This Mousepad Can Make Your Wireless Mouse Literally Last Forever

Everybody dreads the moment when the cursor from their wireless gaming mouse disappears without warning. Is there an easy way to wireless charge my mouse in this era of Qi wireless and other wild inductive charging solutions? The Logitech G Powerplay 2 promises to make some gaming mice last for as long as there is power running on the mousepad.

The $100 Powerplay 2 is a sequel to the first Powerplay from 2018 (a setup that also cost $50 more than the new version). It’s one of those ideas that didn’t catch on at the time, but Logitech hopes another go-around will be the one that sticks thanks to a thinner overall pad design—now 3.5 mm thick—and a 15% larger charging area to ensure the mouse receives power as you try to line up a headshot.

Of course, the pad itself isn’t enough if your mouse can’t receive the promised power. That job is up to the “Charging Coin” that comes in the box with the pad. The coin plugs into a Logitech G-brand mouse and uses the low-frequency electromagnetic field from the pad to give your device its required juice. Logitech currently sells Powerplay coins separately, but only 10 compatible mice accept the coin. Compatible mice include the Logitech G Pro X Superlight line and the Pro Wireless, G903, G703, G502 X Plus, G309, and G502 X Lightspeed.

So you won’t get your favorite gaming mouse to work with it unless you find some way to hollow out your mouse shell and give it space to input the coin. If you have multiple Logitech-brand mice lying around, you can swap the coin in and out, depending on the scenario. USB-C powers the mat itself, but other than the electromagnetic field, the power doesn’t project any RGB lighting to make your desktop sing. The new Powerplay is a truly utilitarian product, which may fit some desktop aesthetics better than others.

It’s also a large mousepad, at 13 by 11 inches, which will put off some users. I didn’t ever think I needed a massive mousepad, but the Razer Firefly V2, which I’ve used extensively on our PC test station in the Gizmodo office, may have convinced me otherwise. Combined with a 75% keyboard, it just manages to fit on a standard-sized desktop mat, though just barely.

At $100, the sequel mousepad is pricey, though not as much as the original Powerplay. The real restriction is how you need to pick and choose a Logitech G mouse for your setup. If you’re like me and prefer your HyperX Pulsefire or a classic like the Razer Viper, you would end up with an over-expensive slab taking up valuable room on your desktop. If you don’t own a Logitech mouse, the real cost is closer to $200. For some, never having to worry about charging their mouse again may be worth the asking price.