ben-mckenzie

[ben-mckenzie]

I’m getting back into making one-page micro #RPGs and other small games!

Here’s one about domestic robots trying to work within (or transcend) their ethical programming to win a band competition; it’s called Machine Yearning.

[ben-mckenzie]

Started a third play through #PandemicLegacy: Season 1 on the weekend, with a new crew. It’s been many years since the last one (though I do still have a season 2 in progress), so some things will surprise me. Up to February so far and loving it. #boardgames #tabletop #pandemic #pandemiclegacyseason1 https://www.instagram.com/p/CqT5pyRyJEo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Might have gone a little overboard marking up my copy of I Shall Wear Midnight for the next episode of @pratchatpodcast, #Pratchat66. But then again there’s something great on every page… (You have one day to send in your questions if you’ve got any!) #Discworld #TerryPratchett #shelfie #TiffanyAching #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CqSrDcKyMyc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

We’re excited to welcome back @amiekaufmanauthor and #TiffanyAching as we discuss the 2010 #Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight. That’s for our next episode, #Pratchat66. Send us your questions in the next week if you want us to answer them on the podcast! https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp_FK2NBjVZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Exciting delivery today! It’s #SteamUp, the debut game from Canadian indie designers Pauline Kong, Marie Wong and Haymen Lee, aka @hotbananagame. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time. (I love that the squishy bun came labelled “not real food” as well as “do not eat”.) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp1UgbQSIHV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Had a lovely time staying with friends and running a rare in-person session of our D&D game this weekend. The party are currently crossing a mysterious lake and were lucky to survive their encounters with the creatures in it... #tabletop #roleplaying https://www.instagram.com/p/CprJFqsSids/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

For #Pratchat65, we’re discussing a selection of #Pratchett non-fiction from A Slip of the Keyboard, with guest @petermball! Send us your questions this week about about the following pieces from the “A Scribbling Intruder” section: “Kevins”, “Wyrd Ideas”, “Let There Be Dragons”, “Notes From a Successful Fantasy Author”, “Neil Gaiman: Amazing Master Conjurer” - plus the Foreword by Neil Gaiman. https://www.instagram.com/p/Co0uGu_BIRO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Quiet day at home playing the solo #boardgame #NemosWar, designed by Chris Taylor for @victorypointgames. This is the third printing of the second edition, from 2019. I have a much better handle on it this second time around. I’m about a third through and Nemo the explorer has seen the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait, intervened in the Selangor Civil War, sunk a few ships and - at the cost of Ned Land - seen a sea monster up close! So far, so good. But I need to sink some more ships or I’ll be overrun before I can reach the end… #tabletop https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn8YxlBSyW8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Managed to squeeze in a few last games before the end of the year, though I didn’t make my goal of playing 100 times in 2022. I’ll try again next year, because the joy is in the attempt. Pictured are, clockwise from bottom left: * The Fuzzies by Alex Hague, Justin Vickers and Wolfgang Warsch (modelled by Anna) * Splendor by Marc André * P for Pizza by Doruk Kicikoglu * Majesty: diene Krone, dein Königreich - also by Marc André! And in the centre: * The Search for Planet X by Matthew O'Malley and Ben Rosset #boardgames #tabletop https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm0Kgy_SEhb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Where's my cow? Is that my cow? It goes, "Hi, I'm @elizabethflux…” “And I'm Ben McKenzie." It is #Pratchat62, with special guests, @thetruthshallmakeyefret’s Joanna Hagan and Francine Carrel, and a very special #Discworld book! That's not my cow! Our December episode is out now in your podcast directory of choice, or visit our website to listen there. #MakeYeChat https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl5erQUreTI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Gross freaks. (at The Merri Creek Trail) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf0dbW8PpeI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Today’s #GoingOutsideBadge is more of a going-outside-and-voting badge. I find wearing one like this makes it easier to refuse how to vote cards since you get offered fewer of them. #AusVotes2022 https://www.instagram.com/p/CdzDIcKvJrj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Started on this genius build with my partner tonight. Even just building the base has reminded me how clever #Lego designers are! Plus tiny Eloy and Watcher are amazing! #HorizonForbiddenWest https://www.instagram.com/p/CdsrqGFPKBz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

The #HoneyHeist bear joins me as an early morning #GoingOutsideBadge, as I visit a school for only the second time this year. (I’m still freshly recovered enough that I feel relatively safe from being reinfected, but it’s hard to judge how long that’ll last.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdohY1XhhbI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

An oldie but a goodie for this #GoingOutsideBadge. (From a couple of days ago.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdeyQmOP4k9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ben-mckenzie]

Really doubling my nerd quotient here with today’s #GoingOutsideBadge: the “F🎲CK!” natural 1 badge from Bea Bravo.

[ben-mckenzie]

The tea is brewed. There’s a chocolate or two. I have a nice comfy blanket… It’s time. Let’s go have another adventure, eh Doctor? ❤️❤️ #DoctorWho #ThirteenthDoctor #LegendOfTheSeaDevils https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccd3ntIhz4T/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=