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Ben Kirman

@ben.kirman.org
204 followers 300 following 341 posts

Postdisciplinary games academic: Make/study/teach the playful, weird, wonderful and radical. (he/him) #criticaldesign #speculativedesign #designfiction #gamedesign Projects: ben.kirman.org

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 25/09/2026
Finally. Late, but to be fair, the policy is clear and strong, which is better than expected: www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/exhibit/exhi...
ukgamesexpo.co.uk
UK Games Expo AI Policy
Now in it's 21st year, UK Games Expo (UKGE) is the largest Hobby Games Convention in the UK. A fun event appealing to families as well as the enthusiast.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 19/09/2026
Amazingly, our PhD student Sam's film Grand Theft Hamlet was an answer on University Challenge this week. If you haven't seen it yet you should check it out, it is fantastic: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OloH...
youtube.com
GRAND THEFT HAMLET | Official Trailer | Now Streaming on MUBI
YouTube video by MUBI
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 13/09/2026
Unfortunately there is a high probability that the Dog Internet will destroy the universe within 9 years. It is vital that billions of pounds are given to my vastly unprofitable Dog Internet research centre to mitigate this risk.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 13/09/2026
I wasn't very active on the boards back in the day, but b3ta had a huge influence. By day learning serious computer stuff at uni, but by night learning photoshop, web dev, and most importantly that it computers are best as a tool to make silly and rude things.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 10/09/2026
focus is all over the place today. I just searched "who invented swimming". (it was Ian Breaststroke)
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Waxy.org @waxy.org · 01/09/2026
Inflight Simulator — like Airplane Mode, but multiplayer and in the browser
inflightsimulator.com
Inflight Simulator
Take your seat at 36,000 feet.
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shardcore @shardcore.org · 31/08/2026
morning
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 20/08/2026
I've been ill and playing a bunch of Sandustry. It's a factory builder where all the resources are sandy and make sand art. It's messy in a great way. Never played a game that feels so *wet*. we should have more games about moving piles of slop.
A screenshot of the game Sandustry, a 2d pixel game with piles of sand, gold, and other materials around a poorly designed factory. water floats about in annoying places. overall it is a complete mess.
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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 13/08/2026
Currently developing a little engine so you can hack together your own screwthatlike game to create mini LARPs about energy scarcity and other possible climate futures. #LARP #gamedesign #rpg
a command line interface for xThat, a playful tool for generating mini games. The interface prints the title xThat followed by a description:

"xThat is a playful mini game generator for anyone looking to create their own mini game.

To make a game we will:
1. provide you with a title for your game
2. prompt you for a subtitle
3. prompt you for 4 bullet points for game play."

The user is then asked "Are you ready to continue:"

The interface then shows the randomly generated game title "MAKE THAT". It the asks the user to "Enter a subtitle"
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 05/08/2026
Posted a brief write up of the Museum of Manky Tea Towels. It has been a really fun and very weird project, and it was fantastic to share it with everyone at #emfcamp ben.kirman.org/projects/mus...
A photograph of tea towel on grass, it is from the Dogs' Trust and has been edited to put the dog on a skateboard, wearing a backwards hat and sunglasses. A bright green logo declares "The Museum of Manky Tea Towels". It's rad
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 21/07/2026
Still unpacking and decompressing from #emfcamp, a million astonishing, inspirational, and moving moments. A highlight was receiving a lovely handwritten letter from an attendee of our 1d game workshop. What an amazing event filled with magical people #emf2026 🌈
In a field, with tea towels flapping in the breeze, my arm is visible, holding an envelope with handwritten address made out to "Ben Kirman, museum of manky tea towels, elf camp"
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Kate Devlin @drkatedevlin.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Oh #emfcamp, I love you so much.
A display at EMF Camp entitled "The Museum of Manky Tea Towels". My hand is holding a zine which says "Why is this? Tea towels tell stories about people, places and things. You can change those stories. An unused tea towel is an insult to nature."
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 19/07/2026
Had a blast at #emf2026 with the museum of manky tea towels, loads of cool creations and reimaginings
A sunny field has a gazebo and washing line with hundreds of tea towels in the wind, some decorated
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 14/07/2026
The Museum of Manky Tea Towels is coming to #EMFcamp 2026! (emfcamp.org) Meet our collection of hundreds of tea towels, dry your mugs, and join us in reclaiming and remaking them to tell new stories. Bring donations! Any old souvenir tea towels lying around? manky.website #emf2026
A black and white illustration of a jaunty fellow with a docker cap and fine moustache, holding up a tea towel by his fingertips. The text reads “the museum of manky tea towels”
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 14/07/2026
Made a demo game for my #emf2026 workshop on games for fairy lights: You have to fill the pint without spilling, but the kind of beer you pour is random from the #emfcamp live bar data. The quantity relates to how much of that beer is left in the real bars. www.emfcamp.org/schedule/202...
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 14/07/2026
The Museum of Manky Tea Towels is coming to #EMFcamp 2026! (emfcamp.org) Meet our collection of hundreds of tea towels, dry your mugs, and join us in reclaiming and remaking them to tell new stories. Bring donations! Any old souvenir tea towels lying around? manky.website #emf2026
A black and white illustration of a jaunty fellow with a docker cap and fine moustache, holding up a tea towel by his fingertips. The text reads “the museum of manky tea towels”
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Computer𝔍𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔰 @computerjames.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
making a thread of my favourite short games ive made 🧵(so i can link to it in applications)
stealth crossword logodogman95 (a dog knight) kneeling before a dog king in a castlea scorpion on a frogs back, in a river, saying 'thanks for this lift'a POV of a car in a school
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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 09/07/2026
Me and @ben.kirman.org are zine making this week ready for the Museum of Manky Tea Towels (manky.website) and tea towel making workshop at @emfcamp.bsky.social next week! Get in touch to donate your tea towels!
A sketch of a 4 burner oven with two tea towels hanging from the oven door handle. One tea towel reads “manky tea towels rule” with a purple background. The second tea towel is a rough looking sketch that could be a map of a sea side town or other tourist attraction, with grass, sand and water - and maybe a windmill.
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Modiphius @modiphius.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
🎲We're hiring! Modiphius is looking for a new Games Designer to join our team based in Nottingham. Based in the Nottingham studio, this is a full-time position in tabletop game design to help us deliver projects in 2027 and beyond! Apply here: buff.ly/5vT1puW #GamesDev #Hiring
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ElegantMechanic @elegantmechanic.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
The demons Ahyabaztud and Fuhfukzake have heard your call and performed the binding ritual.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 07/07/2026
Prepping for my workshop on making games for fairy lights at @emfcamp.bsky.social next week! Just adding some header pins and sample code to these @pimoroni.com Plasma boards, sealed with the magical swear words I invoke when soldering my fingers.
A photograph of a tabletop laid out with 15 small Plasma2350W circuit boards on antistatic bags. A tray of header pins, some tape and some motivational geese miniatures sit nearby.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 06/07/2026
important travel advisory regarding our eldest's school prom.
a screenshot of an email saying "students WILL NOT BE PERMITTED to arrive on horseback."
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 02/07/2026
Did a favour for someone a while ago and they put "me" in their board game as thanks. The photo and nationality are not accurate, but they nailed the stats: zero cool, always slow, and easily stressed.
A hand with exceptional nail polish holds a deck of shrinkwrapped cards. The top card says "KIRMAN", with a picture of an american air force pilot, and a series of different stats.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 02/07/2026
Had a great time at #BDiGRA conference at USW in Cardiff this week. Lots of great work. Some standouts were talks on dress up and cosy games, virtual pets, interfaces, games and conspiracies, reflections on Game City festivals. Also great to see momentum growing for practice as research.
southwales.ac.uk
BDigra Conference
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ian.fenrisgames @fenrisgames.com · 30/06/2026
i do not think it means what you think it means dot gif
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Jonty Wareing @jonty.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
This was not a hard decision
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 29/06/2026
remember when the script for Jurassic Park 4 was to have a team of Raptors working as a SWAT team with machine guns. Look what they took from us www.theguardian.com/film/2007/au...
theguardian.com
In brief: Dinosaurs to carry guns in Jurassic Park 4
Plus: Anderson's new film to close London film festival; Heather Graham to play junkie musician.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 25/06/2026
this project from @dorukb.bsky.social tempts me to make a 2 hr long video essay. which would be bad for everyone.
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Stefano Gualeni @gua-le-ni.com · 25/06/2026
Preserving this for posterity.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 17/06/2026
Delighted to discover that our tea towels are now appearing alongside papers in google scholar searches ("critical tea towels") - thanks @oliverbates.co.uk for uploading them. and a reminder that "article" is a very broad term so maybe that weird thing you made is also one?
Some tea towels and booklets are spread on a table, along with an annotated map of manchester city centre. The tea towels show scenes from York and Edinburgh as gig couriers encounter difficulties and hostile architectures.
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Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I wrote a manifesto for making games, and (not) selling them, for #manifestojam illomens.itch.io/no-one-is-go...
illomens.itch.io
NO-ONE IS GOING TO BUY YOUR GAME by ill omens
A Manifesto For Making Games
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 11/06/2026
good morning to everyone at #drs2026 except for this wee eejit who wakes me up at 5am every morning. theres no oysters here you weapon, try the sea.
An oystercatcher on a ledge, with the caption "u got any oysters M8"
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 09/06/2026
This was fun! Turns out the Q&A goes easier when you are brandishing a screwdriver in your fist. The paper is here: doi.org/10.21606/drs...
doi.org
Research through game design
Games are common artefacts and systems for design research, appearing as engagement tools with publics or specific audiences, expressions of ideas, and as tools for speculation. Games have proven valu...
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 07/06/2026
On my way to #DRS2026 in Edinburgh this week, presenting "Research through Game Design" on Tuesday, w/ @oliverbates.co.uk , Marcia Tavares Smith and @dpgreen.bsky.social. I just deleted "GAMES ARE INDUSTRIAL WASTE FOR DWEEBS" from the talk. But what did I replace it with...? drs2026.thedrs.org/home
Some gothic pixellated text saying "Research through Game Design" by authors Oliver Bates, Ben Kirman, Marcia Tavares Smith and David Philip Green. From Fractals Co-op, University of York, Lancaster University and UKCEH respectivelya photo of a flat head screwdriver, atop a zine called "Screw That, A resource scarcity game" next to a manky pipe and cloth under a toilet somewhere
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 03/06/2026
working with an illustrator on a project and asked if there could be a dog wearing sunglasses (for personal branding reasons)
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Alistair Aitcheson & Mademoiselle Cafetière @agaitcheson.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
I really like this article. Also makes me think of @hollygramazio.bsky.social's wonderful article "How Not To Play" which talks about ways of engaging with games without hands-on playing with them. wellcomecollection.org/stories/XeEL...
wellcomecollection.org
How not to play
Here are seven ways to sidestep doing as you’re told in a game. But strangely, they seem to be as much a part of playing as the game itself.
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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 29/05/2026
Our next project is the Museum of Manky Tea Towels. Me and @ben.kirman.org need your help! Got any novelty/souvenir tea towels you could donate? Here’s a longer call for tea towels: crankandfile.co.uk/museum-of-ma... If you’re in the UK drop me a dm so we can arrange postage or a collection.
crankandfile.co.uk
Museum of Manky Tea Towels: Call for Tea Towels!
Call for Tea Towels! As part of ongoing research with tea towels and storytelling, we are co-organising an event at the arts and science festival Electromagnetic Field called “The Museum of Manky Tea ...
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 28/05/2026
Hearty recommend from me too - quite dark in places, but really fantastic. The sound design and music is class.
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Laura Mitchell @drlauramitchell.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Just in time for #UKGE2026 the new website for PLaY group is up at play-group.org !
play-group.org
PLaY Group | A cross-disciplinary scholarship community, bringing together staff and students across the university with an interest in playful pedagogies.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 22/05/2026
Hey... is it normal to find a Kuwaiti paramilitary uniform sized for a 5 year old (with 2 berets), stuffed inside wall vents in houses in Lincolnshire? just checking if it's maybe in the regs, or structural.
A kuwaiti paramilitary uniform sized for a 5 year old (with 2 berets). it is being modelled by an iron stag attached to a brick wall.
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Games That Weren't @gamesthatwerent.com · 19/05/2026
Virtua Hamster is one of SEGA's more unusual lost projects. Think S.T.U.N Runner with rodents. Nearly finished on 32X, but cancelled before release, with a Saturn version never even started.
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v buckenham @v21.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
co-signed: mssv.net/2026/05/18/w...
mssv.net
Why You Should Go to Voidspace Live, 2026 Edition
The UK’s best festival of interactive theatre and playable art.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 18/05/2026
Accidentally cut my forehead in the shower this morning. with a _towel_.
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 15/05/2026
Feeling a bit conflicted: emailed a board game designer I respect to say I'm disappointed they've used AI instead of hiring an illustrator. On one hand you don't want to be an "unsolicited opinion guy" but also we've got to call it out, right? What's your move here?
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 10/05/2026
Enjoy this video of a bloke spending a year trying to design and 3d print a replica of a big whistle from a steam train. choo choo www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCrr...
youtube.com
3D Printed Train Whistles
YouTube video by AeroKoi
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 09/05/2026
(Ben) House is in the middle, along from our Street (Rob)
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 09/05/2026
Great to catch League One champions @lincolncityfc.bsky.social celebrating with an open bus parade in the city today! #lincolncity #ballballballfootyfootyfooty
A photograph of Lincoln City FC players celebrating on top of a bus, in front of Lincoln Cathedral. Several players are wearing medals, and some lucky lads are enjoying cans of cider.
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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
For those interested in Historical Games Studies (and adjacent fields) the University of Luxembourg are offering what looks to be an amazing Doctoral Researcher in Historical Game Studies position. 🗃️ www.uni.lu/en/jobs/doct...
uni.lu
Doctoral Researcher in Historical Game Studies
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 30/04/2026
Super cool - high hopes for this production. All in for this speculative game design trend
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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 24/04/2026
A nice time today at the Play for the Planet network conference in York. (www.york.ac.uk/yesi/network...) Love making a zine page as a way to round off events!
A collage of magazine cuttings showing an otter scientist stood in front of graphs and with laser beams shooting out of its eyes. The word ANTI leaks a yellow fluid
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