Today I achieved perfection. Oh yes it’s true, in fact technically I achieved it twice. And dear reader, before you worry that this is going to be a tale about bedroom prowess, worry NOT; I make no such claim. This is instead a tale about a game, not the game of life, but the wonderful, exciting, tension building game of Perfection.
The story began this morning following on from the Baldwin’s family breakfast at the local Weatherspoons hostelry. I had a few errands to do in town and on my way back to the car I stuck my head into the Red Cross charity shop. There on the floor, by the till, was the game, boxed and complete in all its vintage glory. I just had to have it and for the lowly cost of £2 it was mine – yes you read that correctly – just two of my English pounds. A veritable bargain and perfection achieved for the first time.
Now just in case you are not familiar with the game; here’s some insight. Launched in 1975 by Action GT, the game features a sprung board that is pushed down into place. The board contains 25 holes into which the player must fit 25 individually shaped yellow pieces. These pieces must be inserted against the clock – a wind up countdown clock that entitles the competitor to a maximum of one minute’s exertion. The clock ticks down noisily and when the minute is up, the sprung board is released and BOOM the pieces are flung out with no regard at all for the effort that was expended in placing them. Honestly, the noise is like an explosion and it makes you jump. Brilliant!
Perfection arrived at the Baldwin house and the family gathered around to pit their wits against the machine. My eight year old son went first and scored a credible 16 before his pieces were ejected. I went next and managed 18 (good but no cigar). My four year old had a go too although she wanted help. Even between us we couldn’t beat the clock. The challenge was laid. Even my wife, usually dismissive of ‘vintage tat’ (her words, not mine) was hooked and feeling lucky. When she too failed, there was a comedy moment when she blamed our daughter for putting her off (she’s so competitive).
When it was time for my next attempt, I sat at the table, took some deep breaths, wound the clock and pushed the deck down. There is an on/off switch that holds the clock when wound until you’re ready to start. I flicked the switch to ‘ON’ and I was off. I had to be nimble fingered so as not to fluff up the placement of the shapes; the clock was ticking and the success count was rising and the hope was coursing through my veins. Yes, yes, yes! More and then more and then more pieces slotted into place and I could feel the elation building. Nearly, nearly, nearly! The tension building, oh the delicious tension! I was down to the last few pieces and time was running out; these were grabbed and hastily thrust into position. It’s happening, oh God!
The last piece went in, the clock was switched off and YES I had succeeded. The release of tension arrived as waves of pleasure washed over me and the ecstatic celebration could start. I’ll admit that I whooped and hollered and proclaimed my achievement loudly. I had just achieved Perfection (for the second time today) and felt good, real good – Adrian you’re so moneysupermarket and you don’t even know it! The day was going to be a good one.
The fact is that the game has proved to be a winner. My son had one of his mates around this afternoon and both of them were engaged with the game. Today its presence in the Baldwin house has meant less television, less electronic gaming, more family engagement and more fun. Two quid very well spent in my opinion. I spent £2.10 on the Guardian this morning and whilst reading it will provide some entertainment value; by Monday that will be neatly folded up in our kitchen ready to line our waste food bin. Whilst I don’t normal begrudge the money, and indeed the Guardian is my paper of choice; today it felt like a waste of money in comparison to the game. The paper’s life expectancy is short - Perfection on the other hand has a long, engaging and fulfilled life ahead of it.
If you have been inspired by what you’ve read then you’d better get logged in to your ebay account and get bidding so that you too can experience the pleasure. I bet you have to spend more though.
Oh and I just have to add another paragraph. I passed this scribbling over to Mrs B. to review prior to uploading it to the site. She said “by the way, I completed it before you”. I may have mentioned that she is competitive – failure is quite clearly not an option. She just did it quietly and celebrated not at all. I didn’t even know she’d done it – and that’s hilarious!
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The story began this morning following on from the Baldwin’s family breakfast at the local Weatherspoons hostelry. I had a few errands to do in town and on my way back to the car I stuck my head into the Red Cross charity shop. There on the floor, by the till, was the game, boxed and complete in all its vintage glory. I just had to have it and for the lowly cost of £2 it was mine – yes you read that correctly – just two of my English pounds. A veritable bargain and perfection achieved for the first time.
Now just in case you are not familiar with the game; here’s some insight. Launched in 1975 by Action GT, the game features a sprung board that is pushed down into place. The board contains 25 holes into which the player must fit 25 individually shaped yellow pieces. These pieces must be inserted against the clock – a wind up countdown clock that entitles the competitor to a maximum of one minute’s exertion. The clock ticks down noisily and when the minute is up, the sprung board is released and BOOM the pieces are flung out with no regard at all for the effort that was expended in placing them. Honestly, the noise is like an explosion and it makes you jump. Brilliant!
Perfection arrived at the Baldwin house and the family gathered around to pit their wits against the machine. My eight year old son went first and scored a credible 16 before his pieces were ejected. I went next and managed 18 (good but no cigar). My four year old had a go too although she wanted help. Even between us we couldn’t beat the clock. The challenge was laid. Even my wife, usually dismissive of ‘vintage tat’ (her words, not mine) was hooked and feeling lucky. When she too failed, there was a comedy moment when she blamed our daughter for putting her off (she’s so competitive).
When it was time for my next attempt, I sat at the table, took some deep breaths, wound the clock and pushed the deck down. There is an on/off switch that holds the clock when wound until you’re ready to start. I flicked the switch to ‘ON’ and I was off. I had to be nimble fingered so as not to fluff up the placement of the shapes; the clock was ticking and the success count was rising and the hope was coursing through my veins. Yes, yes, yes! More and then more and then more pieces slotted into place and I could feel the elation building. Nearly, nearly, nearly! The tension building, oh the delicious tension! I was down to the last few pieces and time was running out; these were grabbed and hastily thrust into position. It’s happening, oh God!
The last piece went in, the clock was switched off and YES I had succeeded. The release of tension arrived as waves of pleasure washed over me and the ecstatic celebration could start. I’ll admit that I whooped and hollered and proclaimed my achievement loudly. I had just achieved Perfection (for the second time today) and felt good, real good – Adrian you’re so moneysupermarket and you don’t even know it! The day was going to be a good one.
The fact is that the game has proved to be a winner. My son had one of his mates around this afternoon and both of them were engaged with the game. Today its presence in the Baldwin house has meant less television, less electronic gaming, more family engagement and more fun. Two quid very well spent in my opinion. I spent £2.10 on the Guardian this morning and whilst reading it will provide some entertainment value; by Monday that will be neatly folded up in our kitchen ready to line our waste food bin. Whilst I don’t normal begrudge the money, and indeed the Guardian is my paper of choice; today it felt like a waste of money in comparison to the game. The paper’s life expectancy is short - Perfection on the other hand has a long, engaging and fulfilled life ahead of it.
If you have been inspired by what you’ve read then you’d better get logged in to your ebay account and get bidding so that you too can experience the pleasure. I bet you have to spend more though.
Oh and I just have to add another paragraph. I passed this scribbling over to Mrs B. to review prior to uploading it to the site. She said “by the way, I completed it before you”. I may have mentioned that she is competitive – failure is quite clearly not an option. She just did it quietly and celebrated not at all. I didn’t even know she’d done it – and that’s hilarious!
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