Alrightgames: I Doubt It

I Doubt It (a.k.a. Cheat, Bullshit)

Card game / 3+ players (or 2 players with a spare pile)

****

This exercise in sequential deception was a big hit with the five-year-old, especially when mixing two decks (including jokers) to stretch credibility further.

Babyliography CCXXI

Nick Butterworth, One Springy Day

2019 / School book / 32 pages

**

Percy the parkkeeper seems vaguely familiar. She'll be in for a shock when she gets to Farthing Wood.

Joseph Coelho and artists, Ten-Word Tiny Tales

2023 / Library book / 56 pages

***

An exercise I've tried myself, it wasn't surprising that most tended towards the creepy, sometimes too much for a for a five-year-old whose limit is Monster High. I read her a few choice morsels and enjoyed the rest myself.

Sorrel Pitts, My Little Pony Ladybird Readers Beginner: Izzy's Presents / Hitch Finds an Egg / Sparky, Where Are You? / Where Is Sunny's Lantern? / The Storm

2023 / Library books / 120 pages

**

Before she could read, these were just overly simplified storybooks, but now they're filling in as more appealing school books to keep her practising over the summer holidays. More appealing for her, at least.

Unknown, Step Into Reading: Frozen Story Collection

2015 / Paperback / 160 pages

**

Not new, but she fortunately remembered she had this on the shelf when she'd reached its reading level and it had a purpose, before it was rendered unreadable again.

Chris Van Allsburg, Jumanji

1981 / Library book / 32 pages

****

An eager re-read of the classic picture book after watching the scariest film of her young life.

Babyliography CCXX

Suzy Senior and Patrick Corrigan, How to Spot a Mermaid

2025 / Library book / 32 pages

**

Same thing as the unicorn one, choose your favourite elusive magical creature.

Alice Hemming and Mike Byrne, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds: Tickets

2021 / School book / 16 pages

**

I'll be surprised if Trish isn't the most annoying character in the range.

Unknown, The Children's Encyclopedia of Animals

2015 / Paperback / 224 pages

***

A decent find in Morrisons' book exchange that should be handy for future screen-free homework, even if it was mainly appealing for the lenticular mandrill.

Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird, I Need a New Bum!

2018 / Library book / 32 pages

*

She was more amused by the concept than the execution. Being sexist, I was surprised that a lady wrote it.

Clare Helen Welsh and Irene Montano, Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds: Scrap Rat

2020 / School book / 16 pages

**

If some plot details don't fit your rigid vocabulary scheme, just leave them unexplained, that's right.

Ranking Star Trek: The Next Generation season four

I've been hanging off that cliff for a while now, so it's probably time to treat myself / waste more precious time watching and rating another classic run of episodes, probably. I hope Jean-Luc's okay.

Alrightreads: Ghoulies

Rupert Matthews, Haunted Chester

1992 / Ebook / 24 pages

***

Studying up on atmospheric bullshit to mix up our next visit.

Alvin Schwartz and Victoria Chess, Ghosts!: Ghostly Tales from Folklore

1991 / Ebook / 64 pages

**

It's no In a Dark, Dark Room, but at least I found one safe scare to pass on.

Various, A Glitch in the Matrix: Tales of the Unexplainable Unreal

2024 / Ebook / 256 pages

****

I don't know who the TikTok-based curator is, as I'm nearly 40, but unsubstantiated accounts of weird experiences/dreams are basically my favourite things to read on the internet.

Tom Slemen, Haunted Cheshire

2004 / Paperback / 208 pages

***

More tall tales from an incredulous curator boosted by the gimmick of being set in places I've seen on road signs.

Danny Robins, Into the Uncanny

2023 / Audiobook / 315 pages

***

The author-presenter's personal experiences are the main draw, but since they're so fleeting, most of the book is just the novelisation of more engaging podcasts.

Alrightreads: Small press curios

A. E. van Vogt, Slan

1940 / Audiobook / 124 pages

***

Vintage action psi-fi, if you don't get enough xenophobic politics in your 21st-century utopia.

Michael Griffin, Armageddon House

2020 / Audiobook / 124 pages

***

Lostlike amnesiac odyssey.

Richard Herring, Emergency Questions

2017 / Ebook / 128 pages

***

In case you didn't hear them repeated often enough on his podcast, or mistakenly think half a decade is enough of a gap, why not try this relentless litany of random inquisitiveness and other familiar observations going back to the 1990s.

Berit Ellingsen, Vessel and Solsvart

2013-17 (collected 2017) / Ebook / 104 pages

***

Parables of decrepitude and painful living death. Maybe I should read cheerier things?

Faves: 'Among the Living and the Dead,' 'Summer Dusk, Winter Moon'

R. B. Russell, Putting the Pieces in Place

2009 / Ebook / 128 pages

**

Trad and subverted ghost stories in the non-atmospheric present.

Alrightgames: Chess

Chess

~600 AD / Abstract strategy game / 2 players

****

My five-year-old's never been very enthusiastic about draughts, which I thought was the junior stage she should get to grips with before introducing the more confusing characters to the board, but she found this diverse cast much more appealing and picked up the movements quickly, if not the strategy and general arseholery as of yet. I'll enjoy this brief time where I look comparatively competent.

Alrightgames: Monster High 348 Cartoon Puzzle

Monster High 348 Cartoon Puzzle

***

It's been a long time since she had a new jigsaw, but she still gets them out occasionally for want of better ideas, so here are nine, or three, or one huge one, depending on how bored you are and how many toys Dad's confiscated. The quality control of children's puzzles remains consistent with the same character appearing in the same picture twice.

Alrightgames: Red Dwarf – Beat the Geek

Red Dwarf: Beat the Geek

2006 / Video trivia game / 1-2 players

**

I may not be fast, but I get there in the end. I evidently wasn't especially interested in playing the Red Dwarf DVD trivia game even back when I could play DVDs, but mild curiosity saw me eventually vicariously play along via someone else's much poorer performance on YouTube before getting bored after a few minutes. The new Holly material's a bit cringey and there's little entertainment to be had, but it's at least better than listening to an album by Olivia Newton-John.

Alrightgames: Aerion expansions

Aerion expansions

2019 / Solo/cooperative dice game expansions / 1-2 players

Another Oniverse game that's heavily reliant on expansions for rounding out the experience, it recaptured the feeling from Onirim of delving to increasingly perilous depths, especially when you pile them on cumulatively. While you're always at the mercy of the dice, there are enough tricks to learn that make it winnable most of the time. It helped that I enjoy playing it so often.

The Flagship ****

A slight but essential complication, keep them coming. Having to finish another ship isn't a notable hassle, and the special abilities are probably overcompensation, but the rulebook recognises this and suggests hard modes for most of these, if that's a problem you're facing.

The Hourglasses ***

Another job to think about, but also lots more handy discard opportunities that again probably makes things easier. One idea across 36 cards isn't that interesting though, and this could have just been part of the base game.

The Stone Clouds ****

Quirkier than the boring Hourglasses, these fiddly tokens and annoying cards only seemed to make things harder at first, with no payoff – until I realised how they fit around the ship tokens and my comprehension similarly unlocked. The challenge is the point, and beating it is a buzz. It's slightly disappointing that each batch of birdies didn't get unique artwork though (see also the next two expansions).

The Piers ***

Getting yourself increasingly into debt for bad investments adds an unhealthy dose of relatable stress to your after-work activity, but like the Stone Clouds, it's extra satisfying to beat.

The Hammer Bird Eggs ***

These stubborn chicks initially just seemed to get in the way until I realised how handy they can be for swapping out dud cards (or trying to, at least). Potentially game-saving when you need a specific card to come up, potentially game-ending if they flood the display, though that hasn't come up yet.

The Hellkite ****

It took a few games of losing to the big bad to realise I should prioritise the offensive to break down the barriers and start getting the sweet rewards, but then some other appendage gets neglected instead. If you're mixing everything in, there are so many combinations and calculations to keep track of every roll that you're bound to miss some optimal actions when they come up, but it's good to have the options.

To the Stars!: Stellarion >