The marker costs 1/3 as much as the pen. the pen costs 1/3 as much as the book. the book costs 1/3 as much as the game.
the price of the marker is what fraction of the price of the game?

To answer the question above we must take note that based on the given, before reaching the price of the marker, the price of the game should be multiplied by 1/3 three times such that,
                         price of the marker = (price of the game) *(1/3)^3
                           price of the marker = (price of the game)(1/27)
Thus, the answer is 1/27. 

The surface area would be 576 because you multiply all the numbers then multiply that number by 6