# A uterus-shaped period tracker that runs DOOM

Clotty is a palm-sized, uterus-shaped RP2040 period tracker with touchpad ovaries, a Tamagotchi-style game layer, and a no-cloud privacy promise. It also runs DOOM.

- Category: Hardware (build)
- Made by: [kati](https://github.com/bitshiftcrazy/clotty) on GitHub
- Original: https://missmolerat.com/posts/clotty_intro/
- On Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/a-uterus-shaped-period-tracker-that-runs-doom

## Can I build this?

- Difficulty: Expert
- AI-buildability: 2/5 (AI can write the RP2040 firmware and game logic, but the custom shaped PCB with capacitive touch pads, layout, and assembly are hands-on hardware work it can't do much for.)
- Time: A few weeks
- Cost: $50–100
- Parts: RP2040, color LCD display, touchpad
- Tools: PCB fabrication service, soldering iron

Estimates based on the original write-up. How the AI-buildability score works: https://afterware.xyz/ai-buildability

## Build sheet

- Board: RP2040, custom PCB
- Display: Color LCD
- Input: Touchpad ovaries
- Stretch goal: Runs DOOM

## Starter prompt

```
Based on "A uterus-shaped period tracker that runs DOOM" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/a-uterus-shaped-period-tracker-that-runs-doom

I want to build a palm-sized period tracker on an RP2040 board with a color LCD and capacitive touch pads. Write MicroPython firmware that stores cycle start dates locally on flash, shows the current cycle day and a simple pet-style status screen, and never sends data over a network. Start with the display driver and the touch input loop.
```

## Story

Clotty is a palm-sized menstrual cycle tracker built into a uterus-shaped PCB, complete with touchpad ovaries. The designer wanted it to scream "HELLO I AM A PERIOD TRACKING DEVICE," and the Tamagotchi-style playfulness is the point. It runs on an RP2040 with a color LCD and a small set of sensors.

The hardware works and the essentials are in place for software, but the project is still in active development. The maker's fork of RP2040-DOOM is the proof of concept that the board can run the game, and the design brief is blunt: the device never uploads cycle data to a remote server and never harvests, discloses or sells it.

Worth stealing: the pairing of a pointedly unsubtle enclosure with a privacy-first data model. Put a game loop on a small RP2040 board with a color display and touch inputs, and you get a gadget people will actually pick up.

## Resources

- [Clotty intro post](https://missmolerat.com/posts/clotty_intro/)
- [Clotty GitHub repository](https://github.com/bitshiftcrazy/clotty)
- [RP2040-DOOM fork](https://github.com/bitshiftcrazy/rp2040-doom)

Tags: rp2040, color lcd, touchpad, period tracker, doom, custom pcb, tamagotchi

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