u/Katwood007

Tagger, my 13 year old Frenchie. My shadow and best friend. Here he is chillin' in the car with me charging phones and charging blocks. We had a really bad storm and lost electricity for 6 hours. He just wants to make sure I'm okay. Love this boy with all of my heart. I can't imagine life without him.

I'm an insomniac, so as my 13 year old boy snores into the night, I take pictures. His gentle (usually) snore and the purr that vibrates through his body, actually helps lull me to sleep. I don't even need a sound machine...it's built in. He is my Sleeping Beauty. ❤️

I’ve been building custom keyboards for the past 4 years and this is the first Alice Layout Keyboard I’ve ever had the opportunity to use for any length of time. Royal Kludge offered me the opportunity to review their Alice Keyboard and since I’ve never owned an Alice Keyboard, I thought I’d test the waters of an ergonomic keyboard. I am a lifetime learner and am always willing to venture out into the dark, deep unknown. My review is based on my personal experience. All opinions are that of  my own. Use your own discretion in learning as much as you can about it before you invest your hard-earned money into a new keyboard. I am a technology educator of 40+ years. I do these reviews for our keyboard community and because of my passion for the hobby. My reviews, pictures and videos are for educational and entertainment purposes only.

If you know me or have ever read any of my writing, you’ll know that music is constantly playing in the back of my brain throughout my day. Therefore, naturally, as I began unpacking the A62 68% Ergonomic Alice Keyboard, I found myself singing "White Rabbit", a song written by Grace Slick and recorded by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane for their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It draws on imagery from Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. I’ve been singing it like a broken record, throughout my 2 week review and I’m quite sure my wife is ready to permanently hide this keyboard. Admittedly I am a child of the 70s.

“One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all

Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall
And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall

Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small

When the men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know…”

Okay, I’m back again, however, I can’t promise that this earworm won’t stick with you every time you pull out your Alice Keyboard!

I’ve been typing on keyboards since I was 13 years old. I am a touch typist from way back, so changing the position of my hands, wrists and fingers is all about pushing back on long-term muscle memory. I’ve been typing on this Alice Keyboard daily for the past couple of weeks and I still find myself making a few typos. My wrists want to straighten and lift from muscle memory that was engrained back in the 70s. I assume it just takes time and practice to adjust to the shape of an Alice Keyboard.

Back in the 1970s, typing was a staple business and an encouraged elective class that was taught on heavy manual typewriters with the eventual transition to the early electric typewriters/word processors. Teachers enforced touch typing (typing by feel without looking) by dictating a strict, curved finger placement on the "home row" to develop lifelong muscle memory. 
I believe many of us still use the tactile anchors to identify the home row.: Teachers would point out the small tactile ridges or bumps on the 'F' and 'J' keys, teaching students to "feel" their way back to the home row without ever taking their eyes off the text copy. To this very day, if you moved the tactile anchors on my home row, I’d probably be typing like someone who has been under the influence of whatever Alice was tripping on, all those years ago.

Regardless of how far back I go to discover the invention of the Alice Keyboard, the earliest mention I can find was as recently as 2018. Evidently, the Alice Layout Keyboard was first designed  by Malaysian designer, Yktsi, the founder of the boutique custom keyboard brand TGR. Yuktsi wanted to design an ergonomic keyboard but wasn’t thrilled with the look and feel of the standard split-board designs (two separate boards connected by cables). Therefore, he decided to design a premium, one-piece aluminum keyboard that kinked the layout in the middle and split the spacebar…similar to the shape of a boomerang. This single-piece chassis was designed to promote a more natural wrist angle without forcing users to fully learn the challenging use of separated dual-board setup of traditional split keyboards.
The Alice layout keyboard features a split, angled design that promotes a natural typing posture to reduce wrist and forearm strain, minimizing fatigue…hence, the “ergonomic” keyboard was born. 

So, let me tell you about the Royal Kludge A72 68% Ergonomic Alice Layout Mechanical Keyboard, it may be a life changer for you and your aching wrists.
The compact 68% layout saves desktop real estate for you, while continuing to maintain the functional arrow keys. The premise for its invention was to smoothly combine an ergonomic design that would perform peak-performance typing.
The A72 68% Ergonomic Alice Layout Mechanical Keyboard has a gasket mounted structure which includes five internal dampening layers, resulting in “good, good, good, good vibrations!” Just go with me, as I digress. These layers include; dual sound-absorbing foam, IXPE switch pad, silicone dampener, and PET film — which combine to effectively minimize hollow sounds and cavity noise for a good vibe acoustic experience. 

The Royal Kludge A72 comes paired  with durable, oil-resistant Cherry-profile PBT keycaps for lasting texture and comfort, in the sky blue colorway. They actually have a very nice, soft feel to them, with smooth edges. I expected them to feel way more plasticky, but in reality, they offer a very soft and comfortable tactile experience. This board comes in three color options: sky-blue, cloudy-black, and matcha-green. All colorways have a very professional look to them.

When I first opened the box and pulled out the Alice Keyboard, the first thing I noticed were the Macro and Media Control keys to the far left of the board. As a very symmetrical oriented person, this immediately appealed to me. It gives the board a pleasantly balanced appearance. These keys allow you to maximize your productivity with five customizable M1-M5 macro keys, which prove to be ideal for shortcuts or complex commands.

The large volume knob (which apparently can also serve as a fidget tool) and media keys that are situated on the far left side of the board, provide instant access to audio adjustments, so as not to side quest your workflow. By default it controls your volume, but when using the customization software, you can change its function, for example, the brightness of RGB. I don’t need RGB during the day, but I can definitely use the dopamine hit at night when trying to see some of the modifier keys that I don’t commonly use. 

At first glance, the A72 makes a nice first impression. Constructed from solid plastic, the chassis avoids a cheap or hollow feel, possessing a notable density that stems from the layered internal components and gasket mount design. The Sky Blue colorway that I recieved, has a pastel finish that leans more toward professional versus the gamer vibe. 

I’m not a big fan of unnecessary or obnoxious logos on keyboards, but as I was exploring this board, I accidentally pressed the nameplate at the top of the board, only to realize it was an intentional touch-sensitive plate that instantly unlocks access to Royal Kludge’s web-based driver. Very clever and extremely convenient. I detest wasting hours in search of the elusive .Json file. With many custom keyboards that use real-time configurators like VIA, you are required to drag and drop a .json file into the web app so it recognizes your specific keyboard layout. Instead, the ‘magic” nameplate unlocks instant access to RK's web-based driver— no software installation needed. Now you have the luxury of assigning touch actions to launch websites, trigger macros, or execute commands, while using the intuitive web-based software customizer to effortlessly remap keys, configure macros, and personalize RGB lighting. This functionality is compatible with both Windows and macOS.

The Royal Kludge A72 68% Ergonomic Alice Layout Mechanical Keyboard is a prebuilt hot-swappable keyboard. This basically means you can personalize your typing experience with hot-swappable PCB, compatible with both 3-pin and 5-pin switches. Sound profiles are very subjective, so being able to replace your switches to find your perfect clack, thock or the sound of silence, is definitely a plus. My keyboard came with the Tactile Beige Switch…which soundw poppy and offers me the satisfaction of feeling that slight bump feedback as I depress each key.  Royal Kludge offers you your choice of switches, which also include the Silent Purple Switch and the Linear Cream Switch.  

The A72 holds a massive high-capacity 7500 mAh battery, which offers up to 550 hours of non-stop use (with RGB backlight off) and approximately 54 hours with RGB on (gotta’ get my dopamine fix!) You can verify the battery level by pressing the FN + ENTER keys. It can be fully recharged in approximately 14 hours. (That’s a long recharge time, folks!)

I’ll give it to you straight: transitioning to this layout requires real patience. If your muscle memory is rooted in standard boards, that initial seven-day stretch with an Alice frame might leave you feeling a bit like a fish out of water.The inner columns near the B and Y keys are where most users struggle; the arrow angle of the board forces you to commit to using the correct hand position for those keys rather than cheating with the old hunt and peck method.  However, I will admit, after prolonged use, I did feel tension in my forearms. I imagine this will fade with time and adjustment to the layout.
The benefit of the Alice layout is a more sustainable wrist and arm resting position. On a standard board, there’s a natural proclivity to pronate the wrists inward to keep your fingers square to the keys. The A72’s arrow shape with the side halves facing outward, allows your arms to sit more naturally at shoulder width. Let’s face it, I seriously doubt if this keyboard will magically heal your carpal tunnel syndrome. However, it may help avoid this condition if you spend 8 - 12 hours a day pounding on your keyboard. It’s definitely worth a shot.

In regard to gamers, the Alice layout may genuinely help those players who already play with their keyboard positioned at an angle, to help them better reach the WASD keys. Consequently, the specific wrist positioning required to engage the WASD keys feels significantly more natural on this Alice board compared to a traditional layout forced into a similar diagonal stance. 
The Royal Kludge A72 introduces the unique Alice ergonomic design to an accessible 68% wireless board. For those of us experiencing that gradual onset of wrist strain while working, this keyboard could be the solution for your typing health.

Highlights

72 Keys, Compact 68% Wireless Keyboard

Ergonomic Alice Layout With PBT Keycaps

Macro Keys & Media Knob Control

Pre-lubed Custom Switches

Gasket-Mounted Typing Feel

Windows & MacOS Compatible

Massive 7500mAh Long Battery

Comfortable Alice layout at a reasonable price

Excellent acoustic tuning for the budget tier

Tri-mode connectivity (2.4GHz / BT 5.0 / USB-C)

Hot-swappable PCB (3-pin and 5-pin)

Web driver (no install needed)

Media knob and macro keys (left-side)

Tech Specs
Dimension: 15.13 × 5.50 × 1.67 inches
Weight: 1.35 kg (2.97 lbs)
Matrix: 68%, 72 Keys
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 / 2.4GHz / USB-C (Tri-Mode)
Key Switch: Pre-Lubed Custom Switches
Hot-swappable: Yes
Battery: 7500mAh
Battery Life: Up to 550 hrs (RGB off)
Lighting: Per-key RGB Backlight
Control: Volume Knob & Media Keys
Media Keys: 5 Programmable Macro Keys (M1–M5)
Layout: US QWERTY
Cable: 1.6m USB-A to USB-C cable
Keycap Type: Cherry Profile PBT Keycaps
Compatibility: Windows & MacOS
Software: Web-Based Driver (Windows & macOS)

 
Package Included
1 x A72 Mechanical Keyboard
1 x Type-C-USB Cable
1 x Keycap & Switch Puller
1 x User Manual
Current price (May 2026): $89.99
Memorial Day Sale!!!
🔥25% Off with Code 'MEM25'!

If you’re feeling adventurous, I don’t think you can beat this price for an Alice Layout Keyboard. As always, if you can swing it within your budget, go for it! It’s a fun and unique keyboard. If you’re not sure, “Go Ask Alice, When She’s 10 Feet Tall.”