Machine of Death

SWEET GAME PHOTO #49 (of 50) This picture comes via email from Jarrah in Australia! It is hilarious because it’s true. Jarrah, I will be sending you a Specialist card for the Customs Inspector, who has the special talent to FIND AGRICULTURE. In your game, this character might:

Quarantine an area due to an outbreak of corn smut

Be able to tell if there is a goat in a box WITHOUT LOOKING IN THE BOX

Dowse for potatoes

Hopefully this will be a helpful skill -- it’s up to you! Thank you for this picture, it makes me feel good to know that the Australian customs bureau is on the job. Enjoy your game!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #48 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Garrett!

.@malki You thought the #machineofdeath curse was over, but look what happened to poor Yorick when he opened the box! pic.twitter.com/Yi6P0NcGDb

— Garrett Pauls (@TheBeardedGnome) January 24, 2014

Garrett wins the custom Specialist card above:  the character YORICK’S SKULL, who has the special skill to BE HELD ALOFT. This will be handy in order to:

Act the fool with posthumous slapstick!

Get buried in a graveyard!

See things high up while being lofted dramatically!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #47 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Robert!

#machineofdeath has landed in the UK. My girlfriend now wishes it hadn't. I hope you're proud of yourself @malki pic.twitter.com/mP53sNbLbG

— Robert Wells (@weaselspoon) January 20, 2014

Robert wins the custom Specialist card above:  the character LARRY LIFEGUARD, who has the special skill to RESCUE TO “SAFETY”. This will be handy in order to:

Pump the chest a little too hard!

Administer mouth-to-mouth and don't stop!

Are you drowning, or just waving?

SWEET GAME PHOTO #46 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Isaiah!

Juno is ready to play #machineofdeath -- will you join us, @malki? pic.twitter.com/lI0iz4GaaB

— Isaiah Tanenbaum (@isaiahlt) January 19, 2014

Isaiah wins the custom Black Market Gift Card above, redeemable for A CAT TOY. This card might also be used to get:

A feather on a fishing pole!

A sunbeam!

Shoelaces!!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #45 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Robby! Actually it's a video!

In Which Charles Learns the Truth #machineofdeath @malki https://t.co/0Dl5riQQPQ

— Robby Van Arsdale (@rvanarsdale)

January 16, 2014

Robby wins the custom Specialist card above:  the character THE TOASTMASTER, who has the special skill to TURN UP THE HEAT. This will be handy in order to:

Light the building on fire!

Bring the sun closer to earth!

Burn fossil fuels with abandon and wait!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #44 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Meghan!

Got My First Assassination kit...I mean #MachineofDeath game today.Got some scores to settle.Uh, game scores.Yeah. pic.twitter.com/ruaLMvU7Cf

— Murphypop (@kawaiinot) January 10, 2014

Meghan wins the custom Specialist card above:  the character THE GLOVED ONE, who has the special skill to do a STEALTH TAMPER. This will be handy in order to:

Break the seal on a Tylenol bottle!

Change the target's email password!

Cut the brakes!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #43 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Alice!

I think my Mum is trying to kill me. #machineofdeath pic.twitter.com/vy6THTbw1z

— Alice Corkill (@snowyalice)

January 19, 2014

Alice wins the custom Black Market Gift Card above, redeemable for SOMETHING ARTY. This card might also be used to get:

The complete works of Van Gogh

A gallon of acrylic paint

A beat poetry slam

SWEET GAME PHOTO #42 (of 50)

These pictures come via email from Kristen, who writes, “Guess where I work?” Kristen, this is amazing, because at first I thought you were related to the backer (Graham) who wrote that custom card, but now I see that you are an ENTIRELY SEPARATE kindergarten professional, and so I am pleased that you and Graham have made this inadvertent cosmic pre-elementary connection. I will be sending you a Specialist card for The Teacher, who has the special power to MAKE IT NAPTIME. You might use this card in a game to:

Put everyone nearby to sleep

Feed everyone graham crackers and apple juice

Make a bunch of mats appear from nowhere

Does all that still happen at naptime? It’s been a while. Thanks for the pictures, Kristen, and I hope you enjoy the game!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #41 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Rick!

The #machineofdeath complete cycle. 1. Generate a target 2. Make a plan 3. Attempt the kill. @malki pic.twitter.com/PvvQJYsHh8

— Rick Fortin (@rick_fortin) January 19, 2014

Rick wins the custom Black Market Gift Card above, redeemable for SOMETHING CLEAN. This card might also be used to get:

A baby fresh from the tub

A Christian comedian

A gun with the serial numbers filed off

SWEET GAME PHOTO #40 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from @Follow the Camel!

@followthecamel: The return of #moldaramamonday. Featuring #machineofdeath. #moldarama is how you die! @malki http://t.co/P4O3vxDHLR

— Duck Shot (@followthecamel) January 21, 2014

@Follow the Camel wins the custom Specialist card above:  the character WAXO THE MAGNIFICENT, who has the special skill to PARAFFIN BOND. This will be handy in order to:

Tenuously bridge a gap!

Smother and preserve a small animal!

Make the world's greatest Yankee Candle!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #39 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Cristian!

#Machineofdeath arrived today! Chocolate and honey-filled game night to come ;) pic.twitter.com/s9bBT1pH9N

— Cristian Asenjo (@cristianaasenjo) January 18, 2014

Cristian wins the custom Black Market Gift Card above, redeemable for SOMETHING SWEET. This card might also be used to get:

Your old lady neighbor

A box of Valentine candy

A tanker truck full of maple syrup

SWEET GAME PHOTO #38 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Kat!

@malki and #machineofdeath Looks like I won't make it through the night D: http://t.co/RdChvkMShY pic.twitter.com/jEWaGGWKtf

— Kat Grace Gillespie (@Simple_Graces) January 17, 2014

Kat wins the custom Black Market Gift Card above, redeemable for SOMETHING FILTERED. This card might also be used to get:

Expensive vodka

History as taught in school

A cigarette

SWEET GAME PHOTO #37 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Jen!

inevitable crossover #machineofdeath @malki http://t.co/2KbaalSiRc

— Jen Aside (@jennote) January 13, 2014

Jen wins the custom Specialist card above: the character STAN LEE, who has the special skill to MAKE A SUPERHERO. This will be handy in order to:

Explode a gamma bomb nearby!

Destroy the planet Krypton!

Shoot some kid's parents!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #36 (of 50) This picture comes via email from Nicole! The picture is one of the girls from her local game group. Nicole says “She knows, and she’s not afraid!” Nicole, that we might all have your friend’s courage. I hope you and your group enjoy this custom Black Market Gift Card for SOMETHING BROWN, which of course can mean chocolate! But it might ALSO mean:

Rich, humus-laden soil

A pot of coffee

Mr. Snuffleupagus

Or, “other.” Thanks for the picture, Nicole! Enjoy the game!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #35 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Roy!

My #MachineOfDeath by @Malki has arrived in Joburg! Leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. http://t.co/Fixz4KCp7V

— Roy Blumenthal (@RoyBlumenthal) January 17, 2014

Roy wins the custom Black Market Gift Card above, redeemable for SOMETHING UPSIDE DOWN. This card might also be used to get:

An inverted fighter plane

A cat lounging in a sunbeam

An SUV on a windy road

SWEET GAME PHOTO #34 (of 50) Today’s sweet photo comes from Jimmie!

#machineofdeath (cc: @malki) pic.twitter.com/o2VbZqR7nJ

— Jimmie (@jimmiebjr) January 21, 2014

Jimmie wins the custom Specialist card above:  the character SOCKY O’ROURKE, who has the special skill to CHAT UP A STORM. This will be handy in order to:

Tell a rousing story!

Narrate events as they occur!

Hold an important press conference!

SWEET GAME PHOTO #33 (of 50) This picture comes via email from Jennifer in New Zealand, who writes: “Here it is in front of the Christchurch Cathedral, which was badly damaged in the earthquakes of 2010/2011. It's probably a bit of a tasteless place to take a photo of a game called "Machine of Death", seeing as 185 people died in the worst of those earthquakes, but nobody actually died on this exact spot, so that makes it ok.... maybe? And how many people are going to be able to send you a photo of your game in* the ruins of a major natural disaster? So uniqueness factor maybe outweighs bad taste factor? New Zealanders are known for our warped and often dark sense of humour anyway :-) So, yay, game arrived on the other side of the world!  Hope you like the photo. *ok, not quite "in" the ruins. More like next to the ruins - the building is highly unstable (that's why it's got that huge metal structure propping it up), so it's very securely fenced off to stop people getting too close). But in one sense it is kind of in the ruins - apart from a few areas where they've prettied things up for the tourists, our former city centre is now just a vast wasteland, as they've demolished something like 80% of the buildings because they were too badly damaged to repair. There's whole blocks that are completely empty, and most of the other blocks have just one or two buildings standing on them (like the ones you can see in the background - it used to be solid city skyline back there). So if I'd taken the photo facing the other direction, all you would have seen was a big flat nothingness being used as car parks.  But an actual ruined building made for a much more interesting photo.” Jennifer, I could not agree more. Please enjoy your custom Black Market Gift Card, pictured above, redeemable for A RUINED PLACE. You might also use this card to get:

A crumbling castle

A spray-painted, abandoned hospital

Downtown after the hipsters moved in

Thanks for the picture, Jennifer! Hope you enjoy your game!