Babyliography CCLIII

Becca Heddle, Oxford Reading Tree: Explore with Biff, Chip and Kipper – At Sunset

2018 / Library book / 12 pages

**

Not getting around to any of her more appealing summer library books to get her final reading challenge sticker because she was too busy with her own Baby-Sitters Club non-library books (which she reckons don't count), I suggested looking for the shortest read possible while also checking off some non-fiction learning at the same time, and this was our almost insultingly simple solution. Just get it bloody done. I'm confident I'm giving the right lessons.

Ann M. Martin and Ellen T. Crenshaw, The Baby-Sitters Club: Stacey's Mistake

2023 / Paperback / 160 pages

***

The squabbles are predictably repetitive now, but she enjoyed the change of scenery.

Joe King, Knock Knock Jokes for Kids

2019 / Library book / 176 pages

**

The first one we tried didn't even make sense and it was downhill from there.

Ann M. Martin and Arley Nopra, The Baby-Sitters Club: Claudia and the Bad Joke

2023 / Paperback / 160 pages

***

Like Karen's Roller Skates, but with more of the leg and the usual Claudia melodrama.

Ann M. Martin and Ellen T. Crenshaw, The Baby-Sitters Club: Kristy and the Walking Disaster

2024 / Paperback / 160 pages

**

Summer reading wrapped up with our favourite subject: American sports! Come on you reds, etc!!!

Babyliography CCLII

Ann M. Martin, The Baby-Sitters Club: Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls

1986 / Ebook / 153 pages

**

Skipped in the graphic novel adaptations, we tried the first, comparatively long chapter for bedtime once, but didn't bother carrying on.

Ann M. Martin and Gabriela Epstein, The Baby-Sitters Club: Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye

2022 / Paperback / 160 pages

**

Still sad, but less devastating after the dog death one.

Ann M. Martin and Chan Chau, The Baby-Sitters Club: Jessi's Secret Language

2022 / Paperback / 160 pages

***

An especially wordy one, whether dispensing useful sign language instruction, emotional support or overly detailed ballet synopses.

Various, Senses: Hearing in Living Things

2000 / Hardback / 32 pages

**

Something boring but educational that showed up in Morrisons library to tick off reading and science home schooling for a couple of sessions, though we mainly added comedy yells and sound effects to the expressive photos.

Ann M. Martin and Cynthia Yuan Cheng, The Baby-Sitters Club: Mary Anne's Bad Luck Mystery

2022 / Paperback / 160 pages

***

We'd been looking forward to Best Baby-Sitter being back in the torchlight, and this charmingly dated and desperately uncreepy tale of cursed chain letters hit the spot.

Alrightreads: Risin' Up [From the Grave], Back on the Street

R. L. Stine, Fear Street: One Evil Summer

1994 / Ebook / 163 pages

****

Gaslighting and pet slaughter galore with one of the series' most wicked villains. This was a fun one.

R. L. Stine, 99 Fear Street: The House of Evil – The First Horror

1994 / Audiobook / 148 pages

****

The haunted house book you might have expected from the series all along, and way more intense than you'd expect if you'd been reading along. This is one I would have loved to have been traumatised by at the time.

R. L. Stine, 99 Fear Street: The House of Evil – The Second Horror

1994 / Audiobook / 155 pages

***

For a trilogy released in consecutive months, this comes off disappointingly like a belated retread.

R. L. Stine, 99 Fear Street: The House of Evil – The Third Horror

1994 / Audiobook / 163 pages

***

R. L. Stine's New Nightmare. This didn't exactly need to be three books. First horror was best horror.

R. L. Stine, Fear Street: The Mind Reader

1994 / Ebook / 160 pages

***

Not bad for a junior Twin Peaks, but it didn't do much for me.

Junior Gamesmaster: Tails of Equestria – Magice / Scary Lights (DIY)

My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – Magice / Scary Lights

DIY roleplaying game adventures

A quick improv double feature before bedtime: one in the traditional mould, incorporating dice and pony standees, as we explored the Everfree Forest to find a potion to reverse a spell and save the day; the second a Monster High doll play session helping her to process her first optician visit.

Alrightgames: Basic Fantasy Adventure – The Tomb of Threy (Adapted)

Basic Fantasy Adventure: The Tomb of Threy (Adapted)

2014 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

***

This seems like it'd be a bit too basic to be a satisfying expedition for grown-up dorks, but it served as a Sunday afternoon quickie for earning our ponies some magical items, and the setting meant I finally got to use the Quarray Eel standee. The young player unexpectedly called in NPCs from previous adventures for assistance, represented by her toys. Story arcs take care of themselves.

Alrightgames: Wipeout 2097 & Wip3out

Wipeout 2097 & Wip3Out

1996/1999 / Sony PlayStation emulator games / 1-2 players

****

Bashing into walls at breakneck speed is still fun, but now it also has the sediment of 90s nostalgia. I think they actually carried on making other racing games after these, which seems a pointless endeavour.

Alrightgames: Lost Legacy

AEG Black Box 2015: Lost Legacy

2013 / Deduction card game / 2-6 players

****

I was after this rarity for a while, eventually finding it hiding in an unloved discount compilation padded out with crap I could try to sell on for 99p a piece, but probably won't bother.

It was even more Love Letter-like than I'd been expecting, but it didn't win over the young Love Letter fan as much, so we won't get to play this variant as often as I'd like. She even preferred some of the crap.

Workable, if wonky, solo mode:

• Combine The Spaceship and Flying Garden decks (removing one Lost Legacy card) for more jeopardy and game.
• You play against an alliance of two dummy players. They have their own hands and discard piles, but their attacks will only target the human player (unless they can target the Ruins and that's more favourable).
• The dummy players will aim to have the lowest number card possible at the end for the Investigation phase. They will always play their highest number card each turn, or discard a Sneak Attack 'X' card. They won't discard Wound cards unless forced or protected. They will always swap a card for a lower number.
• When a human or dummy player plays a Curse card, roll a D8 die to determine the number randomly. Work out other cards as they come up, doing what a human would do.

Alrightgames: Wonder Tales – Rumplestiltskin

Wonder Tales: Rumpelstiltskin (Solo Mode)

2022 / Card game variant / 1 player

***

When you build your success on Sprawlopolis, your clientele are going to demand solo variants for your duel games, and some feel more natural than others. This program to run an artificial non-intelligence is a bit clunky, but a satisfying challenge to overcome, once you learn how to keep it in negative points. The generic scoreboard cards are a slightly cheeky add-on to make this more than just printed rules, but I use them since they're there.

Alrightgames: Wonder Tales

Wonder Tales

2017 (revised 2019) / Card game / 2 players

****

One of the more straightforward microgames in the eternally deep pocket of the Button Shy wallet range, the double-sided character cards are only used to swap colours rather than packing in dense info-blasts at 90-degree integers as in some titles, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Indeed, much like the fairy tales they're based on, these cute cards belie cruel ordeals, in this case about screwing over your friends and family in pursuit of pointless points. Not the addictive adrenaline rush of Dustbiters, but more fun than Anthelion.

Alrightgames: Lobo (DIY)

Lobo (DIY)

2022 / Card game / 1 player

***

This five-suited solitaire variant talks big, but the luck of the draw means it's possible to win sometimes, and it's not a huge step up from children's maths matcher Dos. There's also no reason you couldn't play using two standard card decks (especially since the deck's face up, so different card backs and styles don't matter), but you can buy the designer's custom deck if you like it. I used Carson City cards again.