Roostlings: First Valley Day

Ding-dong-DING. The Bell rings at the Roost, somebody in the Valley needs help, and you are the newest helper in the great tree. Four children and four young dinosaurs are already on their way, and nobody here forces anyone. You ask, you wait, and you watch for the answer.

The Roost is a huge tree above the Valley, with timber nooks, a spiral slide, a lookout, a basket lift and the Bell. It is kept by Fig, who opens the Big Book when everyone is home. Ivy and Pebble push and pull. Hana and Kite see and fetch. Dax and Waffle run and find. Obi and Maple reach and lift. Pebble is a pony-high Triceratops, Kite a Pteranodon with a gull's reach, Waffle a turkey-sized, feathered Velociraptor and Maple a giraffe-tall Brachiosaurus.

Every outing starts with a problem you can see. Look closely, get the rope or the route ready, then ask the right dinosaur and wait. A yes is something you can see: Pebble drops her frill, Kite bobs his head, Waffle fans her tail and Maple lowers his long neck. Then you work together, and when the first try only half works, you find out what is still stuck and call one more friend.

Sometimes the answer is no. At the windy Ferry, Kite will not fly in this wind, and asking again will not change his mind. So the plan changes: Kite looks from the ground and spots the branch the rope is wrapped around, Maple lifts the rope to the grass, Waffle finds its end, and you guide Kite as he walks it to the post himself.

First Valley Day has three outings. At the River, the Baker's cart is stuck: Pebble's first pull moves it, a wheel catches under a root, and then Maple lifts while Pebble pulls it onto the grass, with buns for everyone after. At the Ferry, Kite's no still ends with the ferry crossing and crackers all round. In the Wood, the Farmer counts nine sheep where there should be ten; Waffle searches the brambles, finds the lamb trapped under a branch and comforts it before Pebble pulls the branch clear and you lead them back to the flock for apples. Play alone alongside the Roostlings, or bring up to three friends as visiting helpers.

Each rescue becomes a memory in the Big Book. Bring all three home and the day ends calmly back at the Roost. Then replay any outing, take a different job next time, or wander the Roost. If you like things calmer, there is a Less motion setting.

Roostlings: First Valley Day comes from the Roostlings picture books. The Valley, the Roost, Fig, the four pairs and the rule that a dinosaur is never tamed, only asked, all come straight from the stories.

Roostlings: First Valley Day is in development for Roblox.