Finds

№ 46 | Future Scenarios Inspired by Videogames, Strategic Doing, Social Media Issues, Backdoors & Breaches, the Tiny Awards, and A Password Game

Stephen P. Anderson

Jul 21, 2023 — 2 min read

Future scenarios, inspired by videogames

They took your garbage can away today.
Your recycling bin too. All that’s left is the compost bin.
Neighbors are standing at the curb watching the trucks drive off, looking a bit in shock.
It sounded impossible when the federal government first announced it last year. But now it’s really happening.
It’s the end of garbage as we know it.

Here’s a short, solid piece from Jane McGonigal, Ph.D., Director of IFTF, where she answers the question: “How can I make a future scenario feel as immersive and explorable as a videogame?”Some practical tips in here, hearkening back to CYOA books and early text adventures.

Strategic Doing

Actually, a book review by Harold Jarche of Strategic Doing, in which the author’s identify 10 skills, of which “the most successful teams consistently used eight of these skills, while the least successful used only two.” I could see turning this into a game or conversation starter of some kind…

I’d love to go back to school, for courses like this one on Social Media Issues.
From the discussion questions to thought provoking models such as the one below, I’m a wee bit envious of the students who took this class!

A security (card) game!

Did I mention this game in a previous FF? If not, here ya go…

Backdoors & Breaches is a “popular incident response card game” for security practitioners. And it’s back with a new expansion deck, focused on “top threats and techniques from the 2023 Threat Detection Report.”

The new Red Canary expansion deck is an amalgamation of experiences from real-world incidents, combining common incidents with some of the more unusual and thought-provoking. Of course, we couldn’t help but add in some fun hypotheticals…

Source “Unboxing our Backdoors & Breaches expansion deck”

The Tiny Awards

Here’s the shortlist for the Tiny Awards, a “celebration of the small, playful, and heartfelt web.” I’m still working my way through the 16 nominees, but I’ve already been surprised and delighted by several of these websites. Have fun. You’re welcome. 😉

Speaking of delightful things…

***BONUS: A password game?!
This insane password game is a frustrating delight. You can curse me later.

№ 83 | Stop Project 2025 Comics, Future for All: A vision for 2048, eyeConnect Cards, The Rule Book, and the Effects of Geography on Voting

This edition of the newsletter comes a couple days later than usual, but for a wonderful reason—I spent 5 days last week playing board games with my friends at BGG Con. 🎲 🤩 Next issue will resume the normal Sunday schedule! 🥸Reminder: If you're participating in the Create A

№ 82 | Pebble Talk, The Mood Meter, 3 Styles of Play, A Convection Simulation, an Electoral College Simulation, and What If America Had 6 Political Parties?

📍In case you missed it… Throughout November, I’m hosting another Creative Challenge: Create A Real Life Character Sheet. About 15 people have signed up so far, and there’s space for a few more folks—you should join us! Pebble Talk Here’s a way to avoid awkward small

Creative Challenge #3: Create A Real Life Character Sheet

Welcome, new readers. From time to time, I organize “Creative Challenges,” that fit with the whole “playful things to think with” theme. Previously, there was a One Card Serious Game Challenge, followed by the Make a Zine Challenge. I hadn’t planned on doing another Creative Challenge until next year

№ 81 | Scientific Papers as Comic Strips, 52 Things About Cards, Thermodynamics Cards, Collaborative Place Futures Toolkit, and Why The Work is Never Just “The Work”

✉️Look for 2 extra special emails heading your way, later this week! 1/ The promised print-and-play Zombie Leadership cards. 2/ An announcement about our next Creative Challenge… Scientific Papers as Comic Strips Yes! Comics as things to think with. Here’s an interview with Kanaka Rajan, who uses “narrative illustrations