A Brixel and Voxel story
A story about playing fair
This is Voxel. He is red and tall, with four bright buttons on his tummy.
This is Brixel, his best friend. Brixel goes boing, boing, boing!
And this is little Dot, who is small and very, very quick.
Every day the three friends played the chasing game.
And every day, Brixel and Dot shouted the very same thing.
‘We are the goodies! Voxel, you are the baddie. You have to chase us!’
So Voxel chased. Stomp, stomp, stomp!
Brixel bounced away. Boing, boing, boing!
Dot zoomed away. Zip, zip, zip!
‘You can’t catch the goodies!’ they sang.
The next day Voxel asked, ‘Can I be a goodie today?’
‘No,’ said Dot. ‘You are the biggest. You are always the baddie.’
So Voxel chased again. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
But Voxel did not feel like playing any more.
His antennae drooped. His tummy felt heavy.
‘I am always the baddie,’ he thought. ‘It isn’t fair. And it isn’t fun.’
That night Voxel told Big Bot all about it. Big Bot gave him a great big squeeze.
‘Oh, Voxel. You are not a baddie. That is only pretend, like wearing a hat. You can take it off. And nobody has to wear it every single time.’
‘Look at your tummy,’ said Big Bot. ‘Four buttons. Let’s make them your helper buttons.’
‘Green button first. Stop, and take a big, slow breath. In… and out.’
Can you do it too?
‘Yellow button,’ said Big Bot. ‘Say how you feel.’
Voxel tried it. ‘I feel sad when I am always the baddie.’
‘Blue button. Ask for something fair.’
‘Can we take turns?’ said Voxel.
‘And the pink button is for when they still say no. Then you get help. Find a grown-up, or find a different game.’
Voxel pressed them one by one. ‘Breathe. Say it. Ask. Get help.’
He felt a little bit braver.
The next day Dot shouted, ‘Voxel, you’re the baddie!’
Voxel’s tummy went wobbly.
So he pressed his green button. In… and out.
He pressed his yellow button.
‘I feel sad when I am always the baddie.’
Brixel stopped bouncing. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know that. Sorry, Voxel.’
He pressed his blue button. ‘Can we take turns?’
‘But I don’t want to be the baddie!’ said Dot.
Voxel had a think. ‘Then let’s all be goodies. That cushion can be the grumpy dragon!’
So they all chased the dragon together. Stomp! Boing! Zip!
‘Got you, dragon!’
And in the very next game, Dot said, ‘My turn to be the baddie. Roar!’
Now the friends take turns. Sometimes Brixel is the baddie. Sometimes Dot is.
And sometimes Voxel is, because he chooses to be.
Because a game is only fun when it is fun for everyone.
Which button would you press? Tap one to hear it.
The end
Being made the baddie every time is very common at this age, and it is rarely meant unkindly. Small children often pick the biggest or fastest friend to do the chasing. It still hurts, and it can leave a child wondering whether they really are the bad one.
If it keeps happening, have a quiet word with nursery or school. Staff can watch the game and help the group take turns.
Pictures and narration made with Higgsfield. Brixel and Voxel are the two brick robots from the build guides. Dot and Big Bot were invented for this story.
