“Would you like some pepper?” asks the waiter. I stare at him. All of my concentration, every bit of will power I have ever possessed, is going into not shouting “TWIST IT!” in his face. I have not lost my mind, I promise.



Let me explain myself: I arrive very early for meeting a friend. The suggested pub is shut and it’s raining outside so I find a restaurant nearby, get a table and order a drink. I appear to have found a nice restaurant. There are tablecloths and olives. People are celebrating things. I am going to eat food I have trouble pronouncing. A nice restaurant.

I have 30 minutes until my friend arrives. I get out my iPhone and flick through some games. I’m looking for something discrete, something befitting of the ambiance, something that might look like I’m checking my emails when the waiter comes back. Bop It! That seems about right.

I don’t whip out the much loved plastic audio toy and pass it round my fellow diners, clapping as they PULL IT!, FLICK IT!, and BOP IT!. That would be ridiculous. I begin to play a solo round of the game as designed for iPhone and iPod Touch.

The game follows the same principle as its parent game. A demanding American man shouts at you to complete actions using the onscreen icons, instructing you at ever increasing speeds while some delightfully annoying music plays in the background.

You can play the game in a variety of modes: As a solo player you can play in classic mode, with the three original bop, twist and pull icons, basic mode with one icon at a time, extreme mode with up to six icons on the screen at one time, or play against the clock in blitz mode.

If you do feel the need to get the whole restaurant involved and pass the game around in multi player with basic, extreme and blitz modes, or you can play head to head with one other player. I am tempted to ask the waiter.

During the game you are able to unlock trophies and, if you feel the need to boast about your Bop It! prowess, you can share your scores on Facebook.

There are also a variety of settings that are very important to consider when playing in public. You can receive the commands through speech (shouting), sound effects or text, decide if you want to switch banter on or off (request setting transferal to the group celebrating – their banter is getting dangerous), and, most importantly, the one setting I failed to pay proper attention to – ‘Shout It’.

One of the icons that appears is a microphone and you are requested to SHOUT IT!. That can either be done by tapping the microphone (Shout It off) or shouting YEAH! at the screen (Shout It on). As I sit in the nice restaurant by myself a microphone appears and I have Shout It on. Oh well, at least I unlocked the ‘Yeah! Shout’ trophy.

The mobile version of Bop It! is exactly as enjoyable, annoying and frustrating as the original. It’s easy to play and the graphics are cartoony and colourful. I guess the most important information I can pass on is this: No matter how much you like Bop It!, there is a time and a place; and when the waiter approaches with a giant pepper grinder, the response should never be “TWIST IT!”.

You can download Bop IT here.

Ann Scantlebury is the accomplished actress and co-presenter of the award winning game show One Life Left.   Ann is a regular contributor to Lady Geek.

You know what would have been brilliant? It would have been brilliant if one of my Grandmothers had been from Russia.  Even better if she’d given me her antique matryoshka dolls and told me magical stories about ‘the old country’ while we played with them. That would have been brilliant and, for the purpose of reviewing Double Fine’s new Russian doll puzzle game, quite useful. But neither of them were from Russia, they were from East London and Kent, and they knew me well; one gave me toffee and the other gave me the excellent pop magazine Live and Kicking. That’s the kind of kid I was, the kind of girl I am. No Russian dolls. I did sit in boxes a lot as a child, so perhaps I had matryoshka sympathies.

It doesn’t really matter that I missed out on the hollow doll wielding Russian Grandmother experience, because with Stacking I’m right back in the 1930s of yore(ski). They certainly can’t be described as ‘the good old days’ though. Through one of the many silent film inspired cut scenes you learn that your family has been captured to work for The Baron, an evil industrialist who forces children to shovel coal.  Yeah, that kind of evil. You, Charlie Blackmore, the smallest of a family of matryoshka dolls, and your mother are the only ones that managed to evade him.  She cries a lot, so it’s up to you to rescue your family. And you will rescue them through the power of puzzles.

You solve puzzles by stacking yourself (teeny tiny Charlie) inside bigger and bigger dolls and using their unique abilities to move through the game.

Stacking’s cute design is easy to enjoy because the puzzles themselves don’t take a huge amount of brain power. If you find yourself stuck at any point you’re never more than a button click away from a handy blue line telling you where you should go next, or a set of tips on how to complete the puzzle. If you find that all too simple, there are plenty of other things in the game to keep you entertained. Go back and figure out all the different ways you can solve the puzzles – the easiest one isn’t the only one. Or earn more rewards by completing the Hi-Jinks. Or just walk around and talk to your fellow dolls. They can be very funny.

If you, like me, have lived a life largely devoid of dolls you can put in dolls, fear not: stacking is here to fill that hole! And then fill it again with something slightly smaller. And then fill it again with something slightly smaller. And then…

If that doesn’t sort you out, go and sit in a box. Nana Scantlebury will be along shortly with some toffee.

Stacking is available for download on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

Ann Scantlebury is the accomplished actress and co-presenter of the award winning game show One Life Left.   Ann will is a regular contributor to Lady Geek.

When I was 14, I had my first kiss. I can’t say it was the best kiss I’ve ever had, it really wasn’t, but there were fireworks. It was bonfire night. At 14, giddy from fireworks and kissing, I thought that was as exciting and eventful as life could get. That’s what I was doing when I was 14. What I was not doing when I was 14 was making a chart-topping physics puzzle game.

Earlier this year Bubble Ball knocked Angry Birds from its position as the number one free game in Apple’s iTunes store, presumably by throwing a bird at it. And yes, Bubble Ball is a physics puzzle game, and yes, it was made by a 14 year old.

So, what do you do in a game made by a 14 year old? Here’s what you do: You are shown a ball and a flag. You have to get the ball to the flag. When you hit the ‘START’ button gravity happens and the ball can’t get to the flag. Gravity wins, and it sucks to be the ball. But wait! Seeing this is a problem (and, actually, the crux of the game) our 14 year old developer has given you apparatus to place around the screen, to harness the power of gravity and get that ball to that flag. Haha! Sorry, gravity. Through the 32 levels you’re given different apparatus to use, from wooden planks to power up buttons. You’re even able to reverse gravity. Poor gravity. Gravity’s been used, the ball has won and nobody’s bothered to ask how the flag feels about any of this.

Of course it’s impressive that the game was made by a 14 year old (with a bit of help from his mum). But if you forget that that and just play the game, you might be a bit disappointed. For a game that has been so popular and successful, it isn’t very fun. It’s satisfying and interesting and technically it works very well, but I didn’t get hooked on it and I didn’t feel the need to keep playing level after level. Maybe because the design is quite utilitarian, or maybe because the game seems a little bit too much like a physics lesson. It’s definitely missing something.

I look forward to seeing the next game from our 14 year-old developer (Robert Nay, Utah). Who knows, maybe it’ll be a firework themed platformer. Maybe you play a 14 year old desperately trying to catch their first kiss. Probably not though, right?

Bubble Ball is available on the iTunes Store and for Android devices, and it’s completely free to download.

Ann Scantlebury is the accomplished actress and co-presenter of the award winning game show One Life Left.   Ann will be a regular contributor to Lady Geek.

Lady Geek has been anticipating the launch for the Xbox 360 Kinect with our founder Belinda Parmar reporting on Channel Four News  and Lady Geek’s Relationship Manager (moi) at the launch party.

Held at the National History Museum’s Ice rink with performers such as the incredible Leona Lewis and Britain’s new boy band The Wanted, Xbox 360’s launch of the Kinect was a great way to get the show going.

After seasonal mulled wine and wobbly yet graceful laps round the ice rink I got to try out the brand new Kinect. Result: I’ve added Kinect to my Christmas wish list… (hint hint Santa).

Not only is the Kinect’s accurate detection of players’ movements impressive (including celebratory fist pumps in the air) the console warns you when you get too close to the device and TV screen. So unlike Nintendo’s Wii, which had to bring out safety straps to stop controllers careering into TV screens and people’s faces; the Kinect allows you to maintain your enthusiastic volley ball slam dunks and pumping dance moves without the fear of smashing your brand new HD TV.

There are a range of games to choose from, all incorporating lively gestures without a controller, making the experience more sociable and fun than any other console. What’s more the Kinect records your moves, so if prancing about trying to look like a professional dancer wasn’t embarrassing enough, after each game you get to see film clips of your moves on screen.

Ah well there’s always room for improvement –  Diversity better watch out.

To watch Belinda Parmar on Channel Four News see below…

Belinda Parmar on Channel Four News

Would you swap your ipad for Toshiba’s new tablet?
With the Folio 100 hitting the streets just in time for Christmas will people be changing their wish lists from ipad to Folio 100? Not only does the Folio 100 have a bigger screen (10 inch vs. 9 inch) it is competitively cheaper by £100. That is a significant save, especially during the season of present shopping for the whole family or sale season (bring on January).
http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2272728/tablets-toshiba-folio-100-ipad

East London to rival Silicon Valley: a fantastic opportunity to bring more women into technology industries?
David Cameron’s plans to create a UK based technology centre that is as successful and influential as America’s Silicon Valley could cause the biggest potential intake of women in technology companies. A shift that is long overdue!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11689437

Who are the most influential women?
British women voted for who they think are the most influential role models: from Maggie Thatcher to Oprah Winfrey.
“‘It’s these female one-offs who make it clear that the glass ceiling is permeable,’ she claimed. Ms Cochrane also suggested that female role models should be more realistic than pop stars and heiresses, and highlighted the work of campaign website PinkStinks.co.uk.“
http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/news/women-compile-list-of-influential-role-models-news-800217405

I feel like a Russian doll. I get smaller and smaller as the testosterone in the boardroom gets bigger and bigger. I tell myself I am a confident woman yet the environment I am in makes me feel I must change my persona and adapt to my ‘male’ surroundings. I must cut across people when they speak. I must hammer my point home with authority. I must emit an odour of superiority. I must show the world I am King. After all, this is advertising. ‘Cojones’ are the order of the day.

So many women behave like men in the Boardroom in advertising agencies. They feel they must emulate men to be successful. Many of the senior women I work with are not women I would aspire to be like. More like men in drag. This lack of appeal is one of the reasons why only 6% of women make up company board members in the UK compared to a directive in Norway where 40% of all board members have to be female. The reason Norway has chosen this approach is that a boardroom with women on it, improves turnover and attracts more talented women.

I want to propose a new style of Boardroom where women can openly use the traits they have: femininity, intimacy and authenticity. To create an agenda that is open, transparent and supportive. The Boardroom should not be a place for corporate politics but a place for productive intimate business.

Gestalt talks about how boards of directors tend to operate in ways that seek to minimise ineffectiveness. Trevor J Bentley, in relation to Gestalt, says

“Relationships on boards are often tenuous, superficial and dishonest. They are quite often transitory subsytems of people who support each other out of personal interest. The best that most boards achieve often through share option schemes, is to align the self interest of individual directors with the interest of shareholders. This approach tends to create a short term price focus that is nearly always to the detriment of the long-term sustainable growth and well-being of the business.”

This pretty much sums up why we are in a financial crisis. A group of money hungry men had short term personal goals of becoming richer without thinking about the long term consequences of their actions.

I want a far more ‘intimate’ and ‘authentic’ environment: Bentley states that there are 2 parts to working in an intimate system.

The first is knowing what I am prepared to offer others is what they want.

The second is knowing that what I want is what others are prepared to offer me.

My experience is that most people in meetings are never clear or open about what they want. It takes a series of long pointless and frankly ineffective meetings before you start to find out the other party actually wants. You have to “play the game” (countless times I have been asked to “play the game”-each time I am told this, I feel myself revert back to my Russian doll).

Once you are finally clear about what the other parties want, the quality of contact increases and people relate to each other with a degree of authenticity. Its a bit like when you have the frank conversation with your new boyfriend about what you want from the relationship. Once the hazy fog of second guessing has been lifted and everything is so much simpler and more enjoyable.

Today in the boardroom in agencies, I watch women emulate men, leaving the men to dictate the rules of the boardroom. Women must be prepared to use their feminine skills in a productive way and men must be prepared to build cultures that thrive on diversity and tolerance not conformity.

More senior women will attract talented women. Women want role models and female mentors that can support and nurture them. Not to mention, women will design products for other women. And when according to the New York Times, 80% of all products are bought by women, this is a profitable and commercially sound strategy.

Jerry yang, Yahoo’s ex chief exec announced that the advertising industry was facing the toughest downturn in decades. The age of extravagance is gone. The age of the hangover is here. No more big marketing budgets with money to trial and test cool ideas. Its about ROI. Its about bold, strong brands having a clear positioning. Tough times need solid, focused leadership, a lesson that Woolworths learnt the hard way.

Napoleon declared the essence of strategy is sacrifice. Never has this been more true than in the current climate. And the sacrifice should be allocating marketing spend to men- a well saturated market. Lad’s mags are already pregnant with tech-brands competing for their attention. Women are the financial opportunity and Jupiter estimate marketers are missing out on £0.5billion by not marketing to women.

Out of every 10 gadgets, 4 are bought by women. And no before you ask we are not talking about fridges and washing machines. More women than men play games between the age of 24-35 than men now And we are not just talking the Sims. World of Warcraft now has 50% female players.

The research I conducted with Jupiter highlighted (now Forrester), ownership is on a par with men in most categories. Couple that with the fastest growing segment on social networks is married women with children. And according to an N-vision survey, December 2008, approx 40% of women are transacting on the Internet (ie spending money rather than just using the Internet for communication, information and entertainment) compared to 30% of men. Hence, Women are no longer a niche audience – they are the budget-holders and drivers of growth.

The editor of marie claire is right when she says:

“When it comes to tech brands and women, technology companies are in the same place the cars industry was 20 years ago.”

With the exception of Nintendo and it’s Wii, Apple, no other brand is talking the female language. I agree with Hilary Chilura when she says:

“Like nervous teenage boys at a junior high-school dance, tech marketers haven’t figured out how to talk to women”.

Ask any family who was in charge of buying the Christmas gifts, and you’ll find out its women not men. Women are not only buying technology for themselves, but as the Chief Household Officer, are buying for kids, husband, gran and friends. Women are in charge of the house, but more importantly are in charge of the living room (see Battle for the Living Room) where many of the technology lives: PVR, console, HD TV…. In my house, its my husband who lives in ‘his’ world but its me who lives in the ‘real’ world. I am deciding what we should cut back on, how much we can save and what we will buy when it comes to technology.

If tech brands want to be successful, they should focus on women at the expense of men. Women are no longer ‘the Second Sex. ‘ Rather the most profitable sex.

Nintendo’s new DS will feature a camera, possibly a bigger pair of screens (both of which will be touch-sensitive) and a slightly improved WiFi system. I’d expect at least one surprise – my bet will be some kind of motion-sensor.

Naturally some people will be disappointed that the platform’s features will still be low-end or that it does not include a free magic-pony, but its hard to please everyone. Nintendo have always been very good at incremental updates. This will be another money-maker.

It probably will not look as good as this Gizmodo.com mock-up, but I share their desire for something that looks less like a toy.

The real question I have is not whether people will buy it, but whether people will carry it – the electronics market is flooded with pocket-sized devices. And the more interesting question is what would you leave behind in order to take your DS with you? Would you leave behind your digital camera because Nintendo have built one into the DS? If the new DS had a good enough web-browser might you leave behind your laptop? What’s the hierarchy of technologies for your handbag?

Ultimately it comes down to who your competition is. Whilst most brands look to their immediate competition, the woman on the street does not view her competition by category. Nintendo will be competing with the obvious rival Sony but will also be competing with everything in a women’s handbag: Keys, Digi-cam, Purses, Phones, Laptops, Music-Players, Sunglasses and make-up.

Jan Chipchase has done some interesting work in this area. Keys, cash and mobile phone are considered essentials irrespective of culture and gender. Keys and money provide access to shelter, food and warmth whilst the phone enables convenient communication with someone who can provide access to these. Forgetting these when shifting to one situation to the other is the most critical thing for most people.

I often pick up my overfilled handbag and leave stuff out and my DS is usually the one that gets eliminated first. Then in order: my mini laptop, camera, paper notebook, any baby toys/dummies and finally paracetamol. My Blackberry, purse and make-up (vain I know) are the things I take everywhere.

Whilst Nokia and Apple have been banking on the importance the phone hence turning it into a hand held gaming platform, there’s an interesting piece of work to be done understanding which items women are prepared to be loyal to and those they are prepared to abandon.

As we begin the quest for loyalty beyond reason, the battle of the handbags begins.

What’s in your handbag and what’s your handbag hierarchy?

A recent article suggests that the number of girls playing games has increased to 41% in Australia. The article argues – as we have pointed out many times in this blog – that stores selling video games and makers of video games are not set up to please female customers. It is really surprising that companies have not realised that almost half of their customers are female.

The study also highlighted that women playing video games in Australia are now on average 28 years old, up from 24 years. The trend suggests that games of the future are not only as likely to be male as female but also older.

The article suggests that one way of responding to the increasingly female audience of video games is through having more female game developers. The figure the article quotes for Australia is 5% while the international figure stands at 12%. The picture is similar in computer science courses at universities and colleges where women make up only about 10% in the US as an article in USA Today states.

This is supported by the fact that the few women who enter science and technology professions are also likely to drop out as a recent contribution of Silvia Ann Hewlett in the FT claimed (I will review her Harvard Business Review article here when it is published next month). Hewlett argues that as many as 52% of highly qualified women in science, technology and engineering drop out due to work pressures and a hostile environment.

The IT industry can ill afford training few women and losing them in disproportionate numbers later on. However with more women actively using technology and playing computer games, one can hope that the image of technology jobs might change slowly.