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History
Radica Games Limited was founded in 1983 and was mainly known for producing electronic souvenir games for casinos. In the late 1990s, the company expanded its portfolio with more electronic games, and by 2005 it decided to release Cube World, a series of handheld games that could interact with one another. Cube World was invented by British engineer Tony Ellis and his wife Judie Ellis of Conceptioneering Ltd. Ellis was inspired by looking at a block of flats and wondering what the people inside were doing — leading to the idea of stick figures visible through the “windows” of the cubes.
Release
The first series of four Cube World games was released in 2005. Each cube is a small handheld video game with very basic gameplay, reminiscent of Nintendo’s Game & Watch. The main selling point of these games was their ability to interact with each other, hence the slogan: “Stick people sticking together”. All cubes had magnetic contacts on all four sides, allowing them to be connected to up to four other cubes. The stick figures inside the cubes would then interact with one another. Up to 16 cubes can be connected and interact simultaneously. Each cube features over 100 animations and a unique mini-games played with the three buttons. The cubes also had built-in motion sensor (tilting the cube triggers reactions).
On October 3, 2006, Mattel acquired Radica Games Limited. Due to the relatively strong success of the Cube World franchise, Mattel continued producing new series of Cube World under the Radica brand. The line sold several million units. It was a genuine commercial success in its early years and was nominated for Electronic Toy of the Year by the Toy Industry Association at the 2007 North American International Toy Fair. Against all odds, Cube World survived for three years and spanned 22 different cubes, plus limited some translucent “Special Edition” for Series 2, 3, 4, and the Jumbo.
Demise
After the release of the Mod series (Series 5) and the Jumbo Cube Series, in 2008, Mattel decided to end production as sales declined and the market shifted toward digital/app-based toys. Remaining stock was cleared through retailers and online marketplaces.
Games
Radica released six series of Cube World toys. The first four series (Series 1 to 4) were sold either individually or in packs of two. The fifth series was slightly different: each cube was sold with a corresponding mod, resulting in four different sets. The cubes in the Jumbo series were sold individually.
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| Series 1 Dodger (Ball), Whip (Whip) Slim (Stick), Scoop (Dog) |
Series 2 Handy (Wrench), Mic (Music Note) Dusty (Spray Can), Hans (Dumbbell) |
Series 3 Chief (Star), Sparky (Fire) Toner (Cup), Dash (Envelope) |
Series 4 Slugger (Baseball), Slam (Basketball) Kicks (Soccer), Grinder (Skateboard) |
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| Series 5 Dart (Dart) |
Series 5 Hip Hop (Boombox) |
Series 5 Splash (Faucet) |
Series 5 Sci-Fi (UFO) |
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| Series Jumbo Block Bash (Taxi) |
Series Jumbo Global Gateway (Helicopter) |
Special Edition
Some Cube World series were also released as translucent Special Editions. It has been confirmed that Series 2, 3, 4, and Jumbo all received Special Edition releases. It is currently unclear whether Series 1 and Series 5 received similar versions. The Special Edition is virtually identical to the regular edition, except that the opaque plastic of the cube is replaced by translucent plastic of the same color. There is no information on how limited the Special Editions were compared with the regular editions.
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| Series 2 Mic (Music Note), Hans (Dumbbell) |
Series 2 Handy (Wrench), Dusty (Spray Can) |
Series 3 Chief (Star), Sparky (Fire) Toner (Cup), Dash (Envelope) |
Series 4 Slam (Basketball), Grinder (Skateboard) |
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| Series Jumbo Block Bash (Taxi) |
Series Jumbo Global Gateway (Helicopter) |
Japanese Release
In Japan, Cube World was distributed by Bandai. While the colors differ, the games and icons remain the same. Most names were also kept, with only three exceptions.
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| Series 1 – Japanese Scoop (Dog) Dodger (Ball), Slim (Stick), Whip (Whip) |
Series 2 – Japanese Handy (Wrench), Hans (Dumbbell) Mic (Music Note), Dusty (Spray Can) |
Series 3 – Japanese Dash (Envelope), Hot (Flame), Toner (Cup), Chief (Star) |
Series 4 – Japanese Major (Baseball), Grinder (Skateboard) Pivot (Basketball), Kicks (Soccer) |
The following table shows the correspondence between the North American and Japanese names:
| Series | North American Name | Japanese Name | Icon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Dodger | Whip | Ball |
| Series 1 | Whip | Whip | Whip |
| Series 1 | Scoop | Scoop | Dog |
| Series 1 | Slim | Slim | Stick |
| Series 2 | Handy | Handy | Wrench |
| Series 2 | Mic | Mic | Music Note |
| Series 2 | Dusty | Dusty | Spray Can |
| Series 2 | Hans | Hans | Dumbbell |
| Series 3 | Dash | Dash | Envelope |
| Series 3 | Sparky | Hot | Flame |
| Series 3 | Toner | Toner | Cup |
| Series 3 | Chief | Chief | Star |
| Series 4 | Slugger | Major | Baseball |
| Series 4 | Slam | Pivot | Basketball |
| Series 4 | Kicks | Kicks | Soccer/Football |
| Series 4 | Grinder | Grinder | Skateboard |
| Series 5 | Dart | N/A | Dart |
| Series 5 | Hip Hop | N/A | Boombox |
| Series 5 | Splash | N/A | Faucet |
| Series 5 | Sci-Fi | N/A | UFO |
| Series Jumbo | Block Dash | N/A | Taxi |
| Series Jumbo | Global Gateway | N/A | Helicopter |
Packaging
Here’s a few commercials for the Cube World.
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| Single Pack |
Dual Pack | Special Edition Pack | Toys “R” Us Exclusive* | ||||
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| Series 5 Series Pack | Jumbo Series Pack | Jumbo Series Special Edition Pack | |||||
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| Japan Pack | United Kingdom Pack* |
* The Dual Mic Pack was a Toys “R” Us exclusive. The Mic cube was available in other dual pack in other retailers.
** The United Kingdom seems to had these pack for the Series 1.
Video
Here’s a few commercials for the Cube World.
| North American commercial for Cube World | Here’s the Japanese commercial for Cube World (In English) |
Cube World by Radica – TV Ad for Series 4 (First Version) |
Cube World by Radica – TV Ad for Series 4 (Second Version) |
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| Cube World by Radica – TV Ad for Series 5 | Cube World by Radica – Series Jumbo – TV Ad |