Alrightgames: The Wretched

The Wretched

2020 / Solo roleplaying game / 1 player

***

I hadn't checked in on the world of analogue solo RPGs since the era of adventure gamebooks, so I was more impressed by this one's (mostly) practical solutions of creating a modular story out of a pack of standard, dice-rolled playing cards than by the actual experience, which was a bit oppressively bleak for my tastes at this point. Then it turned out the cards thing wasn't original anyway.

Admittedly, by not wanting to wake up a child by recording daily logs or collapsing a spaceship-representing Jenga tower (as well as us not having one), I didn't commit to the full, immersive experience. Maybe if she's at school and I'm free from work, I might try the lonely, borderline-impossible, imminent sci-fi death simulator again, but there are likely jollier diversions out there.

Alrightgames: The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters – Variant Castles

The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters: Variant Castles

2020 / Roleplaying game mini adventure / 2+ players

Most of the suggested traps and denizens were too grim or mundane for our magical friendship pony game, but this helped me to come up with some rooms to expand our prefabricated module, and I loved the idea of letting the dice decide what was on the other side of each door, that's a keeper.

Alrightgames: My Little Pony – Tails of Equestria – The Haunting of Equestria

My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – The Haunting of Equestria

2019 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

*****

This adjustably spooky instalment is the best one we've played so far. Its higher level requirement for the characters also gives GMs a chance to gain enough experience to not be terrified by its more flexible approach, rather than jumping straight into the one with the exciting cover.

The writer has professionally penned RPG modules for decades, so I tried not to feel too intimidated that some people can turn the blank document into all this. But we're nearly out of adventures, and the next saga may be all random tables and Story Cubes.

Babyliography CLXXXIII

Emily Guille-Marrett and Charlotte Raby, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds: My Day, Our World

2017 / School book / 16 pages

**

Not as captivating a wordless book as The Arrival, and she can already read up to five-letter words anyway, but they presumably know what they're doing.

Anna Llenas, The Colour Monster

2016 / School book / 48 pages

***

Nice craft design spruces up an otherwise bogstandard feelings discussion primer.

Laura Baker and Chris Jevons, Not Another Unicorn Book

2024 / Library book / 32 pages

**

Has its sparkly rainbow cake and eats it. This generation's going to get so sick of meta.

Various, My Little Pony, Vol. 3: Cookies, Conundrums and Crafts

2024 / Library book / 120 pages

***

The four-year-old reader identified the artist of one issue (another Amy) based on recognising her style. She insisted we read the Bloody Mare-y one despite my accurate protests that it would creep her out at bedtime.

Catherine Baker and Andrea Castro Naranjo, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised: Incy Wincy Spider

2022 / School book / 16 pages

*

We have to "read" these wordless books three times a week and answer questions she already memorised in class before we're allowed to enjoy some proper reading.

Babyliography CLXXXII

Darcey Bussell, The Ballet Book

2006 / Library book / 72 pages

***

Lots of pain to come, it seems. But she likes the dresses, what can you do.

Various, Read with Oxford: Stage 2 – Non-fiction – Our Wonderful World

2019 / Library book / 96 pages

***

These reliably teach me a thing or two. Aren't goats' eyes weird?

Various, My Little Pony, Vol. 1: Big Horseshoes to Fill

2023 / Library book / 120 pages

**

The first time I've seen her get properly excited by fan service lore, outside of her own fanfic.

Hayao Miyazaki and artists, Kiki's Delivery Service Film Comic, Vol. 1

2011 / Library book / 152 pages

****

The movie she has on tap and can watch any time, now partially in screencap comic form. She enjoyed reading along anyway, once I remembered that manga reads from right to left.

Catherine Rayner, Iris and Isaac

2010 / School book / 32 pages

**

Polar bear friendship lesson. Her school books are a bit less adventurous than her usual stuff.

Babyliography CLXXXI: Receptionreads

I was planning to rename this increasingly insultingly-titled catalogue of my daughter's reading now that she's started proper school, but for the sake of big numbers, all the unicorn continuity, and not being able to think of a new title, she's stuck with it until she learns to read in secret.

Dana Simpson, Razzle Dazzle Unicorn: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure

2013-14 (collected 2016) / Paperback / 184 pages

***

Premature Christmas / culturally-irrelevant Thanksgiving special.

Celeste Bronfman and Amy Mebberson, My Little Pony, Volume 4: Sister Switch

2024 / Library book / 128 pages

***

Recycles a plot that happened to other princess sisters in the previous generation, but she still wanted all five issues in a day. The kid loves comics, don't know where she gets it from.

Unknown, Unicorn Academy: Under the Fairy Moon

2024 / Library book / 160 pages

***

She has no interest in the original books, but adapt an episode she's already seen and slap familiar imagery on, and she snaps it up. I was exactly the same. We skipped the frequent exposition digressions that are only there to expand a 45-minute episode to 160 pages.

Eiko Kadono, Kiki's Delivery Service

1985 / Ebook / 259 pages

****

I gave this the parental screening earlier this year (for attention span, rather than content warnings), and its episodic chapters are already a favourite bedtime request, to be acted out the next day.

David Lumsdon and Shiei, My Little Pony: The Manga – A Day in the Life of Equestria, Vol. 1

2019 / Library book / 120 pages

****

What the Pony Life show could have been, if it had actually been funny. Even if we don't get the meme references.

Alrightreads: TV XVIII

Keith R.A. DeCandido, Farscape: House of Cards

2001 / Ebook/audiobook / 211 pages

***

"Make Liantac Great Again." A bogstandard filler episode that gives everyone something to do and is true to character. The other couple of novels supposedly failed in that basic requirement.

Steven Cooper and Kevin Mahoney, Steven Moffat's Doctor Who 2012-2013: The Critical Fan's Guide to Matt Smith's Final Series (Unauthorized)

2014 / Ebook / 234 pages

****

I enjoyed the excitable instant reactions, but could have done without the second opinions and their "of course" smart-arse referencing. It was more positive than I expected, no doubt partly for being caught in the anniversary fervour, but it was a welcome reminder after a decade's attrition that the tail end of this era was a bit better than I tend to remember. I'm looking forward to revisiting it through a child's eyes one day, when subjecting them to Daleks, Weeping Angels and the child actors from 'Nightmare in Silver' wouldn't constitute abuse.

Christopher Golden, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike & Dru – Pretty Maids All in a Row

2000 / Audiobook / 305 pages

***

From one of the authors of the non-fic Monster Book that educated teenage me about vampire lore, this fictional historical chronicle fills some gaps satisfyingly, and was another reminder that I should really watch Angel again.

Mitch Grinter and Brendan Dando, Homer's Odyssey: An Embiggened Simpsons Guide

2017 / Audiobook / 276 pages

****

I'm not as obsessive about the show as the introduction assumes, but it's always worth making the trip down memory lane, here via an Australian avenue. It was mainly appealing for its sensible cut-off point, and the approach of going in-depth only on select episodes makes sense so it can actually fit in a book.

Mike Chen and Angel Hernandez, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Dog of War

2023 / Ecomics / 136 pages

**

We don't need no stinking Borg in our Deep Space Nine, we've got our own things. No one sounds right either, even accounting for mind control. But I liked the First Contact-referencing cover, once I finally noticed.

Alrightreads: Gamesmaster

Zak Barouh and artists, My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – The Official Movie Sourcebook

2017 / Hardback / 98 pages

***

Not as much of a cash grab as it first appeared, this second hardback serves as an expansion of the efficient core rulebook for more advanced or jaded players that was luckily well served by the variety of new settings, races and equipment showing up in the film. It's a little advanced for our stumbling beginner level, but since we're rapidly depleting the premade adventures, it'll give us more to work with when crafting our own tales involving Seaponies, sky pirate parrots or Bubble Gum buying a car. And it's another pretty book on the shelf.

Jack Caesar and artists, My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – The Bestiary of Equestria

2019 / Ebook / 126 pages

***

This would be an essential reference for Games Masters, if only it were complete. I'll dip in and out for reference and to scribble down stats when needed, but it's mainly the double-page spread on creating your own critters and the supplementary material of new playable races, talents and quirks that's the most interesting.

Zak Barouh, Jack Cæsar, Mark Hulmes and artists, My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – The Compendium of Equestria

2021 / Ebook / 102 pages

****

Feeling like a self-conscious wrap-up, this is the most interesting of the supplementary rulebooks with its encyclopaedia of settings and story launchpad ideas. There's also a handy toolkit for making it all work and they throw in a few new playable races for good measure, though a fair bit is recycled. There's also a short adventure at the end that looks completely unappealing, but we all roll a 1 sometimes.

Jeff Ashworth and Jasmine Kalle, The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters: 500+ Customizable Maps, Tables and Story Hooks to Create 5th Edition Adventures On Demand

2020 / Ebook / 256 pages

****

A bit specific and limited to be of extensive practical use in our decidedly non-D&D RPG, I was still able to steal some basic frameworks and scenarios, and letting dice determine the order of rooms is a definite keeper. I'd have to come up with my own set of D100 tables to generate suitable characters for our game, which would defeat the purpose a bit.

Jan Van Houten and artists, Adventures on a Single Page, Season 1

2020-22 (collected 2022) / Ebook / 20 pages

***

Kid-friendly adventures economised at a cost to clarity, but I should be able to plunder an idea or twelve for pony-based roleplaying.

Alrightgames: Unicorn Operation

Unicorn Operation

2022 / Skill game / 2 players

**

An inevitable addition to the dedicated unicorn games cupboard, when it was eventually found cheap enough. They at least had the courtesy to change the buzzer to a quieter shudder.

Alrightgames: My Little Pony – Tails of Equestria – The Secret of Starfall

My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – Filly Sized Follies – The Secret of Starfall

2019 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

***

Though atmospheric, this bare framework could have done with expanding to a book on its own, but that would have meant losing the anthology format, and writer James Fleming encourages GMs to fill in the blanks ourselves. I'm getting more confident there, incorporating an unrelated non-franchise encounter to fill time on the journey and segueing in directly from our last adventure to help maintain the illusion of a cohesive "campaign." As with the other tails in this book, there's a rich setting, a nice lesson (though the four-year-old picked her side and saw no need for compromise) and more friendly NPCs who we may run into again.