived.
Some of the best-known boards came from Solari di Udine, an Italian company with roots in clockmaking. Beginning in the 1950s, its displays became familiar sights in railway stations and airports. So familiar, in fact, that many people simply knew them as Solari boards.
Other manufacturers, including Pragotron in Central Europe, built their own. For decades, these peculiar machines were part of how travel looked and sounded.
Eventually, electronic screens took their place. Easier to update, and considerably quieter.
Something was gained in convenience.
Something rather lovely was lost.
ClackSnack is our small tribute to those machines.
Each of its 405 little machines turns forward through a wheel of flaps, never jumping straight to the answer. Each has its own rhythm, its own small part to play.
Even a short message gets a proper entrance.
The clatter continues
Fortunately, the old machines haven’t disappeared entirely. Companies like Vestaboard are bringing real mechanical split-flap displays into homes, while makers like Oat Foundry are creating remarkable installations for public spaces.
If you’ve ever wanted to hear the real thing clattering away, take a look at Vestaboard or Oat Foundry. We’re rather fond of what they’re doing.
What we care about
Protect the illusion.
We want you to forget you’re looking at a TV. No blinking, no scrolling tickers. The machines move when they have something to say, then settle into stillness.
There’s no hurry. That’s rather the point.
Be a quiet guest.
ClackSnack is made for your home, and we think it should behave accordingly. No advertising, no trackers, and no analytics following you around.
Where we are now
ClackSnack is in a small private beta, free while we build it with a handful of households.
If you’d like to join us, request an invite. We’ll write when there’s a spot for yours.
Request an invite