Is there an equivalent in RSpec to Cucumber's "Scenarios" or am I using RSpec the wrong way?

Try the following approach. I like the way it turned out.

describe StateDateMethods do
  before :each do
    @product = OpenStruct.new
    @product.extend StateDateMethods
  end

  def parse_date(unparsed_date_value)
    unless unparsed_date_value.nil?
      DateTime.strptime(unparsed_date_value, '%m/%d/%Y')
    end
  end

  context '#pre_order?' do
    examples = [
      # [visible_on, pre_order_on, for_sale_on] => method_result
      { :inputs => [nil, nil, nil], :expected => false },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/2001', nil, nil], :expected => false },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/2001', '1/1/2001', nil], :expected => true },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/2001', '1/2/2001', nil], :expected => true },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/2001', '1/1/2001', '1/2/2001'], :expected => false },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/2001', '1/1/2001', '1/1/3001'], :expected => true },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/2001', '1/1/3001', '1/2/3001'], :expected => false },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/3001', '1/1/3001', '1/2/3001'], :expected => false },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/2001', nil, '1/1/2001'], :expected => false },
      { :inputs => ['1/1/2001', nil, '1/1/3001'], :expected => false }
    ]
    examples.each do |example|
      inputs = example[:inputs]

      it "should return #{example[:expected].inspect} when visible_on == #{inputs[0].inspect}, pre_order_on == #{inputs[1].inspect}, for_sale_on == #{inputs[2].inspect}" do
        @product.visible_on = parse_date(inputs[0])
        @product.pre_order_on = parse_date(inputs[1])
        @product.for_sale_on = parse_date(inputs[2])

        @product.pre_order?.should == example[:expected]
      end
    end
  end
end

I think this gives the best of both worlds, because it keeps me from repeating myself, and it creates a different test for each condition.

Here's what a failure looks like:

....F.....

Failures:

  1) StateDateMethods#pre_order? should return false when visible_on == "1/1/2001", pre_order_on == "1/1/2001", for_sale_on == "1/2/2001"
     Failure/Error: @product.pre_order?.should == example[:expected]
       expected: false
            got: true (using ==)
     # ./spec_no_rails/state_date_methods_spec.rb:40:in `block (4 levels) in <top (required)>'

Finished in 0.38933 seconds
10 examples, 1 failure

Failed examples:

rspec ./spec_no_rails/state_date_methods_spec.rb:35 # StateDateMethods#pre_order? should return false when visible_on == "1/1/2001", pre_order_on == "1/1/2001", for_sale_on == "1/2/2001"

And here's what all green looks like:

..........

Finished in 0.3889 seconds
10 examples, 0 failures

I give an example appropriate for RSpec in the question RSpec Scenario Outlines: Multiple Test Cases. I give one possible solution, but please let me know if you find a better one.