#Connection and Collaboration

[benhoffman]

Creating Transformative Experiences with cityHUNT

group of people completing a cityHUNT experience When I started cityHUNT over 20 years ago, I was obsessed with a question: How do we help people reconnect—with themselves, with each other, and with the world around them—through something as simple as play?

Inspired by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work on flow theory, I wanted to bring the magic of immersive, joyful moments into corporate environments that too often forget the value of laughter and creativity.

My co-founder and I constantly tweaked the game mechanics around the principles of flow, trying to create experiences that would be meaningful and transformative.

What began as a simple idea has evolved into something that drives everything else I do—from nonprofit work to my upcoming book.

Table of Contents

Our Mission: Positively Impacting Companies

The Three Pillars: Playfulness, Connection, and FlowPlayfulness

Connection

Flow

Designing for All: Diversity as a Superpower

What Makes cityHUNT Different

The Evolution of cityHUNT

Lessons from the Early Days

Impact Beyond Participants

Conclusion

Our Mission: Positively Impacting Companies At its heart, cityHUNT is about positively impacting companies.

We aim to help organizations through our unique team-building experiences. The more people we can reach and introduce to cityHUNT, the further our mission spreads.

This isn’t just about business growth; it’s about creating more abundance that, in turn, helps us fund other events and projects aimed at making a positive difference.

The Three Pillars: Playfulness, Connection, and Flow

Playfulness As humans, we naturally play as children, just as animals do.

But we often forget how to play as we get older, even though it’s one of the best paths to joy and bliss.

At cityHUNT, we create space for adults to reconnect with that childlike playfulness.

Play doesn’t need an end result; the play itself is the point. This contrasts with the productivity-focused mindset many of us develop.

Ironically, when we make space for play, our ability to produce actually blossoms rather than narrows.

Connection Our second pillar is about fostering meaningful connections.

I’ve come to understand connection as a three-layered concept:

Connection with oneself

Connection with other people

Connection with nature and the world around us

These connections work like a pyramid. You need to build that inner work first so that you can truly connect with others without needing anything from them.

When you’re fulfilled within yourself, you can connect with others from a place of openness rather than manipulation or coercion.

At cityHUNT, we create opportunities for all these levels of connection, but especially focus on human-to-human interaction.

While you can have fun by yourself, playfulness is typically a shared experience that strengthens bonds between people.

Flow Flow occurs when people engage in activities that are challenging enough to be interesting but not so difficult that they become frustrating.

We design tasks to hit this sweet spot for different personality types.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s research on flow states was foundational to how we developed cityHUNT.

We wanted to create experiences where time seems to disappear and people become fully present in the moment. That’s when true transformation can happen.

I’m grateful for thinkers like Catherine Price, who has spoken deeply about the science of play, and Jamie Wheal from the Flow Genome Project, who’s expanded how we understand peak experience.

Their work continues to influence how we design our experiences.

Designing for All: Diversity as a Superpower cityHUNT events are crafted to celebrate differences. Some people thrive in social challenges, others prefer mental puzzles.

We ask clients about their team dynamics upfront and design experiences that allow everyone—from the CEO to the quietest team member—to shine.

For extroverts, we include challenges like singing a song to a stranger or doing a TikTok dance.

For introverts who might enjoy solving puzzles, we include more cerebral challenges. This ensures everyone has their moment to shine.

I come from a theater background, so I think of our events almost like plays, where each person gets to be the star in their own way.

We create moments where different strengths are valued—a maintenance person might know something crucial that a CEO doesn’t, highlighting how everyone brings unique value.

Our teams are specifically designed to be four to six people.

It’s the magic number for team building—intimate enough to build real connections and big enough to harness diverse talents.

With fewer than four people, you lose the diversity of thought and skills needed to solve challenges effectively.

With more than six, some participants start to disengage or form smaller subgroups.

What Makes cityHUNT Different Our approach isn’t about high-tech gamification for its own sake. In fact, only one person per team uses a device.

The rest is face-to-face, voice-to-voice.

Our job is to remove friction and invite people to be present. If we’ve done our job, they forget it’s a team-building exercise—they’re just laughing, solving, and seeing each other.

One thing we’ve mastered over 25 years is how to create team-building experiences for very large groups.

Once you get beyond 30–50 people, most team-building activities become unwieldy. But we’ve developed the expertise to run events for hundreds or even thousands of participants.

We’ve perfected the art of routing teams through geographical areas that are neither too small (where teams are on top of each other) nor too large (where it becomes physically exhausting).

We create an arc where everyone starts together as a large group, then breaks into small teams for intimate bonding experiences, and finally reunites to celebrate as a whole.

The Evolution of cityHUNT The company has evolved significantly over the years.

When we started in 2000, we could only provide 10 clues because we only had 10 Polaroid pictures!

As technology advanced to digital cameras and eventually smartphones, we were able to scale and enhance the experience.

We were paper-and-pen for longer than we’ve been digital, which is amazing to think about.

Technology has helped us scale while staying true to our mission.

Having immediate feedback is a crucial part of flow, and as technology evolved from Polaroid cameras to digital cameras to smartphones, we’ve been able to provide better, more immediate feedback while still keeping the focus on human interaction.

What’s interesting is that we’ve used technology to connect people instead of allowing it to separate them.

We’ve harnessed technology to scale our experiences to thousands of participants without losing the personal touch.

Lessons from the Early Days We didn’t get it right from day one. Early on, teams got lost, no one had cell phones, and we overcomplicated everything.

But the intention was always there: to make something beautiful happen when people come together to play.

Looking back, we made many mistakes.

We’d overthink everything—creating multiple variations of each clue (easy, medium, hard), adding complexities that didn’t enhance the user experience but just seemed “cool” to us as designers.

We had to learn through trial and error what actually worked.

Over time, I’ve spent considerable effort studying positive psychology, gamification, and mindfulness to refine our approach.

I started with gamification, then dove into positive psychology, and finally added mindfulness—realizing that participants could have moments of personal realization and self-reflection during our games, something I hadn’t initially thought possible.

Impact Beyond Participants Our mission is to positively impact over a million people, and the math works out.

First, the game itself requires participants to interact with strangers—helping someone, opening a door, singing a song.

Then, participants share their positive experiences with family and friends. And those strangers who were impacted during the game also share their experiences.

It’s like ripples in water or the Big Bang—an initial positive interaction spreads outward exponentially. With technology and social sharing, the impact multiplies quickly.

We even have YouTube videos with over 100,000 views. When you think about it this way, reaching a million people isn’t that difficult in our connected world.

Conclusion Everything I do—cityHUNT, my future book, the nonprofit work—rests on this foundation: abundance through connection.

cityHUNT is how we fund it all, but it’s also how we live our mission. We help people help themselves by creating spaces where joy and collaboration are possible.

In 2019, my perspective shifted significantly.

Before that, I spent most of my time working on external things and building material success.

But starting in 2019, I began focusing more on inner work and developing a new understanding of happiness and fulfillment.

I realized that all happiness comes from within. The external stuff is great, but when I lean into it too much, it causes suffering.

I also realized that no one can actually help me—they can only help me help myself. Similarly, I can’t directly help others—I can only help people help themselves.

This three-layered connection approach has transformed how I live and how I approach my business.

The inner work serves as the foundation, enabling me to better support my community and the larger world through cityHUNT and all my other endeavors.

Learn more about this philosophy and upcoming projects at benjaminpeacehoffman.com.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

anyway to end the series on ganondorf tp's writing, my take (which isn't canon but arguable as a valid "death of the author" read imo) is that he is at his most iredeemable AND that's because he has zero things left to lose and no community left and his goal doesn't even make sense anymore he is parasitic and a ghost and pathologically obsessed by his own godlike legitimacy because that is the only thing he still has and it has prolonged his life in a horrible diminished state in a nightmare dimension so SURELY it must mean something right right RIGHT

[waitineedaname]

god I cannot stop thinking about the snapcube + rtvs team up for kingdom hearts. this is so perfect in so many ways I'm going to be so mentally ill about it

[positivelypresent]

Connect. Collaborate. We need each other.

[dreamings-free]

“Guy [Massey] is currently producing and mixing albums for Sophie Jamieson (Bella Union) and Mezanmi plus mixing albums for Will Young, Louis Tomlinson (Live) and Lady Blackbird.”

— Sound On Sound, March 2024

👀

[trying-to-get-somewhere-real]

really feel like fandom needs to get more comfortable with ambiguous dynamics, and how that ambiguity can be a feature not a bug! i notice this everywhere in fandom now, but this post is about sydcarmy the bear cause that is my current hyperfixation lol. sitting with ambiguity is the lifeblood of so many (all?) queer ships (also, importantly, my real-life queer experience) but i think it’s often relevant for straight ships too. no one is making sydcarmy antis ship them but to say ABSOLUTELY NOT because the nature of their relationship at this very moment is not easily defined is missing so much that is rich and interesting and sexy about figuring out what the dynamic is. *especially* for fan content (which is what a lot of us are here for actually!) using fic and meta to explore what certain words, body language, editing choices, music choices, etc mean is what makes our brains light up! (mine at least)

tension between two characters is the sexiest thing and ambiguity heightens that tension imo! whatever happens or does not happen with them in the future, at this very moment in time the undefinable quality of their relationship creates the space for shipping. this used to be a rather basic concept in fandom that seems to have gotten lost in the past however many years. i guess the primary anti response to this would be that the dynamic is *not* ambiguous—it is platonic—but like, i am with @eatandsleepwell who just included the following in this excellent post today:

and the thing about syd and carm being friends is that. they’re not. or at least not yet. or at least they need more to be friends. friends know your mom is dead, they know what your relationship with your parents is like. friends can easily hang out with each other after work. friends can be apart without the sense that the separation is akin to devastation. 

i don’t really think they’re friends! they are a weird third thing that is so delicious to me, and every single day right now very brilliant people are writing hundreds of words on this website attempting to interpret what that thing is or could be. this is the lifeblood of fandom! and the demand or expectation that ships have neon signs above them that say ROMANTIC to be valid romantic ships is just very odd to me. syd and carmy are weird and intense about each other in a way that is not easy to parse but once you decide to try and parse it, it’s such a satisfying experience as a fan. they had some major blow ups in s1, and in s2 managed to largely avoid them with the asl sorry but clearly were in unspokenish conflict much of the time (that they managed to diffuse just barely; mostly by syd walking away!) besties is not the word i would use to describe them at all. besties do not struggle this much to communicate. there are so many wonderful complicated bonkers things going on there and the purpose of this post isn’t to get into them but just to point out that they’re there.

anyone who thinks it’s easy to reduce them to any one given thing right now isn’t paying enough attention. and not being able to categorize them easily isn’t a bad thing for me. it’s the constant thrum of what is this? what is this? what is this??? that makes fandom great and i wish that didn’t feel like a hot take right now.

[playstationvii]

#GTA:MagicKingdomDisney

Game Development Overview:

Title: GTA: The Magic Kingdom Platform: PlayStation 7 Developer: Rockstar Games in collaboration with DearDearestBrands Genre: Open-world Action/Adventure

Storyline:

In GTA: The Magic Kingdom, players explore a dark, reimagined version of Disney's iconic Magic Kingdom. The world is divided into themed lands, each with its own rules and factions. At its core, the story follows a criminal protagonist who is embroiled in a high-stakes battle for power and survival within the kingdom's chaotic, secretive underworld.

The protagonist (you) is a mysterious figure drawn into the Magic Kingdom's politics, where a sinister force is using the enchantment of Disney’s original lands for darker purposes. The hunt for Bambi, who is rumored to possess extraordinary powers tied to the kingdom’s survival, becomes a central pursuit, while the player navigates treacherous alliances, heists, and confrontations.

Main Character:

Name: Maximus Dark (or choose your own name) Backstory: A former magic thief, Maximus was exiled from the underworld for crossing a powerful figure. Now, forced to work in the Magic Kingdom's black market, he must hunt down Bambi and unlock secrets from deep within the kingdom's enchanted areas. Maximus has a personal vendetta against the kingdom’s rulers, who wronged him in his past. Throughout the game, the player will uncover the protagonist’s lost memories and long-forgotten connection to the forest kingdom that Bambi hails from.

Motivation: Maximus's primary goal is to reclaim his lost power, discover the truth behind Bambi’s existence, and stop a powerful corporation that seeks to rewrite the very essence of the Magic Kingdom. As the story unfolds, Maximus will face moral dilemmas, where every choice shapes the fate of the kingdom and his own soul.

Supporting Characters:

Bambi - The elusive and powerful figure whose very presence is tied to the survival of the kingdom. Bambi is the key to restoring balance but is hunted by those who wish to harness their power for dark purposes. They are often seen as a mystical being, guiding the protagonist toward their true destiny.

Claire Jorif Valentine – An enigmatic leader of a rebel faction, Claire operates in the shadows, challenging the corrupt rulers of the kingdom. She provides Maximus with missions, allies, and sometimes betrays him to further her hidden agenda. A powerful figure in the underworld, she seems to know more about Bambi than she lets on.

The Enchanted Guardians – These figures protect each themed land within the Magic Kingdom. They could either be allies or enemies depending on how the player approaches them. The Guardians are immortal beings who represent the natural forces of the kingdom—ranging from corrupted versions of iconic Disney characters like Captain Hook, Maleficent, or the Queen of Hearts.

Tiger Lily – A key ally who once helped Bambi and holds secrets to unlocking the magical energies in the kingdom. She is on a quest to stop the dark forces from taking over the kingdom. As a supporting character, she aids in quests related to nature and magic and can unlock special abilities for the player.

Walt - A mysterious figure who seems to control the Magic Kingdom’s darkest secrets. He appears to have been a creator of both the magic and the corruption that now threatens the lands. Maximus will need to confront him as the story builds toward the final confrontation.

Gameplay:

Open-World Exploration: The game world is split into different magical lands, such as Adventureland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and others. Each land offers unique challenges, missions, and enemies. Players can freely explore these areas and engage in side missions while unraveling the main story.

Combat: Players can engage in both ranged and hand-to-hand combat, using magical powers, enchanted weapons, and advanced technology. The combat system is dynamic, blending traditional open-world combat with the ability to wield magic and technology.

Heist Missions: As Maximus tries to gain control of the Magic Kingdom, he must undertake heists to infiltrate high-security areas and steal vital items—such as keys to unlock magical areas or magical artifacts that help in the hunt for Bambi.

Choices & Morality: The game emphasizes player choices, with the narrative changing based on decisions. Will Maximus become a hero, villain, or something in-between? The relationship with Bambi and other characters is crucial, as decisions affect both alliances and the kingdom’s fate.

Stealth and Deception: Players can also use stealth to infiltrate the kingdom’s high-security areas or employ deception to manipulate enemies. Using disguises, magic, and technology, Maximus can change the course of battles or avoid them altogether.

Motivation of Player:

The player is constantly driven by the need for power, knowledge, and redemption. They must build their empire, uncover the dark secrets of the kingdom, and forge relationships with various characters—each with their own agendas. However, the hunt for Bambi represents more than just a physical chase; it's a quest for deeper understanding, as Bambi’s powers could either save or doom the Magic Kingdom.

Key Objectives:

Locate Bambi: The primary objective is to find Bambi before the forces of darkness do. Along the way, players uncover the mysteries of the forest kingdom and its connection to the greater magical world.

Restore the Kingdom: Players must gather allies, defeat corrupt leaders, and unlock ancient powers to restore balance to the kingdom. Each land requires the completion of key quests, often involving battles, negotiations, and solving puzzles.

Uncover Maximus’s Past: As Maximus’s memories return, the player will unlock hidden abilities and unique storylines. The past is filled with betrayal and secrets that will help guide the future of the kingdom.

End the Corruption: Maximus must dismantle the oppressive corporation that seeks to control the kingdom's magical energy. This requires sabotaging their operations, stealing key documents, and confronting their leaders in epic battles.

The Final Confrontation: In the game's climax, the player must decide whether to join Bambi in their fight for freedom or betray them to seize ultimate power. The fate of the Magic Kingdom—and possibly the world—rests in the player’s hands.

This game blends classic open-world gameplay with dark fantasy elements and a rich narrative, providing players with the chance to explore a re-imagined Disney universe full of intrigue, magic, and moral complexity. The pursuit of Bambi adds layers of mystery and suspense, making this a truly unique entry in the GTA franchise.

To project the potential success of GTA: The Magic Kingdom in 2025, we need to consider various factors including market trends, audience engagement, and the unique elements of the game. Here's a breakdown:

Market Growth for Open-World and Action-Adventure Games:

Current Trends: The gaming industry, especially for open-world games and action-adventure genres, has shown steady growth. Titles like Grand Theft Auto V, The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077 continue to drive demand for expansive worlds with immersive stories.

Projections: The global gaming market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 9.5% from 2024 to 2028. As GTA: The Magic Kingdom combines elements of beloved franchises (GTA and Disney), it could tap into both established fanbases, providing a unique mix of nostalgia and innovation.

Audience Engagement and Sentiment:

Nostalgia Factor: The reimagining of Disney’s Magic Kingdom with dark and mature themes will likely engage both nostalgic fans of Disney and mature audiences looking for an alternative take on Disney. This could boost both initial sales and long-term engagement.

Fanbase Growth: By 2025, your fanbase could grow significantly as the game's story unfolds. Assuming solid marketing campaigns and collaborations with influencers or streamers, you might see a steady increase in followers and engagement leading up to and after the game’s release.

Projections: Positive sentiment is expected if the game's unique blending of fantasy, technology, and dystopian elements resonates with audiences. Projections for engagement could range from a 15-20% increase in social media mentions in the first year after release.

Technological Advances and Game Development:

PlayStation 7 and Future Hardware: Given the expected launch of PlayStation 7 around 2025, GTA: The Magic Kingdom could be designed to take full advantage of next-gen console power. This will allow for an even more immersive experience with advanced graphics, smoother gameplay, and expansive worlds.

Projections: With the integration of next-gen technologies (such as AI-driven NPCs and advanced virtual reality options), GTA: The Magic Kingdom could have a 30-40% higher player retention rate due to these enhanced features.

Sales Projections:

Market Demand: Based on trends for similar games (open-world, fantasy, and action-adventure), initial sales could range between 5-10 million copies within the first year.

Projections for 2025: The game could potentially reach 15-20 million copies sold by 2025, depending on post-launch expansions, updates, and downloadable content (DLC). A strong, loyal fanbase built from the early adoption of the game could help push this figure higher.

Expansion and Future Growth:

DLCs & Expansions: By 2025, the game could see its first major expansion, adding new zones, characters, and stories to keep players engaged.

Projections: Expansions or sequels could drive continued engagement. This could result in an additional 10-20% increase in sales in the second year post-launch, especially if the game incorporates user feedback and evolves based on community input.

Marketing and Brand Partnerships:

Brand Alignment: With ties to Disney, GTA: The Magic Kingdom could attract partnerships, cross-promotions, and collaborations with major brands.

Projections: These collaborations could increase visibility, leading to higher-than-expected sales and engagement. With a proper marketing push and potentially viral content, the game's overall reach could expand significantly, especially if there are partnerships with influencers or Disney-themed events.

Summary of Projections for 2025:

Sales: 15-20 million copies sold globally

Player Engagement: 30-40% higher retention with the introduction of new technology

Audience Growth: Significant increase in fanbase with positive sentiment and engagement, likely 20-25% growth year-over-year

Brand Partnerships and DLCs: Increased revenue from post-launch content and collaborations

Overall, with the unique blend of popular genres and the anticipated growth of gaming markets, GTA: The Magic Kingdom could be positioned for strong performance by 2025, with significant growth in both sales and player engagement.

[wayti-blog]

"In the murky African riverbeds, eyesight is rendered virtually useless. To navigate their surroundings, some electric fish have evolved a shocking adaptation that challenges our perceptions of sensory intelligence and teamwork in the animal kingdom. Scientists at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute recently learned that a species of weakly electric fish (Gnathonemus petersii), also known as the elephantnose fish, shares sensory information within its group almost instantaneously. One fish in the river can instantly tell what lies a far distance in front of it by using the electric field generated by its peers further out.

It’s a remarkable and never-before-seen collective sensing that parallels the collaborative systems used in human-engineered technologies such as sonar and radar."

"Electric brains"

“Think of these external signals as electric images of the objects that nearby electric fish automatically produce and beam to nearby fish at the speed of light,” said Dr. Pedraja. “Our work suggests that three fish in a group would each receive three different “electrical views” of the same scene at virtually the same time,”(...)."

continue reading

[venomandperfume]

jayvik altered my brain chemistry

[vitelglobal]

Ready to revolutionize the way your #team communicates? Our AI-powered solutions are designed to simplify complex processes, reduce errors, and increase #customersatisfaction. Discover how you can transform your team and transform customer experiences.

For more info, Visit: https://www.vitelglobal.com

[positivelypresent]

Let’s connect and collaborate! 💛

[thedupshadove]

Horatio and Ophelia are never confirmed as being in a scene together, and do not share so much as a single line of dialogue.

[wonderxshows]

milgram fandom should hire me to do a clothing analysis on the new milgram art outfits cause like. there Are differences in the guys outfits. trust me <- seasoned clothing analyzer

[kiritpankhania]

A powerful tale of how a simple change can change so much. Read. Smile. Share.

Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. The bus was filled with cold, tired people who were deeply irritated with one another, with the world itself. Two men barked at each other about a shove that might or might not have been intentional. A pregnant woman got on, and nobody offered her a seat. Rage was in the air; no mercy would be found here.

But as the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver got on the intercom. "Folks," he said, "I know you have had a rough day and you are frustrated. I can't do anything about the weather or traffic, but here is what I can do. As each one of you gets off the bus, I will reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don't take your problems home to your families tonight, just leave them with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I will open the window and throw your troubles in the water."

It was as if a spell had lifted. Everyone burst out laughing. Faces gleamed with surprised delight. People who had been pretending for the past hour not to notice each other's existence were suddenly grinning at each other like, is this guy serious?

At the next stop, just as promised, the driver reached out his hand, palm up, and waited. One by one, all the exiting commuters placed their hand just above his and mimed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. Some people laughed as they did this, some teared up but everyone did it.

The driver repeated the same lovely ritual at the next stop, too. And the next. All the way to the river.

We live in a hard world, my friends. Sometimes it is extra difficult to be a human being. Sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you have a bad day that lasts for several years. You struggle and fail. You lose jobs, money, friends, faith, and love. You witness horrible events unfolding in the news, and you become fearful and withdrawn. There are times when everything seems cloaked in darkness. You long for the light but don't know where to find it.

But what if you are the light? What if you are the very agent of illumination that a dark situation begs for?. That's what this bus driver taught me, that anyone can be the light, at any moment. This guy wasn't some big power player. He wasn't a spiritual leader. He wasn't some media-savvy influencer. He was a bus driver, one of society's most invisible workers. But he possessed real power, and he used it beautifully for our benefit.

"No matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated, one bright act of grace at a time, all the way to the river.

~ Elizabeth Gilbert

#kiritpankhania #SuperCoach #livealegacy #tkcleadership #theinvironmentalist #love

[halcyon-deluxe]

so like, what's a boy really gotta do to have some fun with you? Like if we met up somehow, randomly or tried to make it happen, what grabs you? How could I, a humble gray face man, get you over my lap for that spanking I once asked about? haha

Well, it's entirely dependent on social chemistry. It's rare that I end up having sex with a stranger anymore or someone I know nothing about, unless we just instantly click in a sexual context. So I guess the best way is to try being friends first, flirt a little to see if we're compatible, then shoot your shot 🤷