Games At Work dot Biz

e574 with Andy and Michael M: from the Aina smart ring to the One ring, MCP architecture, Jellyfish Skills and a whole lot more! 

Andy and Michael start things off with the Aina smart ring and end with the One ring with some intriguing stories in between.  The newly announced Aina ring relieves the user of the burden of opening up their phone to approve agentic actions through a combination of screen notifications, voice commands and an integrated joystick in the ring.  It seems that this may be a temporal / temporary benefit, while humans get used to agents acting on their behalf more and more.  

Next up is an intriguing build your own Apple Vision Pro experience using older iPhone hardware and iOS capabilities such as AR Kit along with a 3D printed housing to hold the phone and cameras to your face.  This is reminiscent of the Google Cardboard setup, and the capabilities of the hardware and software is now such that Brenpoly could make a phone accomplish a great deal.  Michael noted that if you use mobile spotlight in iOS 27.2 to search on “Find”, iOS will return several cool features of Magnifier to identify objects around you.

Sticking with the hacking and temporal themes, there is a superb story of perseverance of a 2014 Renault Latitude owner named Rasmus Moorats wishing to change the car’s clock to wintertime, and the steps he took to accomplish this task.  Check out the detailed blog post below and you too will marvel at what he did.

Switching gears to agentic software architecture, Michael and Andy take a look at an agenticthinking.ai post about the headless design pattern enabled by MCP.  This spurs a discussion on Service Oriented Architecture, BPEL, WSDL and Enterprise Service Busses.  The MCP integration point can enable any “head” to call upon the services – whether though a chat experience with Claude/Gemini/ChatGPT, through a bespoke application or partner applications, allowing for maximum flexibility and personalization for the user.  Michael also notes that this is an enabling function for what he has called #JellyfishSkills – which allows an individual to see connections between disparate functionality and go deep by calling the services exposed by the MCP in a just in time manner.

Andy and Michael wrap up the episode with the exciting trailer for the next installment of The Rings of Power – which is set to release on 11 November 2026 – that’s this week!

What is an example of your persistence to achieve a technical outcome?  What did you do, and why did you do it that way?  Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @[email protected] (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

TechCrunch article: Aina’s smart ring has a screen, a joystick, and a mic so you can talk to AI agents

https://www.aina.com

hackster.io article: Can $5 Get You an Apple Vision Pro Alternative?

Google Cardboard

Apple iPhone User Guide: Detect doors, people, and furniture around you using Magnifier on iPhone

Rasmus Moorats blog.nns.ee blog post: Jailbreaking my car’s navigation system just so I can change the time

The Verge article: The Xbox Nano has a hidden cloud secret

Games at Work e386: Too Many Brits (for discussion on the shut down of Stadia) 

agenticthinking.ai blog post: Headless AI: Every App is a Head

Wikipedia article: Service-oriented architecture (SOA)

w3.org Web Services Description Language (WSDL)

Wikipedia article: Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

LinkedIn blog post by Michael M: #JellyfishSkills

Published 2 November 2026

e573 with Michael M and Andy:  stories about Ikea’s Wall of Sound, LEGO’s collab with Daft Punk, decomp and recomp retro games, persuasive games and a whole lot more! 

Andy and Michael start things off in a Swedish way, celebrating the fact that Andy was in Sweden just last week, is sporting the blue and yellow colors of the flag, and lean right into the first story from Ikea, whose bluetooth KALLSUP speakers have a feature to link up with one another.  If you want to create a wall of sound with up to 150 of these cubes, you could do so.  

The cohosts then shift to the “first computer-generated TV presenter” from 1985: Max Headroom.  You can experience this over at headroom.channel.  Michael accidentally nerd snipes Andy into downloading the Veilamp visualizer.  

Then, the team turns to LEGO (as they frequently do) and talk about the collaboration between LEGO and Daft Punk™.  There is a newly approved LEGO Ideas fan creation for a Daft Punk concert, which also sparks an illuminating conversation on the third party light kits available for many of the LEGO builds.

After taking a quick look at the Overgrown browser extension, Andy and Michael turn to the decompilation/recompilation story from the Verge.  With the team’s interest in long term preservation of games – Andy points out that there are specific bugs and behavior that are in the game precisely because of the then-prevalent hardware capabilities.  And is the game the same game, if you “fix” these problems in a new recompiled version of the retro code?  Michael makes a link between these kinds of retro game preservation to business process differentiation while updating to the current level on ERP or other business software. 

Then, the cohosts take a look at Permit Pending – a SimCity style building game with a twist.  The twist deals with the player as mayor of the city dealing with all of the zoning, eminent domain, filing fees and more that are all part of construction and development.  

Wrapping up the episode, Andy and Michael look at the Tiny Computers app – which is an excellent example to prove the point they both made earlier. 

Does the preservation of software through decomp/recomp a net good even if it changes some of the gameplay restrictions from the hardware?  Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @[email protected] (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Wired article: We Linked 150 of Ikea’s $10 Speakers to Make a Wall of Sound

Ikea’s KALLSUP speaker

Wikipedia article: Wall of Sound

benbrown.com post: Headroom.Channel

https://headroom.channel

Wikipedia article: Max Headroom

Veilamp

kottke.org post: Short video teasing a new collab between Daft Punk and Lego

Wallpaper article: Lego gets lucky with its latest creative collaboration, a long-term link with Daft Punk

LEGO Ideas post: Exciting update on the DAFT PUNK™ Concert submission!

https://daftpunk.com

CharlieGerard.dev post: Overgrown, when plants invade your abandoned tabs

GitHub: charliegerard / Overgrown

The Verge article: Retro gaming is being overrun with AI

Games at Work e562: Field Notes (for Pigs in Space game for the EMF Camp badge)

Games at Work e292: Elite British Gaming (for Mark Moxon’s work & documentation for Elite)

Complete BBC Micro Games Archive: Great Britain Ltd

conduct.ai 

Permit Pending

Persuasive Games: Jetset: A Game for Airports

Games at Work e26: Business Process Management and Immortality (for process decomposition through games)

The Verge article: This open-source project lets you sync Withings data to other apps without a subscription

Kottke post: The Tiny Computers app lets you play with old computers on the iPhone Duo

Tiny Computers

Wikipedia article: EMate_300

A fun discussion of gaming with special guest Ian “epredator” Hughes - retired tech luminary.

Photo by Nigel Hoare on Unsplash

Published 12 October 2026

e571 with Andy and Michael R: lots of bricks and blocks (LEGO, and Minecraft), podracing, and random typefaces.

We kick off with a look at the just-announced LEGO Marvel City Skyline set (due January 2027). Andy wants it for his home office shelf.

Next, a discussion of Apple’s “Welcome Home” event and the rumoured hook-up with the privacy disaster that is LG Electronics.

One man has built a gigantic city in Minecraft, after years coaching in the NFL. Well, that’s one retirement plan! Another idea might be to prompt your next game into life using Google Playground (it’s a playground, not a graveyard – yet).

Both Michael and Andy get a little bit excited about the new Star Wars Galactic Racers game, bringing podracing to a new generation, and even streamed via a browser in Amazon’s Luna platform.

Finally, Michael gets freaked out by a monospaced font that MOVES.

What game would you prompt into life? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @[email protected] (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. All rights reserved. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Marvel LEGO: https://www.slashfilm.com/2281558/lego-marvel-universe-city-skyline-set/

Apple comes home: https://sixcolors.com/link/2026/10/apple-sets-homecoming-for-oc

NFL Minecrafting: https://onefoottsunami.com/2026/10/08/mike-tomlin-has-been-minecrafting/

Google games (and it’s not Stadia) https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/ai/playground-experimental-gaming-platform/

Podracers: https://kotaku.com/star-wars-galactic-racer-is-out-today-and-amazon-prime-members-can-check-it-out-for-free-2000740982 and https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1002887/star-wars-galactic-racer-review

Rando Mono by Beau: https://beau.land/rando_mono/

Published 5 October 2026

e570 with Andy and Michael R: stories about AI brain for fish, crowdsourced fishing for map updates, inebriated AI, virtual Brutalism architecture, a Minecraft themed hotel and a whole lot more!

Have you ever heard the phrase “fish for brains”?  Well in this episode, Michael R and Andy start things of for what kind of AI model is needed to be the brain for fish.  Pocket Tank is a tiny, yet sophisticated AI model for how fish interact in the smallest of fish tanks.  Andy shares a game about digging a hole which reminded Michael M (while crafting the show notes) of the Wind Rose Diggy Diggy Hole song – which will nicely connect to the Minecraft hotel discussion at the end of the episode.

A longtime focus of this podcast is maps, mapping and improving them, going all the way back to the very first episode of Games at Work.  A superb example of this is StreetComplete, which is on android, and newly available via TestFlight for iOS which allows the user to contribute to OpenStreetMap in a gamified, quest driven way, such as detailing the kind of pedestrian crossings are available at a particular intersection. 

A Sony Walkman skeuomorphic user experience takes advantage of the new iPhone Duo folding screen to replicate opening up the Walkman and inserting a cassette tape.  Check out other examples of what Bitrig is envisioning with the iPhone Duo’s multiple screens.

Michael and Andy both express their appreciation for an impressive full desk set up to charge a qi device wherever the device is placed on the desk.  If you are looking for something to buy right now, check out the (no affiliates link) Wirecutter collection below.

Minecraft hotel in Chessington is being crafted / constructed, which will have a potions bar in addition to themed guest rooms.  Have to wonder if they will provide the ability of guests to come dig a hole either virtually or on the premises!

Could Dou-Man be the “killer app” for the new iPhone Duo?  What do you think the killer app will be?  Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @[email protected] (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Stratobuilds article: Pocket Tank: A Tiny AI Fish Tank

Wikipedia article: Tamagotchi

Wikipedia article: Little Computer People

Games at Work e366: MetaMoney (for Little Computer People discussion)

Gaming on Linux article: A Game About Digging A Hole Together announced

Kottke post: Map of the Lighthouses of the World

StreetComplete

OpenStreetMap

Hacker News post: StreetComplete on iOS is now in public beta

Games at Work e00001: Wouldn’t You Like to Be a Mayor Too? (For gamified mapping with Waze)

The Verge article: Amazon’s delivery driver smart glasses will reportedly take photos ‘almost constantly’

9 to 5 Mac article: Duo-Man turns your 2026 iPhone Duo into a 1980s Sony Walkman

https://viditb.com

Bitrig post: Bitrig Now Builds iPhone Duo Apps

RE: https://circumstances.run/@davidgerard/117356555017512210

Congrats on inventing Drunk Clippy.

— Kevin Beaumont (@[email protected])2026-09-29T21:59:41.627Z

Well — this is awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvLWuK2TU-w&feature=youtu.be

#DIY #desk #charging #phone #ideas

— Benjamin Han (@[email protected])2026-09-28T01:47:09.526Z

https://www.youtube.com/@HTXStudio

Wirecutter article (updated September 23, 2026): The Best Apple Wireless Charging Stations for Multiple Devices

The Guardian article: World’s first Minecraft hotel to open in the UK – here’s what we know so far

Tiny Brutalism

Published 28 September 2026

e569 with Andy, Michael and Michael explore flight and world simulators, VR glasses that burn temples, sideburns, ice printing, a camera robot, audio optimized venues and a whole lot more!

The Game at Work cohosts Andy, Michael and Michael are back together for a whirlwind review of the latest in technology.  They start off with a flight simulator, which is not from the perspective of a pilot – rather from the perspective of a passenger.  The familiar sights and sounds or jet travel can be yours from the browser-based InFlightSimulator.  Then, zooming out a bit, the cohosts consider God’s Eye View, where the user can experience a photorealistic digital twin of the planet.  After briefly touching (down) on Geoscape, Andy has an opportunity to share the ASCII City experience.  This is not your 1980s ASCII art, rather a very Matrix-esque view of a city, with cars, pedestrians and buildings.

Switching gears, the team takes a look at several VR stories, including the new VR glasses from Meta and the Inmo Air3.  The Inmo glasses have had a recall for overheating, which opened a etymology discussion on the origin of sideburns.  And an article from heise.de details challenges stemming from GDPR requirements.  

In the last part of the episode, there are several cool stories.  One details how it is possible to 3D print ice by removing air.  Another is an interactive art exhibit.  A third is a kickstarter for flat dice.  After looking at Beni, a camera robot designed to follow or race ahead of you to film you, the team wraps up with the new Apple Music Hall venue in London, which looks to be a fantastic place to hear performances. 

What city would you like to experience in ASCII?  Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @[email protected] (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

In Flight Simulator

@gamesatwork_biz
If you happen to know any flight simulator enthusiasts/delightful nerds… why not offer them a God-like-vista to keep them busy exploring forever…

https://youtu.be/o_FJ1NIH9yw

#FrontierMapping
#SuckYouInHighU11Y

— 𝓛𝔁𝓼 / 𝔸𝕝𝕖𝕩𝕚𝕤 🏵🇪🇺💫 (@[email protected])2026-09-15T17:44:24.510Z

God’s Eye View on GitHub

Geoscape

ASCII City

Grow Now! Games (for ASCII City)

ASCII Art Archive

IGN article: Meta’s New VR Glasses to Entice Casual Viewers With 3D and Full-Frame IMAX

The Verge article: These smart glasses have been recalled for overheating temples causing burns

Wikipedia article: Ambrose Burnside (for the etymology of “sideburns”)

heise.de article: GDPR trap Smart Glasses: Why Ray-Ban Meta wearers can be held liable

Fabbaloo article: A 3D Printer That Makes Ice By Removing Air

PNAS article: Three-dimensional printing of ice structures via evaporative cooling in vacuum

Ink and Switch

Ink and Switch Ambsheets

Kickstarter: HEXFORME DICE: Ultra-Thin Modular Magnetic Spinner Dice

Mondo Robotics

Games at Work e171: Jelly Jelly Bo Belly (for the selfie taking wrist drone)

Apple Newsroom: Apple opens Apple Music Hall, a brand‑new state‑of‑the‑art live music venue in London

Berliner Philharmoniker

Published 14 September 2026

e568 Michael and Michael discuss AI Vision invisibility techniques, set flavors to stun with Le Creuset’s Star Trek inspired cookware, enjoy LEGO Ideas projects, review Audio Intelligence features and a whole lot more!

Michael and Michael get together while Andy is away and kick things off with a story about making cars invisible to AI.  This discussion reminds Michael R of other examples such as clothing or glasses that aid in obscuring visual algorithms.  Michael M is reminded of a story the Games at Work team covered about Duke University’s work on an “invisibility cloak”.

The next dish on the menu deals with a fun mashup between cookware maker Le Creuset and Star Trek.  A wonderful article from Wired chock full of puns boldly goes where the cohosts did not dare.  I’m a chef, not an away team member, Jim!  How they missed a saucer separation is really beyond us.  In the attached show notes, you can delve into the differences between a Trekker and a Trekkie – but consider yourself warned.  

Then, a couple of pieces about LEGO, specifically the LEGO Ideas that have reached 10,000 community votes, and are up for consideration to be made available for purchase.  Michael M highlights his favorites from the recent batch of contenders, focusing on Lion-O and his ThunderCats team.  The 1950s diner with it’s lighting kit for all the neon decor is also fantastic.

This was the week for new announcements from Cupertino – and the cohosts picked up on two interesting pieces.  First, a set of cases for the new iPhone Duo that hearken back to the color language of the iBook.  And second, a take on the privacy for the Audio Intelligence features for the new Apple Watches.

The team wraps things up with the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and a sidescroller game celebrating the 900th anniversary since the last time the Bayeux tapestry was in England.  

Who is your favorite ThunderCat?  Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @[email protected] (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Bitdefender article: An “invisible” car? Researcher uses machine learning to hide vehicles from Flock cameras

Games at Work e541: Invisible Llamas (for stories on invisibility)

Games at Work e396: GAN vs GAN (for details on the Duke invisibility cloak, Daniel Suarez Kill Decision)

Wired article:  To Boldly Dough! Le Creuset Sent Its New Star Trek Cooking Collection Into Space

Le Creuset x Star Trek

The Trek BBS thread: The difference between Trekkie and Trekker?  (Remember, you’ve been warned)

ThunderCats

IMDb ThunderCats TV Series 1985-1989

Emergency Kit

1950s American Drive-In Diner

LeLightGo LEGO Light Kits

MacWorld article: The perfect iPhone Duo case doesn’t exis (sic)…

iBook Clamshell: iBook Colors

MacRumors article: Apple Explains What Happens to Conversations Siri Recap Hears

Apple article: About Audio Intelligence features on Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4

https://bayeuxgo.live

The British Museum: The Bayeux Tapestry

NPR article: After 900 years, the Bayeux Tapestry returns to England and goes on display in London

e567 with Michael M and Andy - Stories and discussion on Xteink reader mods, PONG, mathematical innovations for dice, walled garden vs open vibe coding, World Models, AI productivity and a whole lot more!

Published 31 August 2026

e566 with Michael M and Andy who strive to make fetch happen with AI podcast search and news aggregation, spoof computers (Mactini & MacBook Wheel), Doom ports & mods, Flying Toasters, falling Acme anvils and a whole lot more!

Michael M and Andy get together while Michael R is away, starting and ending the episode with some classic lines from stage and screen.  Michael M is freshly back from seeing the Cape Playhouse’s rendition of Mean Girls, which was such a delight.  

Turning then to AI – the cohosts start off with a story about making podcasts searchable and usable by AI agents.  This reminds Andy of Particle, an app that both he and Michael use occasionally to review the news.  Next, they both use the Cringebot 3000 to make up some LinkedIn posts.

Then, a series of hacks – beginning with a super fun one, the Apple Mactini, not to be confused with Dr. Dorian from Scrubs favorite drink – the appletini.  The Mactini is not a watered down cocktail, rather it is a one button computer that Tucker Osman made based on the spoof of an Apple TV commercial from 20 years ago, and that remained true to the spoof in it’s function.  The Onion made a spoof of a click wheel (from the iPod) Mac in 2009 – and you can see that video in in the notes below.  After checking out a number of LEGO gaming PCs, Andy shares the story of the eenk firmware for Xteink devices to create the choose your own adventure games we’ve been sharing on the podcast recently.

Longtime listeners will know that the Games at Work team collects Doom stories, and for this episode, there are a couple of new examples.  There’s a story about Doom running on the EMFCamp Tildagon Badge, a mod called Mr. Friendly whose objective is to help the monsters recover from the latest space marine rampage, and an article about Anthropic’s Claude playing the game.

Closing out the show, Andy and Michael take a look at a port of the After Dark screen savers which you can now experience again thanks to Afterglow.  They also look at a review of the Coyote vs Acme film that is premiering, and the linkage to Looney Tunes, and Ben Moor’s talk entitled “Pronoun Trouble”.

And, as mentioned at the start of the show notes, the ending for the episode ties everything up with an Elmer Fudd bow where we is hunting Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and Daffy of course utters the classic line in his classic voice, “You’re despicable.”

What is your favorite Acme product?  Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @[email protected] (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Mean Girls 2026

TechCrunch article: Radar makes podcasts searchable — and usable by AI agents

Particle.news

LinkedIn CringeBot 3000

hackster.io article: The Apple Mactini Just Became a Real Computer

Games at Work e529: Shake, Shake, Shake Your iPhone (for the Onion MacBook Wheel)

Brick Fanatics article: New LEGO gaming PCs revealed, and you can make them at home

eenk custom firmware for the Xteink ESP32 series of e-ink reader devices

Mr. Friendly

Hackaday article: Claude Plays Doom

Afterglow for After Dark Flying Toasters

Games at Work e382: Know it when I see it (for the creepy AI generated flying toaster)

IGN article: Coyote vs. Acme Review

Ben Moor post: Pronoun Trouble

Rabbit Fire (1951) on r/looneytunes (for the Rabbit Season, Duck Season bit, which is such a classic)

Published 17 August 2026

e565 with Andy, Michael and Michael – invisible prompt injections in legal briefs and resumes, podcasting games, No Man’s Sky & Pokemon Go’s anniversaries, LEGO and a whole lot more!

Andy, Michael and Michael begin with invisible prompt injections.  The first example is in legal briefs with the intent to influence AI agents reading the filings.  Another example attempts to influence agents evaluating resumes.  Continuing on the theme, the co hosts consider a story about machine-readable watermarks in text and images in accordance with the EU’s AI Act.  

Next up is an intriguing podcast game from friend of the show, Ian Hughes.  In this game, the player collects stories that appeal to the co hosts of the podcast in order to put together a show.  Bravo, Ian!  Andy shares his Twine take on the Games at Work choose your own adventure game including inventory and time constraints.  Andy’s game even allows you to create a choose your own adventure Twine game in the game!  Then, the team celebrates several 10 year milestones – for No Man’s Sky and for Pokemon Go.  

Next – it’s time for LEGO!  A new Nike + LEGO AF1 creation replete with a Spaceman minifig sporting Nike logos on his space boots makes its appearance.  LEGO also announces the “Masters Academy” at the LEGO house, where you can learn to become more creative with your builds.  This inspires Michael M on how LEGO can spur creativity in other settings, following on LEGO’s Serious Play offerings.  Michael R found the Minas Tirith build with all 8,278 pieces while the builder was watching the entire extended edition of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.  The builder was wearing an Oura ring to track their stress level and included in the article are screenshots from the ring’s app.  Check them out from the link below.

Closing out the episode, the team takes a look at Prima, a retinal implant for macular degeneration.  Amazing times we live in.

What features would you like to see in the Podcasting games?  Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @[email protected] (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

404 Media article: Person Hides Prompt Injection in Legal Filing Telling AI to Side With Them

Fast Company article: ‘Fighting fire with fire’: Job candidates are sneaking AI prompt injections into their applications

The Verge article: Claude will apply invisible watermarks to AI text and images

Made by Human

European Commission article: EU Icons for labelling AI-generated content

LinkQuest: A Tech Podcast Adventure from Ian Hughes

Games at Work Podcast Game from Andy

Games at Work e35: Pirates of Pizzazz (for the Games at Work choose your own adventure game)

Games at Work Podcast Game from Michael M

Games Radar article: No Man’s Sky Cosmos is the next big update as Hello Games refuses to slow down after 10 years

Kotaku article: No Man’s Sky Players Have Visited Less Than 1 Percent Of Its Planets After A Decade Of Exploration And 40 Major Updates

Damp Squib / Damp Squid references

IMDb: Remarkably Bright Creatures

Pokemon Go news: Every Trainer can celebrate 10 years of Pokémon GO with a special Mewtwo!

IGN article: LEGO Reveals Nike Air Force 1 Set With a New Version of the Classic Spaceman Minifigure

Stuff article: I became a better builder at Lego House’s epic Masters Academy sessions – and you can too!

Games at Work e130: The Final Countdown (for LEGO Serious Play)

Stuff article: I tracked my stress while making an 8000 piece Lego set, and the results are surprising

New Scientist article: Eye implant that restores vision lost to age approved for use

Prima