demo

The date; 10th July. The event; Whitton school fair.

The scene
With my tables set up under the gazebo I awaited my first inquirers. I didn't have to wait long. An immaculately presented 5 year old, her fresh faced mother and her deeply wrinkled grandmother took their seats around the 3x3 Cubiko board. I handed them 3 cubes each, the little girl insisted on having red.

The explaination
I tracked my finger across the board. "Now to win the game you need to get your cubes in a line"
The girl placed her cubes eagerly along the diagonal "you mean like this."
"Yes," I promptly rearranged her cubes into the middle square "but you can also win if you get them in a cluster."
It was time to reveal the mechanic of Cubiko, the main component, the unique selling point. I gently threw the rubber ball that I had been hiding in my hand. It hit the table and bounced up on to the grid, "and it's where the ball settles that you place your cube."
The girl clapped her hands with delight... sold.
"That's different," the mother laughed... sold.
The grandmother didn't twitch a wrinkle... the target.

The game. (Cue music to The good, bad and the ugly)
"Lets start," I handed the young girl the ball,"here, you can go first."
The game began. The girl threw the ball far too hard. It cleared the board, the table and the gazebo. She leapt out of her seat like a 'Jack in the box' and started what turned out to be a very long chase across the playground to retrieve it (cue Benny Hill music).
Next it was the mothers turn, not wanting to repeat her daughters aerobic exercise, she just dropped the ball onto the table. With no forward motion the ball bounced in the same spot at diminishing heights. (Cue Panama cigar music)
Next is was the Grandmothers turn, to my surprise she threw the ball with reasonable control. My eyes narrowed... the grandmother was the target and the competition. I took my shot and knocked out the grandmother cube (Cue 'Rocky' music) Yes, I am very competitive.
With the shots continuing in much the same vein the game developed to its conclusion. Another wayward shot by the girl but the increasing number of curious onlookers helped retrieve the ball. The mother missed again. And finally the winning shot from the grandmother.

Conclusion.
It was a bitter sweet loss. They bought the game.