RPG Review: Tiny Horsies: The Role Playing Game - Part 1: Product Impression

When I was asked by @Sorceror_Blob to do a review of the First Boxed Set of the Dragon Age Roleplaying Game, I was unsure of how to go about writing a game review. So, in the spirit of HiBRiD^TM, I just decided to write a review that I would want to read, focusing on the presentation of the game, the Central Mechanic(s), a general impression, and what I think makes the game playable (totally HiBRiD^TM) or unplayable (Totally not HiBRiD^TM) to me.

After reading and then playing Tiny Horsies with my kids, I knew I really wanted to get the game out into the wild. I liked the game so much, in fact, that it inspired me to once again put mind to electrons and write the following review in a similar manner.

What You Get

The game consists of a single, perfect bound, 114-page, black-and-white book, with standard 8 & 1/2 by 11 dimensions. The typeface is in over-sized serif fonts, with a few ornate fonts used for subject headings. There are simple, black-bordered boxes populated with either flavor text or pictures peppered throughout the text. Tables presented within are not highlighted or bordered, and are also presented in-line with the text.

The table of contents takes up one page of the book, right after the facing page. There is then a section introducing role playing games, a section on character creation, a section on playing the game, a section on running a game, and a section that includes a starting adventure. The index, also one page, is the last page in the book. 

My Take

The oversize serif fonts are perfect for younger readers so as not to intimidate them but not so large as to distract or annoy older readers. The few ornate fonts used for subject headings are strategically placed, enhancing the organization of the text rather than distracting from it.

O. K. I have to say something here...

A lot of reviewers like to describe the art in roleplaying rulebooks, often complaining about a lack of color, a lack of glossy pages, lack of this, lack of that. A lot. If you are one of those people, you probably need to re-evaluate your priorities and look elsewhere, as you miiiight be taking yourself and this hobby in general a liiiiiittle too seriously. To you guys, go review some monstrosity where the company spent thousands on art and charges a dollar per pound for each rulebook. Those books are pretty, but rarely do I want to play their games. I am screaming at you Pathfinder, Eclipse Phase, and Dark Eye. (Yes, I own them a copy of them all, but I would never play any of them…). Seriously. Tiny Horsies is a small-press, independent RPG created by someone who wants to share his passion for a genre and express what he wants to play; not a megaflagship for some company looking to push intellectual property and flaunt its ability to buy overpriced art!

Ahem…I’m back…

Keeping my rant above in mind, I just want to reemphasize that the non-text elements such as art and flavor-text are bordered by simple, black boxes and set in-line with the text rather than having the text flow around the element. Picture elements consist of photographs of either little horsies (what else?) or tastefully “photoshopped” photographs of mythical little horses such as pegasi and unicorns. Flavor text box elements are lightly shaded and laid sparsely throughout to clearly express the type of feeling for which the author wishes to achieve. Tables are not bordered like these other elements, though the use of white space makes the few tables easy to read nonetheless. The overall effect of this simple layout is that the elements break up the text and enhance it without distracting from it, thanks to simple placement.

Finally, as many of you know, I can be a bit nitpicky about indexing and tables of contents. If I am going to use a book during play, it needs to be well-indexed (otherwise I annoyingly have to write those little rules some random place on my character sheet). On my standard, random-12-subject-lookup, all twelve items I wanted to find were in the index, and all indexed page numbers were correct. The table of contents was also logically organized. All of this, in combination with the clean layout, made the game an easy read for my 7, 9, and 11 year old children the first time through. At the same time, the book was a fast reference for use during game play, as we were all learning the rules, both players and referee alike.

Conclusion

Overall, the game book is simple and well organized. For 10.95 (5.95 for downloadable PDF at DriveThru RPG), you get a well-organized book that holds an introduction to roleplaying games, a player’s guide, a game master’s guide, a free adventure, and enough flavor material to get you and your group up and playing as well as familiar with the genre very quickly.

For parents and kids alike new to roleplaying games, you get a small, easy-to-read book that contains all you need to quickly jump into the hobby of roleplaying, including a large number of tips for new players  including a section for how to play online. It even includes rules for etiquette, something seriously lacking in the world in general!

For experienced players, you get an inexpensive, fun, light-hearted game where you can make characters in 5 minutes and get up and running in a half an hour the first time your group picks up the book.

What is HiBRiD^TM about this?

First, from an independent game designer’s standpoint, the prose are clean and organized, a totally HiBRiD^TM trait. Like Isaac Asimov, I prefer clear prose over stylish prose. (Preferably put together by someone who learned how to write from Strunk and White’s Elements of Style rather than their proprietary word processing application’s lame autocorrections.) 

Second, Pragmatism over style in a rulebook is totally HiBRiD^TM! The layout is simple and clear. The use of fonts and decision to keep tables, flavor text, and pictures in-line with the text makes the flow when reading the book cover to cover smooth and easy for kids and adults. Let the PLAYERS add the style, not the rule book…

Third, the inclusion of everything needed to play the game is great from a player’s point of view and totally HiBRiD^TM! If you want to play something different for an evening, you can bust this game out, build some characters, pick a game director, and go! The organization and indexing makes its use as an in-game reference fast and useful.

Finally, as many of you familiar with my work know, the Genre Description is the first step in HiBRiD^TM character creation. The smooth presentation of the genre throughout Tiny Horsies is definitely HiBRiD^TM in this regard. I am not a Brony. I didn’t even know what a Brony was until I read this book. That being said, the typography, photographs, flavor text, and the overall prose really help to gently introduce the concept of the Brony genre without jamming it down my throat and without jumping up and down and screaming, “Bronies are the best! YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY BRONIES!”  

Next Up...Character Creation...