iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 20/08/2026

oh and the assistant character looks like this. relevant to my interests. store.steampowered.com/app/2764460/...

a pixel art picture of a green cat wearing cool pink shades

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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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...

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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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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

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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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 · 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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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 · 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 respectively

a 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 · 05/06/2026

Chris Evans? Ed the Duck, and Nobby the Sheep all heralded by the BT logo of the lad blowing a vuvuzela

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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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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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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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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 17/04/2026

a riff on this kind of board except it says "Real Life ->" and "Puzzles... also -> (we're online only)"

a black chalk street sandwich board saying "<- booze, food fun" and "Real life ->"

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 02/04/2026

Made a new game: "It's (almost) as if you are playing a board game". It's a board game about playing games, almost. It's on Itch, BGG, and there are more details on my website. benkirman.itch.io/its-almost-a... ben.kirman.org/projects/its... #boardgames #newrelease #indiegames #aprilseriousday

A photograph of a wooden tabletop covered in game components. A sepia map of a sea, some cards, some strange dice, a rulebook with a handsome cat, and a board game box with some lads in front of a castle.

A photograph of a game board at an angle, we can make out lines across a map of a sea, and boxes showing different bits of land. There is illegible text on the map, and a variety of colourful tokens placed on the map. There is a couple of dice near the board, that show the same number on every side.

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 27/03/2026

it often takes the water guys a few attempts before they find a vein

A photograph of a pavement with seven small round access hatches marked "water"

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 23/03/2026

Great to finally sit down and play Twelve Years at Sea, by @maxmoon.bsky.social . My first crew, two captains and two pacifists on a raft, spent 3 years lost in the fae mists, fled from a dragon, finally discovered a marshy island and immediately got eaten by crocodiles. 10/10 🐊

A photograph of a tabletop showing a hex map with lots of sea spaces filled in, and one small island space with the marking "RIP". Also on the table is pages of charts and tables from the game "12 years at Sea" and expansions by Max Moon games. It is open on the page "Marsh creatures"

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 17/03/2026

love it! we presented this at alt CHI one year.

THE HAMMER OF TRANSFORMATIVE NOSTALGIFICATION, a black and white diagram illustrating a hammer (SHAFT/CLAW OF CYNICISM) striking a golden DESIGN cube held in a CONCEPT VICE, while NOSTALGIA PARTICLES fly off

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 17/02/2026

You know how the saying goes: When it rains, zip horse.

A crudely drawn cool horse looking pretty darn pleased with her nice yellow raincoat

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 16/02/2026

Doing some research and came across a mysterious latin play called "LUDUS DE ANTICHRISTO". A moment of realisation that I might accidentally be in the first act of John Carpenter's "Prince of Darkness". archive.org/details/derl...

A scan of the first page of the linked book: "DER LUDUS DE ANTICHRISTO", a german translation of the latin play

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 06/02/2026

Biffa bins offer just two types of zone. Choose wisely ♻️

A large red dumpster bin has a website link to a "customer zone" above a yellow warning label indicating a "crush zone"

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 15/01/2026

happy 40th birthday to this top lad. he's still h̖̠͎̩ṳn͎͎g̗͙̟r̥͓͔̻͕y͓̟̮͙

its jonny 5! He's still alive and thirsting for input

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 08/01/2026

Big fan of game rulebooks that forbid shitty people from playing. Just a couple of sentences in the preamble setting out the most basic rules in case anyone forgot. (Hope is for the Dead by Wird Designs)

A screenshot of text from a rulebook: "Hope is for the Dead is a game for everyone but rated 13+ due to its themes. Anyone who is prejudiced, bigoted, or who thinks that abuse or hatred of others based on sex, gender, ethnicity, or any other characteristic is acceptable should find a different game to play.
This message should only offend someone with those views, so if you are offended by this message, THIS GAME IS NOT FOR YOU."

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 29/12/2025

My nephew saw this at a buffet, his eyes went really wide and with awe and delight he whispered "gravy fountain"

a stock photograph of a chocolate fountain, with someone dipping a very dry looking biscuit into the extremely thin looking chocolate sauce

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 03/12/2025

Got this little bugger working again after ~15 years. He's gone the colour of a pub ceiling and mainly speaks french, but his ears still work! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabaztag

A discoloured yellowing plastic rabbit with cute features and moving ears is held up to camera. It's belly glows pink.

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 28/10/2025

Just had to ssh into a pumpkin because it was playing amen break too frequently

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 17/10/2025

Decolonisers of Catan (with dice that only roll 7s) #boardgames #catan

A photograph of a Settlers of Catan board, showing two d6s that have 3.5 spots on every side.

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 09/10/2025

from the Dog Internet archives. WHAT DO THEY KNOW?

A "deep fried" image shows a hand drawn dog sniffing the backside of another. They are labelled as "client" and "server", and an arrow points to the middle noting "knowledge/data/insight". This is surrounded by text asking "What is happening?!", "dog text transfer protocol?" and "what do they know??"

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 08/07/2025

Great news from a kickstarter project that's collecting fart noises

screenshot from kickstarter "UPDATE #9 Unlocked: Industrial Pump"

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 21/06/2025

"Jessica... what fucking size shoe do you have?!" - best line from the horror film Clown in a Cornfield (2025)

A still from the film showing a foot stepping in a comically large footprint in a muddy field

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 21/05/2025

Fun tour of the emerging irreverent voice in UK games magazines in the 80s from Robin Bootes at #BDiGRA25 . Tag urself im a wally/gremlin

A picture of an academic presentation, featuring images from magazines labelled Boffins, Nerds and Whiz Kids

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 20/05/2025

Great to hear from Prasad on his great applied game work at #BDiGRA25 good to see some @iggi-phd.bsky.social folks here!

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 20/02/2025

One for the collection. This illustration of a "Direct Drive Extruder" on Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_f...

A simple sketch of two round objects either side of some kind of shaft with drops of material emanating from the tip.

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 17/02/2025

Steam: "flesh might be the most thought-provoking currency we have" store.steampowered.com/bundle/24095...

A screenshot from a steam page saying "Complete your Collection" "Buy Economic Body Horror Bundle", while noting 1 of 4 items is already in my library

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 07/02/2025

Added some details about the BRANNEN interactive theatre/mobile game project with Teatret Vårt in Molde and Ålesund, Norway. Another fantastic project with great collaborators. ben.kirman.org/projects/bra...

A ballroom projected with dramatic flames, with a group of actors in the centre, surrounded by audience members in the distance.

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 06/02/2025

Wrote up some technical details of the Utopia Concreta project, that I worked on in Portugal last year. There's a lot more detail but it was a cool and fun mix of complex technologies for an interactive, gamelike, outdoor audio-walk/live theatre experience: ben.kirman.org/projects/uto...

A view over a valley at dusk. In the middle ground there is a path and lit frame that illuminates the hillside and an audience member watching a video

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 30/01/2025

Played some Ouija Manor this week (boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43...). A ghost communicates through a mini ouija board, and by possessing other players' figures to point at clues in this cleverly engineered cardboard house. #boardgames

A man with a delightful wolf head t-shirt reaches pensively into a cardboard constructed manor house to place a character. He is lit from below and looks an ickle bit scared

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 21/01/2025

Why yes I do have a PhD. (from www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwYm...)

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 21/01/2025

Came across this horrorshow in a review of beige paints...

A modern motorbike painted up in Afrika Korps paint job

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 07/01/2025

We're running a game jam this week @iggi-phd.bsky.social and the first activity a researcher suggested is for everyone to make their own name badges. This was a really good idea and I recommend it if you organise jams. Really gets the creative vibe going.

A messy table of craft materials scissors and newspapers with a name badge in creation

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 04/01/2025

Got a small resin 3d printer and now need to explain to neighbours that the reason I dress like breaking bad and have a garage full of toxic chemicals, is just to make a tiny pug that is also a dragon. It's a Puggon.

It's a tiny pug that looks like a dragon!

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Ben Kirman @ben.kirman.org · 05/12/2024

Got to wonder who at the University of Lincoln approved their sponsorship of Lincoln City's third kit (the black one - look closely...). Did they get a discount? Doesn't really give a good impression of the uni, but the good news is nobody can tell they are the sponsors anyway.

A football match showing a player in black heading the ball away from a Rotherham player in Red and white. The black shirt extremely faintly says the University of Lincoln, but it is effectively unreadable.

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