CURRENTLY MAKING
A home out of an eighteenth-century flat, one paint decision at a time. And working on how New New describes itself.
Rules of play · revised whenever
last amended · july 2026
NUNO.
Writing about yourself is a slightly absurd exercise, somewhere between introduction and controlled myth-making, but here we are. I don't use social media, so this page does that job: what I'm working on, thinking about, playing, reading and fixing.
I'm interested in how things become clearer: ideas, organisations, relationships, rooms, lives.
Designed in Portugal. Made in London. At home in Edinburgh. Some assembly is still ongoing.
1 TO 8 PLAYERSPLAYTIME: one entire Sunday, minimumSOCIAL MEDIA: noneSTATUS: PLAYTIME IN PROGRESS
0 · HOUSE RULES (UNLOCKED)
You entered a code from a different game and it worked. House rules are now in effect: dessert counts as a main course, rules disputes are settled by whoever cooked, and this box does not exist.
1 · COMPONENTS
- 1 × strategist
- 1 × cultivated troublemaker
- 1 × enthusiastic host
- 1 × mild druidic presence
- several × strong opinions
- ? × games, an unreasonable number
- ∞ × curiosity, enough to derail the original plan entirely
- 1 × soft centre
PIECES MAY OVERLAP
PLAYER TOKEN
2 · SETUP
Add coffee, a question without an obvious answer, and enough time for it to become a project. Disagreement improves the game. I'm suspicious of any belief that cannot survive a proper argument. A badly explained board game is also acceptable.
3 · OBJECT OF THE GAME
The game cannot be won, only improved. The object is to make things clearer, more useful and more alive, without becoming unbearably earnest about it.
WINNING · Everyone leaves a little clearer, a little more curious and ideally well fed. There may still be an argument in progress.
4 · ON YOUR TURN
- Become interested.
- Become unreasonably interested.
- Acquire the book, tool, deck or obscure historical document.
- Attempt to understand the whole system.
- Make something, host something, or explain it to someone.
- Place the interest on a shelf. It may reactivate without warning.
Current rabbit hole: the history of obscure Edinburgh buildings
these are all real
5 · RULES OF PLAY
5.1Ask better questions.
5.2Take ideas seriously, but yourself slightly less so.
5.3Prefer an awkward truth to a comfortable fiction.
5.4Challenge anything that cannot survive a proper argument, especially your own thinking.
5.5Make room for beauty, mischief, contradiction and dinner.
5.6New rules are read aloud, in full, before anyone touches the pieces. (non-negotiable)
Play is not decoration. It is how I explore, connect, test ideas and discover what is actually going on.
6 · Non-negotiable rules (no jokes in this box)
Freedom matters deeply to me. Not the childish kind where nobody owes anyone anything, but the freedom to choose your own life, paired with the responsibility to be honest about the consequences. I value reciprocity, competence, curiosity and people who mean what they say.
I have strong opinions, but I try not to confuse conviction with certainty. I can be intense. I can be playful. I am usually trying to make things more truthful, more useful or more alive.
7 · EXPANSION PACKS
click to turn a box over. Full pages to follow, one at a time
THE TABLEfood · hosting · people
Cooking and hosting, and the friends and chosen family around the table. Usually set for more people than planned.
IDEAS & BELIEFSphilosophy · politics · druidry
Philosophy, political theory, technology, folklore and druidry, and whatever I'm currently reconsidering. I change my mind here.
THE HOUSErestoration · research · paint
An old flat becoming a home: the research, the decisions, the failures, and a lot about paint.
GAMESboard games · Magic · systems
Board games as shared evenings, Magic decks built around a theme, and the systems underneath both. Recommendations included.
WORKproduct · brand · strategy
Products, brands and organisations, helping make complicated things clear. The professional side lives at newnew.consulting.
OBJECTS OF DUBIOUS NECESSITYwhisky · fragrance · tools
Whisky, fragrance, tools and unusually specific purchases, including the ones that didn't work out.
THE BODYtraining · clothing · balance
Training and clothing, as part of living well, while keeping it from becoming a personality.
FIELD NOTESEdinburgh · Scotland · ancestry
Edinburgh at street level, Scottish landscapes, travel, and the Iberian and Celtic names in the family tree.
HAND LIMIT EXCEEDED · rule deleted jun '26, carry on
8 · THE CURRENT TURN
rev. july 2026 · expires without notice
CURRENTLY READING
Philosophy, culture and systems, mostly. Recommendations welcome.
CURRENTLY PLAYING
Board games heavy on administration, which I enjoy. Sundays are spoken for.
CURRENTLY RECONSIDERING
Whether training can stay part of living well rather than becoming a personality. So far, yes.
9 · KNOWN BUGS
- □ Frequently buys the definitive book before confirming sustained interest
- □ Writes the perfect reply after the conversational window has closed
- □ Treats storage as an architectural discipline
- □ Has never encountered a collection that could not be completed by one more item
STATUS: known · fix not planned
10 · ACTIVE STATUS EFFECTS
rev. july 2026
- ◆ Reading three books, finishing one
- ◆ Thinking about service architecture at an inappropriate hour
- ◆ Trying not to purchase another fragrance
- ◆ Succeeding unevenly
EFFECTS EXPIRE AND ARE REPLACED · CHECK BACK
11 · QUESTIONS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK
What do you actually do?
I tend to notice the shape beneath the mess. At work that means bringing product, brand, technology and commercial reality into the same conversation, through New New Consulting.
Why is this a rulebook?
Because it is more accurate than a bio and less embarrassing than a manifesto.
Are you available for consulting or roles?
For consulting, yes: start at newnew.consulting. For anything else interesting, find me on LinkedIn, below.
Why is there so much material about paint?
The flat is from the eighteenth century. Getting its colours right started as a duty of care and turned into a research interest. See section 4. This is the standard sequence.
Can I invite you to play a board game?
Yes. I'll explain the rules properly and bring food. I'm gracious in defeat for up to eleven minutes.
How should I contact you?
LinkedIn, below. I treat it as a letterbox, not a feed.
12 · CORRESPONDENCE
Write to me about work, games, old buildings, Edinburgh, something you think I'm wrong about, or a question worth becoming unreasonably interested in. LinkedIn is the front door.