Pony Stable

Pony Stable is a gentle pony care game. Choose your first pony from six looks, a chestnut, a dapple grey, a palomino, a piebald, a shaggy Shetland or a black pony with a white star, and spell its name with letter tiles. A second and a third pony arrive as rewards for good care, and each one keeps its own stall, its own needs and its own rosettes, saved in your browser between visits.

Every job is done by hand. Scoop the stall with the fork and spread fresh straw, drag hay into the net and hold the watering can over the bucket. In the grooming bay you curry the dust out in circles, brush along the coat until it gleams, tap each hoof to pick out the stones and comb the mane and tail, and on sunny days there is a sponge bath with the hose. Rub your pony's nose and it nickers back. In the paddock you throw apples and carrots, wave a flag for a game of chase and play four quick mini-games of twenty to forty seconds: plaiting in rhythm, apple catch, trot the course and hoof picking. There is no way to lose any of them, only better and best.

Food, water, play, clean, rest and cuddles drift slowly through an in-game day of sunshine, light rain that calls for a rug and quiet nights when the ponies doze. Nothing ever hurts your ponies: the worst they get is a sleepy or wistful face that brightens as soon as you care for them, and time away only earns a happy whinny and a missed you. Care earns hearts that unlock saddle pads, browbands, ribbons and rugs, a daily visit adds a sticker to your book, and once a week the show awards a rosette for turnout, always at least a ribbon. A calm game to relax with, and the music box can be muted.