Good morning, Wimblers.
What does it take to create a game? That’s what I asked games inventor Eddy Martin — who lives just round the corner from Wimbledon station — earlier this week. A few years ago, Eddy had an idea for a new game, which he has now perfected and is about to release it into the world, starting with Wimbledon. Eddy is also keen to create a community of players in Wimbledon, and you can register your interest by emailing him at eddy@cuberoots.co.uk (or scroll down for another link).
We’ve also got your usual news snippets, some great recommendations and a lovely property of the week. And don’t forget that The Wimble and Wimbledon BookFest are co-hosting a silent reading hour this Saturday — details below. (Shh!)
News snippets 🗞
💤 Dons Local Action Group (DLAG) is hosting the Stadium Sleep Out at Plough Lane (currently known as the Cherry Red Records Stadium) on Saturday 14 November. The event is to raise money and awareness for people facing homelessness and hardship across southwest London. Those participating will spend the night inside the grounds, supporting DLAG’s essential work for the vulnerable people in our community. Tickets cost £30 per person and include entry, two drinks and breakfast the next morning. Teams of 10 receive two free tickets (meaning they only pay for eight). Click here to read more and here to book your spot.
🚊 There was major disruption at Wimbledon station last Friday after a person was hit by a train. All the lines in the area were closed whilst emergency services dealt with the situation. The affected routes included South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and destinations including Dorking, Guildford, Woking, Hampton Court, Chessington South and Shepperton. Click here to read more.
Property of the week 🏡
This seven-bedroom house (though I think it’s verging on being a mansion) is quite literally on top of the common. Originally two houses, this “mega-house” has been redesigned but has kept some of its original period charm. I’m not going to bother going through all of the rooms; all you need to know is that there are a lot of them. But how much does such a large home cost in SW19? £7.25 million, to be exact. I know. Shocking. Check out more photos here.
The Wimble x BookFest silent reading hour 📚
The Wimble and Wimbledon BookFest are teaming up for a “silent reading hour” this week. The event is entirely free and will take place on Saturday 17 October (5–6pm) at the Fire Station Café on Queen’s Road, Wimbledon. The first 30 people to arrive will receive a free copy of Elif Shafak’s The Island of Missing Trees (this year’s Merton Big Read). The café doesn’t have a huge capacity, so seats for the silent reading hour are on a first-come, first-served basis, although I suspect people will drop in and drop out. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Wimble’s to-do list 🎯
🖼 Art Below Autumn Show: In collaboration with Art Below, Ad Lib Gallery will be showing artworks by various artists on billboard posters at Regents Park, Pimlico & Hyde Park Corner tube stations. Many of the participating artists will have their work on display at the Ad Lib Gallery in Wimbledon Village.
Where: Ad Lib Gallery, Wimbledon Village
When: Thursday 8 — Sunday 25 October, 10am–5.30pm
📚 Wimbledon BookFest 2026: The BookFest is back and better than ever. This year boasts an excellent line-up of authors — some local, some international, all of them excellent. The festival starts today with talks and readings from Mary Owusu-Hirsch, Mahin Hussain, Ben Okri, Marcia Hutchinson, and Orlaine McDonald. Later in the festival, there will be events with Celia Imrie, Alan Davies, Daisy Dunn, Robert Harris, Marina Hyde, William Boyd, Alex Edmans, Elif Shafak and many, many more. Grab your tickets here.
Where: Various locations
When: Thursday 15 — Sunday 25 October
🤫 Silent Reading Hour with The Wimble: In collaboration with BookFest, The Wimble is hosting a silent reading hour this week. I’ll be there, so do pop in and say hi if you want. The event is completely free — just drop in and take a seat.
Where: The Fire Station Café
When: Saturday 17 October, 5–6pm
💍 Wedding Showcase: Looking to tie the knot? Not sure where to have your special day? Pop in to Wimbledon Village’s beautiful Coach House and talk to their team for some inspiration. You never know, it might be love at first sight.
Where: The Coach House
When: Sunday 25 October, 12–3pm
🥕 Wimbledon Village Farmers’ Market: It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for that strange bespoke veg item from BBC Good Food or just a plain old carrot, the farmers’ market will surely have it. Get yourself along on the weekend and pick up some groceries to assemble an extravagant spring salad as the weather warms up.
Where: Wimbledon Village
When: Sunday 25 October, 10am – 3pm
🎃 Little Monsters Breakfast Banquet: Celebrate Halloween in Wimbledon Village with the inaugural Little Monsters Breakfast Banquet. Little monsters and their grown-ups can head along to enjoy a delicious breakfast, seasonal treats, plenty of spooky surprises and a special Halloween gift. Tickets are £32.50 for adults and £27.50 for children.
Where: The Ivy, Wimbledon Village
When: Saturday 31 October & Sunday 1 November
🎄 Wreath Making with Blooms London: It’s quite early to be thinking about Christmas, but the holidays do catch up with you. You’ll build your own wreath from scratch, layering moss, fresh foliage and winter greenery before adding the finishing touches. Go with friends, take your partner or treat yourself to an evening out. Tickets are £65 per person — don’t worry, you get to keep your wreath for that price.
Where: The Fire Station Café
When: Thursday 26 November, 7–8pm
CubeRoots: What does it take to be a games inventor? 🎲
Have you ever been with your family for the holidays — playing a board game or cards or charades — and thought, “Who came up with this?” Games travel the world, they transcend borders, they bring people together. But what does it take to invent a successful one? A few weeks ago, Eddy Martin got in touch with The Wimble to tell us about his new game. Did I want to interview him? Absolutely. His game sounded intriguing but I was more curious about how a person comes to invent one. We met at The Fire Station Café so he could reveal all!
How did you come up with the idea for CubeRoots? How did it begin?
The initial idea came to me during the pandemic. My wife and I went to Cornwall — where her family is from — and had planned to stay for four or five weeks. We ended up being there for 18 months. But right before Covid, my friends and I flew to Ottawa to watch some ice hockey. One of my friends bought a load of board games while we were there, one of which was Carcassonne. I really fell in love with that game and wanted to do something similar. At the time, I was also doing a lot of skiing, so I decided to make a 3D piste map board game where players built a “snow pyramid” and found “routes” down the mountain. In my mind, I knew what the shapes and structures should look like, but I didn’t have the practical skills to build them, which meant that the skiing board game never got made.
A few years later, I was heading down to Cornwall to see my brother, who was studying in Falmouth, when another idea came to me. As I was driving, I thought about how I’d never finished the skiing board game. And then I thought, why not buy a bunch of cubes and try to create the game around that? So that’s what I did. The original idea was to stick with the skiing theme, but once the cubes arrived from eBay, and I had painted and numbered them, I decided I could make loads of better and simpler games.
So you wouldn’t consider CubeRoots to be complicated?
No, not at all. I really don’t want people to be misled by the name. “CubeRoots” does sound quite mathematical, but it’s actually more of a pun on the fact that they are cubes and each of the suits are plants — hence why the individual games you can play have a plant-themed title: “Ivy”, “Roses”, “Dandelion”. The games are pretty straightforward. “Ivy”, which is probably my favourite, is a domino-style game where you start with 10 cubes (having chosen a colour), and then you place them in a formation where it goes up or down by one number (see video below).
In fact, you can even play a form of it on your phone. My talented university friend Simon Gummer has turned his favourite of the CubeRoots games into a puzzle app which is doing so much better than we ever expected. It was released last week and already has over 1,000 players and was top of the recommended iPad games on the Japanese app store today!
In a world that is increasingly tech-reliant, why do you think board games are still so popular?
I think it’s incredibly important to have something which gets us away from our screens and closer to our friends and families. AI and online content is only going to “grow”, but it can feel overwhelming. At a certain point, it’s a bit like, “Do I really want to watch or consume all of this stuff?” The simple act of sitting around a table in a real setting and socialising with real people can feel like an antidote. I’ve also found —when testing CubeRoots — that people put their phones away as they play. It’s an engaging game, but it isn’t so complicated that you can’t chat. Much like playing cards with your family at Christmas, it encourages you to be present and enjoy what you are doing.
And what is the dream for CubeRoots?
I’m just keen for as many people to play it as possible. Whilst it would obviously be great it if it reached a worldwide audience, I’d be just as happy if it became part of the local community. I think that’s the dream: to build a community of people who can come together, wherever that may be, and enjoy the game. I’d also really like for people to make CubeRoots their own. The plan is to set up a forum online where players can offer tweaks or suggest new games. I may have invented the cubes, but I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who can (and will) invent better games for them.
If there is interest, then I’d be very happy for people to email me with any questions and signal their interest in a weekly or fortnightly CubeRoots night (or day) in the area. We could meet in a pub or a café as a group and get to know the game, have a chat and create a games-loving community right here in the heart of Wimbledon.
Please do email Eddy at eddy@cuberoots.co.uk if you’d like to hear more about the game, find out when it will be released and put your name down for a local games-orientated community meet-up. Equally, you can visit the game’s website here to join the mailing list and download the Ivy app (which is already live) here for iOS and here for Android.
Question of the week 🔍
Last week, I asked what the Wimbledon Village Stables is famous for being? The answer: The oldest of its kind (which 84 per cent of my knowledgeable readers guessed correctly).
Q: Which of these chain restaurants is NOT in Wimbledon?
You’re up to date 👋
Thank you for reading this week’s Wimble. If you enjoyed hearing about Eddy’s game, please do get in touch with him. I think it would be lovely to have a group of Wimblers come together over a shared love of table games. We’re currently in the thick of it with the Christmas print edition, so do bear with me over the next couple of weeks if I’m slow with replying to emails. Other than that, have a great rest of the week and we’ll see you next time.