Inkball is perhaps the greatest sport ever invented. Okay, maybe it’s a game, but I thought I’d share my love of this creation. I’ll start with the genesis.
I used to work at a lame computer store, which to protect its identity we’ll call Boron Computing. It was a rather boring job which in no way challenged me, it in no way interested me, and I was treated quite poorly, so I had a lot of resentment to the employer. There’s a lesson in this, if you want a happy, productive worker, treat them with respect. We weren’t treated with respect, but there was one good thing about working that that shithole, I made some great friends. There were Vince and Graeme, and the three of us used to work together in a space no bigger than 3 metres by 5 metres. It created a close friendship, and surprisingly we didn’t all hate each other.
On one of the walls was were pegs and on each peg were ink cartridges. Boron used to buy dirt cheap ink cartridges to sell instead of the brand name Epson cartridges. The owner was a bit of an ass, and when selling refurbished units, would pull the Epson original cartridges and replace them with the brandless cartridges1. These cartridges cost perhaps a dollar a piece and were sold for about $20, a good markup, though significantly cheaper than the Epson originals. The store would even sell them once they had passed their expiry date.
Inkball, was a game which involves a wall of ink and a superball. Basically you throw the ball from a short distance at the wall of ink, and the more cartridges you dislodge from the wall, the more points.
- I could tell you much worse stories. [↩]