Our Story

The Origin

Rattle Stakes started as an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone.

For over three years it lived as sketches, prototypes, and a lot of backyard testing with friends. It was a tough game to get just right, but I knew there was something there.

Every time I brought a prototype out to test, the same thing happened. My friends would say, "Alright, we'll play one round"… and then an hour later nobody wanted to stop.

That’s when I realized it wasn’t just a fun idea. It was something people genuinely wanted to play.

The First Rattle Stakes Prototype

Built By A Product Nerd

I’m Matt MacLean, a product development engineer with 15 years of experience bringing consumer products to life.

Most of my career has been spent helping other companies design, develop, and manufacture their products. Rattle Stakes is the first time I’ve taken everything I’ve learned and put it toward launching a product of my own.

The goal was simple: create a portable, durable soccer game that’s easy to set up anywhere and fun for players of any skill level.

Something you could bring to the park, the beach, or a backyard hang and spend hours competing with friends while getting a little exercise.

Now we have a patent pending design that's provided us with endless entertainment and is gathering crowds at the park!

Designed For Real Life

Rattle Stakes was built to be simple and durable:

  • Solid metal stakes that work in grass or sand
  • High-quality materials built for real outdoor use
  • A compact setup that fits in a backpack
  • Gameplay that’s easy to learn in seconds

It’s competitive, chaotic, and endlessly entertaining.

Here's The Thing...

Somewhere along the way, hanging out with friends started to mean scheduling rec leagues weeks in advance… or meeting up at a bar.

Rattle Stakes was built as a simpler alternative.

Pay for a set once – and have a competitive group activity you can center your hangs around for years to come. No overpriced brunch tabs. No scrambling to find subs for league each week. Just a fun, low-stakes way to hang with friends (pun intended 😉).

Only needing 2–4 players was also a big part of the design. I wanted to end the age-old struggle of desperately texting around to find that last player.

The Goal

Really the goal is pretty simple:

Get people outside.
Get people moving.
And give friends an excuse to compete, laugh, and experience play again.

If Rattle Stakes helps create more afternoons like that, then it’s doing its job.