Alrightreads: TV XXIV

Ilaria Vescovo, Star Trek: Baby's First Klingon Words

2022 / Ebook / 20 pages

**

A novelty item for babyish adults or parents so desperate to hook their toddler on a favourite franchise that they'll educate them in a useless fictional language, non-existent planets, curses and the names of specific weapons. There's life to waste on that stuff later.

Timothy J. Lee, Doctor Who: A Companion – An Unofficial Guide to 50 Years of T.V.'s Most Iconic Show!

2013 / Audiobook / 424 pages

***

The type of low-effort blog-as-book that's just the sort of thing I feel like sometimes.

Thomas Ligotti and Brandon Trenz, Crampton: The X-Files Screenplay

1998 / Ebook / 41 pages

****

This would have made a memorably eerie episode at the series' peak, after the extensive revisions needed to make it fit into the semi-plausible X-Files world.

Dafydd ab Hugh, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Fallen Heroes

1994 / Audiobook / 282 pages

****

Would have made a memorable time travel disaster puzzle episode, until it was made redundant by 'Visionary.'

Jacqueline Rayner, Doctor Who: EarthWorld

2001 / Audiobook / 252 pages

***

One of many books that wouldn't have crossed my path if the free audiobook hadn't been sitting there, I don't know where I'm dropping in, but the historically inaccurate killer theme park was crazy enough to keep my interest.

Alrightgames: Choose Your Own Adventure – The Warlock and the Unicorn

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Warlock and the Unicorn

2023 / Adventure gamebook / 1 player

**

The belated sequel to at least one of the endings of the surprisingly dark classic. We persevered, despite characters trying to persuade us to pack it in and go and play something else at various points. It's not difficult to work out where you are along the branching map on the back cover, but I let the six year old enjoy the often doomed journey.

Alrightgames: Takenoko

Takenoko

2011 / Board game / 2-4 players

****

Swapped into Ticket to Ride's place just in time to be a more appealing "family" Christmas game (i.e. for Daddy), this comical panda/horticulture simulator looks quite delightful, but a cute theme and miniatures only hold the six year old's interest for a few rounds at present. I hope we'll have some good memories growing up with it anyway – especially once the expansion babies come along.

Alrightgames: Tinderblox

Tinderblox

2020 / Stacking game / 2-6 players

***

I don't think we've had a stacking game since Bugs Building, but constructing this 8-bit/Minecraft fire to plan with tweezers (sometimes forced to use our less dominant hand) is considerably fiddlier.

A fun time filler, though even the low end of the suggested playing time seems optimistic.

Alrightgames: Dos

Dos

2018 / Card game / 2-4 players

*

The daughter loves a bit of Uno, so seeing that there was a sequel for about dos pounds was a no-brainer birthday present. In that I didn't think to check out reviews like I normally do until I'd already bought it and learned how terrible it supposedly was. So it skipped her birthday to avoid disappointment and ended up being more safely cushioned in a Christmas budget games bundle with other tat.

We've played it uno times. Stripped of all the cards that make Uno fun (replaced with maths!!!), we had to play a few rounds of Uno afterwards to get rid of the taste. She won't let us get rid of it though.

Alrightgames: What Next?

What Next?

2021 / Narrative/dexterity game / 1-4 players

***

A selection of choose-your-own-adventure stories enhanced with bits and bobs was an appealing idea, but in practice it feels more like overcomplication, and the tasks are very repetitive, so we might sell this on before bothering with them all. It's at least a step up from Usborne Puzzle Adventures.

Alrightgames: Muse – Dice Tower 2018 Kickstarter Promo Pack

Muse: Dice Tower 2018 Kickstarter Promo Pack

2018 / Card game mini expansion / 2-12 players

**

A few extra options at an acceptable discount that made them just about worth getting. Mixed in from the start, we wouldn't know if we had one, but they're getting their use. They should have included more in the first place, but they're easy enough to make up and there's still plenty of space in the box if we want to add our own.

Alrightgames: Muse

Muse

2017 / Card game / 2-12 players

****

Essentially Dixit or Stella for teams, though its cooperative two-player variant was more appealing for our needs. It doesn't spark imagination quite so much, but its restrictive instructions still encourage the six year old to think outside the box – like giving me the three-letter clue "agn" that baffled me until I finally realised it was an abbreviated "dragon." Nice one!

Already having surplus Dixit cards, this was easy to DIY at first by writing down the Inspiration cards and rolling dice to choose, but then we upgraded to the proper game at Christmas, whose purpose-built cards proved a greater challenge.

Alrightgames: Sushi Go!

Sushi Go!

2013 / Card game / 2-5 players

****

Resold

Similar set collecting to Sea Salt & Paper, with the twist that hands get passed around, so you need to strategise your next turn in advance, or more likely curse yourself for giving your opponent what they're after while trying to make the best of your selection, forgetting that the same thing will happen again. The cute Squishmallow sushi made it a hit with the six year old (let her have all the puddings), who was eager to head to the shop to try sushi again straight away, and apologised to the game for finding it "disgusting."

Alrightgames: Top Trumps Monster High

Top Trumps: Monster High

2013 / Card game / 2-6 players

**

An inevitable product and gift, she tends to use these more as a Guess Who than the proper game. It was good to see that no more thought was put into the stats than with the My Little Pony set, with Frankie Stein's SAT score of 1 making them considerably dumber than the overachieving pets.