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.

Alrightgames: The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters – The Sister Springs

The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters: The Sister Springs

2020 / Roleplaying game mini adventure / 2+ players

Not being creative enough to come up with my own wilderness encounter on the way from the Crystal Empire to the Frozen North, this handy book had kindly prepared one with a suitable setting (mountains), tone (when you ignore the violent options) and creature (My Little Pony may not have goblins, kobolds or owlbears, but it can do dragons). It passed five minutes, and now she can breathe frost as a reward for impulsive behaviour.

Alrightgames: Hangman

Hangman

Pre-1902 / Word guessing... you know what it is / 2 players

****

I hadn't planned on mentioning every pen and paper activity / reading and writing practice we get up to, but she was more enthusiastic about this classic than any of her commercial educational games. I gave her familiar words and names, while she somehow managed to find the least conventional words in her early reader books for me to bridge the literacy gap.

Alrightgames: My Little Pony – Tails of Equestria – Judge Not by the Cover

My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – Judge Not by the Cover

2018 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

****

A more idiosyncratic entry in the series, it's a good thing it was included in the bundle with Ogres & Oubliettes, since all those origami creature standees couldn't be easily reused elsewhere. It's a fun old-school dungeon library crawl with plenty of hidden chambers for their own sake and our first scuffles and actual peril thus far (not that you can die in this game), which were necessary reminders to put our special talents and quirks to use for once. Maybe we shouldn't have skipped that practice session after all.

Alrightgames: My Little Pony – Tails of Equestria – The Cutie Mark Mystery

My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – Filly Sized Follies – The Cutie Mark Mystery

2019 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

***

An interesting departure from conventional adventuring for a session, though packing a whodunnit into less than a third of a slim, lavishly-illustrated paperback means it's not much more in-depth than Cluedo in the end. It also doesn't lend itself to replays like the others, without getting up to some serious meddling or waiting a few years in case she forgets and making sure she doesn't see the tell-tale scowling art. She still enjoyed the story though (her favourite of the three in the book), even if she needed the clues spelled out and especially struggled with the notion that at least one of the characters was lying to her face. Better get used to it.

Alrightgames: My Little Pony – Tails of Equestria – Sky Arrow's Big Flight

My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – Filly Sized Follies – Sky Arrow's Big Flight

2019 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

****

With three episodic tales rather than one more convoluted epic, this was the supplement that looked the most appealing. As hoped, there was less for my tired dad brain to learn and less abridging needed for the preschooler. We even ended up using the optional diversions when her flighty Pegasus felt like staying in town a little longer, letting me tackle the gruelling friendship quest, and stealing the spotlight by performing a spectacular flying display that secured her entry to the prestigious Wonderbolt Academy, thanks to the game-breaking mechanic where you can just buy any desired outcome with tokens. Now we need to work on remembering to use our other talents ever.

Alrightgames: My Little Pony – Tails of Equestria – The Curse of the Statuettes

My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria – The Curse of the Statuettes

2017 / Roleplaying game adventure/supplement / 2+ players

****

A satisfying blend of conventional Outback peril and sappy friendship lessons true to the source. Abridged into a more linear narrative for a four-year-old's attention span, but we can always play again when she's older and we're both more used to these things. Ending on a tease that persuades you to buy the next pricey paperback is a bit cheeky (though not as cheeky as omitting it from the bundle! The library-themed one may be much the same though), but that's easily averted by deciding you're not really bothered and it's time to go home.

Babyliography CLXXX

Paula Harrison and Sophy Williams, The Secret Rescuers: The Sky Unicorn

2015 / Paperback / 112 pages

***

A dancing girl befriends a young unicorn and saves the day, what's not to like? The graphite illustrations are lovely too.

Bill Piggins, Ginn New Reading 360 Readers: Level 1 – Here / Help

1993 / Ebooks / 40 pages

*

She was naughty, so I made her read vintage Dingle School reading books as punishment. We're sadly missing the infamous Look, but you can just read the first page of Here eight times for the same effect. I also regrettably wasn't able to find ones with the original art to make reading even more off-putting for life.

Adam Hargreaves, Little Miss Hug

2014 / Library book / 32 pages

**

Not the most responsible message, but less molesty than her tickling counterpart.

Pat Jacobs, Pet Pals: Unusual Pets

2019 / Library book / 32 pages

***

From slightly exotic hamsters to the nightmarishly mingin.

Fiona Watt and Stella Baggott, Baby's Very First Slide and See Unicorns

2022 / Library book / 10 pages

**

She couldn't read the gatekeeping first part of the title, so was spared the condescension.

Free ebook: 1001 Books That My Preschooler Has Read

1001 Books That My Preschooler Has Read: The Complete Babyliography 2020–24

Mostly read to her, but audiobooks count. Doesn't include unknown nursery books.

Unhelpfully reviewed by a man in his late 30s based on his own taste in literature.

Proper school and a new era of literacy starts tomorrow, but it'll still probably be mostly unicorns.

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