Ben McKenzie
@benmckenzie.com.au
He/him performer, writer, educator, game designer and ginger on Wurundjeri Country (aka Melbourne, Australia).
I make the book club podcast Pratchat, time travel radio comedy Night Terrace, games and more.
Not the actor that wrote a book about crypto.
I make the book club podcast Pratchat, time travel radio comedy Night Terrace, games and more.
Not the actor that wrote a book about crypto.
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
@benmckenzie.com.au read my review of Fomoria and it sounds so good!
Thanks to @elmc.at and @bommyknocker.bsky.social and everyone else making The Bloggies and and its well named podcast, "We Read The Bloggies" happen.
podcast.bloggies.org/@WeReadTheBl...
Thanks to @elmc.at and @bommyknocker.bsky.social and everyone else making The Bloggies and and its well named podcast, "We Read The Bloggies" happen.
podcast.bloggies.org/@WeReadTheBl...
[Debut] Birdmilk's RPG Cafe: Fomoria, by Birdmilk
Bloggies 2026 Nominee (Debut Blog Category): Birdmilk’s RPG Cafe by Birdmilk Sample post: Fomoria Narrated by Ben McKenzie Episode Links: Fomoria - Quickstart by Tania Herrero, Johan Nohr Crown of Salt - The Bread Wyrm Fomoria - Epic Folk Horror Roleplaying by Johan Nohr Birdmilk’s RPG Cafe: Blightfall (Doomed Heroes) Blades in the Dark: Action Roll
podcast.bloggies.org
February 16, 2026 at 10:37 PM
@benmckenzie.com.au read my review of Fomoria and it sounds so good!
Thanks to @elmc.at and @bommyknocker.bsky.social and everyone else making The Bloggies and and its well named podcast, "We Read The Bloggies" happen.
podcast.bloggies.org/@WeReadTheBl...
Thanks to @elmc.at and @bommyknocker.bsky.social and everyone else making The Bloggies and and its well named podcast, "We Read The Bloggies" happen.
podcast.bloggies.org/@WeReadTheBl...
My first academic publication came out today in Education Sciences!
Our paper presents a card game I designed as an example of how bespoke boardgames can provide an authentic learning experience.
Huge thanks to lead and co-authors @melissainau.bsky.social and @elisabone.bsky.social.
Our paper presents a card game I designed as an example of how bespoke boardgames can provide an authentic learning experience.
Huge thanks to lead and co-authors @melissainau.bsky.social and @elisabone.bsky.social.
www.mdpi.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:10 AM
My first academic publication came out today in Education Sciences!
Our paper presents a card game I designed as an example of how bespoke boardgames can provide an authentic learning experience.
Huge thanks to lead and co-authors @melissainau.bsky.social and @elisabone.bsky.social.
Our paper presents a card game I designed as an example of how bespoke boardgames can provide an authentic learning experience.
Huge thanks to lead and co-authors @melissainau.bsky.social and @elisabone.bsky.social.
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
Gamers! There's a big bundle of games on sale on Itch.io to support the Immigrant Law Center of Minneapolis.
itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...
itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...
Download the latest indie games
itch.io is a simple way to find, download and distribute indie games online. Whether you're a developer looking to upload your game or just someone looking for something new to play itch.io has you co...
Itch.io
February 9, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Gamers! There's a big bundle of games on sale on Itch.io to support the Immigrant Law Center of Minneapolis.
itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...
itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
Death has...gone. People have stopped dying - but they don’t just keep living, either. Someone needs to find Death and get him back to work, and that someone is you! Except you’re Rincewind. Again. (Sorry.)
@katclay.com joins us to discuss the 1996 videogame, Discworld 2: Missing, Presumed...!?
@katclay.com joins us to discuss the 1996 videogame, Discworld 2: Missing, Presumed...!?
#Pratchat92 – Sand of the Scrounge Wizard
Writer and game designer Kat Clay joins Liz and Ben to point and click on Rincewind once more, as we discuss the 1996 graphic adventure game Discworld 2: Missing, Presumed...!? from Perfect Entertainment. When the wizard Windle Poons dies, no-one comes to collect his soul - and this isn’t the first time Death has been derelict in his duty. Something must be done, and the Archchancellor knows just the man for the job: so-called wizard and veteran videogame protagonist, Rincewind!
pratchatpodcast.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Death has...gone. People have stopped dying - but they don’t just keep living, either. Someone needs to find Death and get him back to work, and that someone is you! Except you’re Rincewind. Again. (Sorry.)
@katclay.com joins us to discuss the 1996 videogame, Discworld 2: Missing, Presumed...!?
@katclay.com joins us to discuss the 1996 videogame, Discworld 2: Missing, Presumed...!?
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
Your #Bridgerton friends are back for season 7 (!!) of What Would Danbury Do? . With special guest host @jodimca.bsky.social, we waltz with episode one of season four of Bridgerton, Benedict, Sophie and the lady in silver. On all your favourite podcast providers or bridgertonpod.com
#wwddpod
#wwddpod
February 5, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Your #Bridgerton friends are back for season 7 (!!) of What Would Danbury Do? . With special guest host @jodimca.bsky.social, we waltz with episode one of season four of Bridgerton, Benedict, Sophie and the lady in silver. On all your favourite podcast providers or bridgertonpod.com
#wwddpod
#wwddpod
Hey folks, an FYI if you make extensive use of Safari tab groups - do not update any of your devices to OS 26.2. It will overwrite them with new blank ones and they cannot be recovered unless you have a Time Machine backup from before the update. And yes, I am in this boat. Quietly upset.
January 26, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Hey folks, an FYI if you make extensive use of Safari tab groups - do not update any of your devices to OS 26.2. It will overwrite them with new blank ones and they cannot be recovered unless you have a Time Machine backup from before the update. And yes, I am in this boat. Quietly upset.
In high school we had an assignment to write a fictional news story.
I wasn’t very in touch with politics, but I was inspired by the government response to the then recent Port Arthur shooting.
I wrote about a protest that led to the split of the coalition over gun laws.
Feels weird now.
I wasn’t very in touch with politics, but I was inspired by the government response to the then recent Port Arthur shooting.
I wrote about a protest that led to the split of the coalition over gun laws.
Feels weird now.
January 25, 2026 at 9:39 PM
In high school we had an assignment to write a fictional news story.
I wasn’t very in touch with politics, but I was inspired by the government response to the then recent Port Arthur shooting.
I wrote about a protest that led to the split of the coalition over gun laws.
Feels weird now.
I wasn’t very in touch with politics, but I was inspired by the government response to the then recent Port Arthur shooting.
I wrote about a protest that led to the split of the coalition over gun laws.
Feels weird now.
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
#TTRPG Designers, players, & related nerds:
@ttrpgcataloging.bsky.social is a group of Library & Information Science MA students are working on a research project focused on improving cataloging for TTRPGs — unbelievably important work!
They’re seeking participants for interviews.
@ttrpgcataloging.bsky.social is a group of Library & Information Science MA students are working on a research project focused on improving cataloging for TTRPGs — unbelievably important work!
They’re seeking participants for interviews.
January 7, 2026 at 3:47 PM
#TTRPG Designers, players, & related nerds:
@ttrpgcataloging.bsky.social is a group of Library & Information Science MA students are working on a research project focused on improving cataloging for TTRPGs — unbelievably important work!
They’re seeking participants for interviews.
@ttrpgcataloging.bsky.social is a group of Library & Information Science MA students are working on a research project focused on improving cataloging for TTRPGs — unbelievably important work!
They’re seeking participants for interviews.
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
The VicEmergency website has been overloaded, causing intermittent outages. Use radio for official emergency updates www.abc.net.au/emergency/ho... #VicFires
How to listen to ABC Radio in an emergency - ABC Emergency
Stay informed in an emergency, set your local ABC radio station in the ABC listen app, and find the frequency on your battery-powered radio.
www.abc.net.au
January 9, 2026 at 3:45 AM
The VicEmergency website has been overloaded, causing intermittent outages. Use radio for official emergency updates www.abc.net.au/emergency/ho... #VicFires
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
When is an encyclopaedia not an encyclopaedia? Maybe when everything in it is made up…
Liz and Ben discuss The #Discworld Companion in its various forms, but mostly the current edition, The Ultimate Discworld Companion, from Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. #Pratchat91 (optional)
Liz and Ben discuss The #Discworld Companion in its various forms, but mostly the current edition, The Ultimate Discworld Companion, from Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. #Pratchat91 (optional)
#Pratchat91 – We Can Reference It For You Wholesale
Liz and Ben do a little light Summer reading as they tackle one of the biggest Discworld books of all - Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs’ The Discworld Companion, in all its various editions (but mostly 2021’s The Ultimate Discworld Companion). From the Abbott of the History Monks, to dimensionally-displaced traveller Jack Zweiblumen, the Discworld Companion is an alphabetical encyclopaedia of everything Discworld!
pratchatpodcast.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:58 AM
When is an encyclopaedia not an encyclopaedia? Maybe when everything in it is made up…
Liz and Ben discuss The #Discworld Companion in its various forms, but mostly the current edition, The Ultimate Discworld Companion, from Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. #Pratchat91 (optional)
Liz and Ben discuss The #Discworld Companion in its various forms, but mostly the current edition, The Ultimate Discworld Companion, from Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. #Pratchat91 (optional)
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
If it’s safe to leave, leave now. If VIC Emergency suggests you should leave, please leave
January 8, 2026 at 7:34 AM
If it’s safe to leave, leave now. If VIC Emergency suggests you should leave, please leave
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
For many years I lived in an apartment without aircon. My list of places I could go to escape the heat in metro Melbourne
January 5, 2026 at 7:48 AM
For many years I lived in an apartment without aircon. My list of places I could go to escape the heat in metro Melbourne
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
Your disabled friend isn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of getting whatever horrible lurgy you’ve reassured them isn’t Covid, it has been revealed.
Disabled friend doesn’t particularly want your Not-Covid either
Your disabled friend isn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of getting whatever horrible lurgy you’ve reassured them isn’t Covid, it has been revealed. In a statement released today, your disabled…
thedailytism.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Your disabled friend isn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of getting whatever horrible lurgy you’ve reassured them isn’t Covid, it has been revealed.
We did this on stage in 2011, in a little musical called The Terminativity. I was Melchior.
youtu.be/F6sE3Fjgi18
youtu.be/F6sE3Fjgi18
December 26, 2025 at 8:37 AM
We did this on stage in 2011, in a little musical called The Terminativity. I was Melchior.
youtu.be/F6sE3Fjgi18
youtu.be/F6sE3Fjgi18
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
Here it is. The final 24 hours. You've helped coax banked embers into a steady flame. Tell me, what is one thing you'll bring with you into What-Comes-Next? Seeds? Thread? A good kitchen knife? What will you make of what's left? Together, let's light up the world.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
www.kickstarter.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Here it is. The final 24 hours. You've helped coax banked embers into a steady flame. Tell me, what is one thing you'll bring with you into What-Comes-Next? Seeds? Thread? A good kitchen knife? What will you make of what's left? Together, let's light up the world.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
Heads up that the Discord face video age verification system requires you to remove your glasses, then has written instructions on the screen, including moving closer or further away.
No doubt verification is partly an estimate of how bad your eyesight is based on how long this takes.
No doubt verification is partly an estimate of how bad your eyesight is based on how long this takes.
December 10, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Heads up that the Discord face video age verification system requires you to remove your glasses, then has written instructions on the screen, including moving closer or further away.
No doubt verification is partly an estimate of how bad your eyesight is based on how long this takes.
No doubt verification is partly an estimate of how bad your eyesight is based on how long this takes.
The requests across various platforms to verify my age has begun. All using third party services.
The least intrusive option, credit card, does not work with Visa/MC debit. (I assume that’s why; it doesn’t say.)
How many different companies will I have to let scan my face, or ID documents?
The least intrusive option, credit card, does not work with Visa/MC debit. (I assume that’s why; it doesn’t say.)
How many different companies will I have to let scan my face, or ID documents?
December 10, 2025 at 8:55 PM
The requests across various platforms to verify my age has begun. All using third party services.
The least intrusive option, credit card, does not work with Visa/MC debit. (I assume that’s why; it doesn’t say.)
How many different companies will I have to let scan my face, or ID documents?
The least intrusive option, credit card, does not work with Visa/MC debit. (I assume that’s why; it doesn’t say.)
How many different companies will I have to let scan my face, or ID documents?
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
Brendan Keogh's Putting Challenge is currently 40% off on Steam! It is not Steam Deck verified but I verify that it works on Steam Deck store.steampowered.com/app/1625830/...
Save 40% on Brendan Keogh's Putting Challenge on Steam
Brendan Keogh’s Putting Challenge is a local co-op golf game about all the parts other golf videogames cut out. Sounds tedious? It sort of is. Bring your friends! ⛳️
store.steampowered.com
December 9, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Brendan Keogh's Putting Challenge is currently 40% off on Steam! It is not Steam Deck verified but I verify that it works on Steam Deck store.steampowered.com/app/1625830/...
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
Is that a steam train - in Ankh-Morpork? Psychologist Craig Hildebrand-Burke joins Liz and Ben to put on our anoraks and write "40" in our notebooks for a gradely discussion of #TerryPratchett's penultimate #Discworld novel: Raising Steam! #Pratchat90
#Pratchat90 – Mind the Ginnungagap
Psychologist Craig Hildebrand-Burke rejoins Liz and Ben as we don our flat caps and anoraks, as we make sense of Terry Pratchett's penultimate Discworld novel, 2013's Raising Steam. Dick Simnel has created Iron Girder, the Disc's first steam engine - and he's brought it to Ankh-Morpork seeking an investor. He finds one in Sir Harry King, who is keen to be known as the King of something other than what brought him his wealth.
pratchatpodcast.com
December 7, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Is that a steam train - in Ankh-Morpork? Psychologist Craig Hildebrand-Burke joins Liz and Ben to put on our anoraks and write "40" in our notebooks for a gradely discussion of #TerryPratchett's penultimate #Discworld novel: Raising Steam! #Pratchat90
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
DOGPILE | Release Year Announcement Trailer
YouTube video by Studio Folly
youtu.be
December 4, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
State Library of Victoria staff have been harassed, belittled, prevented from doing their job, fired and/or told they will be fired if they publicly tell the truth about the shiteshow of scandals & damage behind the scenes. Please speak for them by signing here. www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/ha...
Hands off our State Library!
Library workers deliver essential services to 2.8 million people in our community each year. They run information services, connect people online, hold free workshops, develop community connections an...
www.megaphone.org.au
December 1, 2025 at 10:40 AM
State Library of Victoria staff have been harassed, belittled, prevented from doing their job, fired and/or told they will be fired if they publicly tell the truth about the shiteshow of scandals & damage behind the scenes. Please speak for them by signing here. www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/ha...
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
US customers can now pick up the new boxed set version of The Quiet Year. Check out my webstore for more info!
store.buriedwithoutceremony.com
store.buriedwithoutceremony.com
Buried Without Ceremony
My name is Avery Alder, and for the past eighteen years I’ve been designing tabletop roleplaying games. These are games about community, relationships, doubt, queerness, and the collapse of civilizati...
store.buriedwithoutceremony.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:57 PM
US customers can now pick up the new boxed set version of The Quiet Year. Check out my webstore for more info!
store.buriedwithoutceremony.com
store.buriedwithoutceremony.com
Reposted by Ben McKenzie
This cause is close to my heart - please sign:
A call for safe air and masking in healthcare settings
#LongCovid
#ME/CFS
A call for safe air and masking in healthcare settings
#LongCovid
#ME/CFS
A Call for Safe Air and Masking in Healthcare Settings
We, the undersigned clinicians, scientists, and health professionals, call for the urgent reinstatement of basic airborne-infection-control measures—clean indoor air and appropriate airborne respirato...
our.actionstation.org.nz
December 2, 2025 at 7:47 AM
This cause is close to my heart - please sign:
A call for safe air and masking in healthcare settings
#LongCovid
#ME/CFS
A call for safe air and masking in healthcare settings
#LongCovid
#ME/CFS
We really needed a good news story in games, and this is great news!
just incredibly thrilled to announce that after months and months of uncertainty over the future of the game, and several I have bought Zombies, Run!, the game I co-created and have been making for the past 12 years:
zombiesrungame.com
observer.co.uk/the-critics/...
zombiesrungame.com
observer.co.uk/the-critics/...
I’m a novelist who’s just bought a video games company. Here’s why you should care about games writing | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 6:26 AM
We really needed a good news story in games, and this is great news!