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

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

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…

Social media issues

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.

Read more

№ 110 | ‘Havens, Hubs & Hangouts’, “Infrastructure for Thinking”, Fractal Gridding + the Hadara Method (for Goal Setting), Bootstrapping Computing,  Catalyst Game, Four Corners Reflection, A Visual Archive of the Jan 6 Capitol Attack, and the Size of Life

№ 110 | ‘Havens, Hubs & Hangouts’, “Infrastructure for Thinking”, Fractal Gridding + the Hadara Method (for Goal Setting), Bootstrapping Computing, Catalyst Game, Four Corners Reflection, A Visual Archive of the Jan 6 Capitol Attack, and the Size of Life

Did you miss me? 🤪 Stephen P. Anderson here, back again with your regular roundup of ‘playful things to think with… and think about’ (wow, that came out sounding like a cheesy DJ announcer!) One of the great things about taking time off between issues is the bounty of amazing finds

By Stephen P. Anderson
№ 109 | Algodeck, Alternatives to Arrows, Comic Lettering, Equations Explained Colorfully, Chemistry Advent Calendar, A Framework for Making Decisions, TikTok’s System Map, Learner Engagement Checklist, and Closing Prompts

№ 109 | Algodeck, Alternatives to Arrows, Comic Lettering, Equations Explained Colorfully, Chemistry Advent Calendar, A Framework for Making Decisions, TikTok’s System Map, Learner Engagement Checklist, and Closing Prompts

Let’s close out the year with an XL-sized roundup of ‘playful things to think with’ and think about. 🗓️NOTE: This will be the last newsletter until next year. I normally publish Thinking Things every two weeks. But, I do like to take a bit of time off during the

By Stephen P. Anderson
№ 108 | Paid Attention, Algorithms to Serve People, Algorithms That Don’t Serve People, the Meaning Matrix, Historical Problem Space Framework, Games as Information Systems, Four Video Games to Change How We Think, and the Circularity Deck

№ 108 | Paid Attention, Algorithms to Serve People, Algorithms That Don’t Serve People, the Meaning Matrix, Historical Problem Space Framework, Games as Information Systems, Four Video Games to Change How We Think, and the Circularity Deck

I’m back again with even more playful things to think with, and think about! Chances are, this edition of the Thinking Things newsletter gets lost in the FLOOD of “best deal of the year” emails.  Anyway… I’m busy. You’re busy. This will be the “straight to the

By Stephen P. Anderson
№ 107 | Reimagining the Now, Surfacing Worldviews of Change, Characteristics of SenseMaking (Illustrated), The Authoritarian Stack, Wheels of Privilege / Power—Remixed!, Four Leadership Modes

№ 107 | Reimagining the Now, Surfacing Worldviews of Change, Characteristics of SenseMaking (Illustrated), The Authoritarian Stack, Wheels of Privilege / Power—Remixed!, Four Leadership Modes

Back again, with even more playful things to think with, and think about. Last issue, I promised more card decks in this edition of Thinking Things. So, more card decks it is! Reimaging the Now card deck The Reimagining the Now card deck was created “to highlight how existing technological

By Stephen P. Anderson