Comic Transcripts

[[A banner at the top says: “Wind us up and set us loose – aimed at the world”]]

[[A poster reads: “A CODIFIED SET OF THE BUILDER’S, CRAFTER’S MAKERS RULES.” A list follows:
NO NEED SHALL STAND UNADDRESSED. There is a way to make things better.
NO CRAFT SHALL PASS UNAPPRECIATED. It is always worthwhile to pause and intake a thing of beauty. Plus, it may spark a concordant idea of one’s own.
THE EFFORT ITSELF IS THE REWARD. Yes, I did spend three days on a device to save me ten minutes. You are missing the point of the process.
A FAILURE IS SIMPLY AN EXPERIMENT. Most efforts will fail. Rarely should the same failure repeat itself.
MISCELLANEOUS PARTS ARE LIFE. I’m keeping that because I will need it someday. Last time I threw something out, I needed it the very next day.
PROBLEMS ARE DESIGNED TO BE SOLVED. Spring into action. Make it happen. Hannibal was right: I love it when a plan comes together.
PROJECTS ARE STACKABLE. It’s not that I’m starting something new before finishing something old – I’m nesting the new project inside the old. IF IT HAS SCREWS, THEY SHALL BE TURNED. If it has bolts, they shall be loosened. If it has rivets, they may get along for a while without being pried open, but that probably won’t last.
IF IT IS BROKEN, IT IS FAIR GAME. Maybe I can fix it. Maybe I can use some of its parts for something else. Maybe I just want clearance to be more rough than usual when opening up the case.
THE INSIDES OF THINGS ARE BEAUTIFUL. Let’s see what they look like.]]

[[A badge at the bottom says: “TAKE IT APART”]]

{{Alt-text: NO HONEY IT SAYS ‘TAKE IT APART’ NOT ‘PUT IT BACK TOGETHER AFTERWARDS’}}

The Tinkerer’s Handbook, Page 8 (of 8) transcribed by in

[[A banner at the top says: “Wind us up and set us loose – aimed at the world”]]

[[A poster reads: “A CODIFIED SET OF THE BUILDER’S, CRAFTER’S MAKERS RULES.” A list follows:
NO NEED SHALL STAND UNADDRESSED. There is a way to make things better.
NO CRAFT SHALL PASS UNAPPRECIATED. It is always worthwhile to pause and intake a thing of beauty. Plus, it may spark a concordant idea of one’s own.
THE EFFORT ITSELF IS THE REWARD. Yes, I did spend three days on a device to save me ten minutes. You are missing the point of the process.
A FAILURE IS SIMPLY AN EXPERIMENT. Most efforts will fail. Rarely should the same failure repeat itself.
MISCELLANEOUS PARTS ARE LIFE. I’m keeping that because I will need it someday. Last time I threw something out, I needed it the very next day.
PROBLEMS ARE DESIGNED TO BE SOLVED. Spring into action. Make it happen. Hannibal was right: I love it when a plan comes together.
PROJECTS ARE STACKABLE. It’s not that I’m starting something new before finishing something old – I’m nesting the new project inside the old. IF IT HAS SCREWS, THEY SHALL BE TURNED. If it has bolts, they shall be loosened. If it has rivets, they may get along for a while without being pried open, but that probably won’t last.
IF IT IS BROKEN, IT IS FAIR GAME. Maybe I can fix it. Maybe I can use some of its parts for something else. Maybe I just want clearance to be more rough than usual when opening up the case.
THE INSIDES OF THINGS ARE BEAUTIFUL. Let’s see what they look like.]]

[[A badge at the bottom says: “TAKE IT APART”]]

{{Alt-text: NO HONEY IT SAYS ‘TAKE IT APART’ NOT ‘PUT IT BACK TOGETHER AFTERWARDS’}}

The Tinkerer’s Handbook, Page 8 (of 8) transcribed by in

[[A banner at the top says: "Wind us up and set us loose - aimed at the world"]]

[[A poster reads: "A CODIFIED SET OF THE BUILDER'S, CRAFTER'S MAKERS RULES." A list follows:
NO NEED SHALL STAND UNADDRESSED. There is a way to make things better.
NO CRAFT SHALL PASS UNAPPRECIATED. It is always worthwhile to pause and intake a thing of beauty. Plus, it may spark a concordant idea of one's own.
THE EFFORT ITSELF IS THE REWARD. Yes, I did spend three days on a device to save me ten minutes. You are missing the point of the process.
A FAILURE IS SIMPLY AN EXPERIMENT. Most efforts will fail. Rarely should the same failure repeat itself.
MISCELLANEOUS PARTS ARE LIFE. I'm keeping that because I will need it someday. Last time I threw something out, I needed it the very next day.
PROBLEMS ARE DESIGNED TO BE SOLVED. Spring into action. Make it happen. Hannibal was right: I love it when a plan comes together.
PROJECTS ARE STACKABLE. It's not that I'm starting something new before finishing something old - I'm nesting the new project inside the old. IF IT HAS SCREWS, THEY SHALL BE TURNED. If it has bolts, they shall be loosened. If it has rivets, they may get along for a while without being pried open, but that probably won't last.
IF IT IS BROKEN, IT IS FAIR GAME. Maybe I can fix it. Maybe I can use some of its parts for something else. Maybe I just want clearance to be more rough than usual when opening up the case.
THE INSIDES OF THINGS ARE BEAUTIFUL. Let's see what they look like.]]

[[A badge at the bottom says: "TAKE IT APART"]]

{{Alt-text: NO HONEY IT SAYS 'TAKE IT APART' NOT 'PUT IT BACK TOGETHER AFTERWARDS'}}

NO HONEY IT SAYS 'TAKE IT APART' NOT 'PUT IT BACK TOGETHER AFTERWARDS'

The Tinkerer’s Handbook, Page 8 (of 8)

  — May 6th, 2011

[ Tags: , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/tink8/

(Start from Page 1.)

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My newest game: Noodle Battle! At PAX!

September 2, 2026 by David Malki !

The past few weeks have been a frenzy of assembling the very laborious, very bespoke first print run of NOODLE BATTLE, the puzzle game I am releasing this weekend at PAX West in Seattle!

PAX has an event called the PNW Tabletop Game Market (Saturday night ONLY), which is a curated selection of short-run games from local designers. As I’ve mentioned in this space before, I applied for a space in this fall’s event mainly as a way to force myself to finish a new game. And here it is!

The drawings are all by Jason Poland, good pal and cartoonist of My Dad Is Dracula. Jason played an early version of this game at Alaska Robotics Comics Camp this spring, and really liked it!

So I said, “Do you want to help me make it?” And so he has! It was his idea to make all the characters fun little animals, and I think it adds a ton of charm.

Because this edition is limited-run, it has been incredibly labor-intensive to make! The boxes and cards were made by a game factory in the usual fashion, but separately. The blank tiles were made by a woodworker dude out of Connecticut. For each game, we have had to:

  • Cut a piece of plastic and install the box window
  • Paint all the tiles, hundreds at a time
  • Apply a sticker to both sides of every tile
  • Apply stickers to the box (we couldn’t get the box back printed in time, so the whole back side of the box is a sticker too)
  • Apply the “Nutrition Facts” sticker, which was a late suggestion by my kid that I just had to run with
  • Fold up the rule sheet (they come from the printer as big strips of paper)
  • Put all the components into the box and seal it all up

I knew it would be a lot of work and would require some inefficient, expensive compromises AND I WAS RIGHT. But the final product is turning out great, which is the important thing!!

I will have 50 copies with me (if all goes well) at PAX, and then between now and the holidays we will be putting together additional copies to round out this first edition.

I will announce additional copies on Patreon first, once they are available online!! And here too, naturally, before long.

You can also sign up here if you’d like me to email you once the game is available online!


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