"Why Doesn't the Industry Make Good Girls' Games?" – A Video Essay into the History and Market of "Girly Games"

Moon Channel, a YouTube creator of gaming video essays, has released a fantastic video tackling the history and market of so-called “girl games” – video games deliberately marketed to and targeted at young female players. This is includiding, but not limited to, Horse Games.

Parts of the essay echo many points that I often make here on TMQ – which is no coincidence, since channel host Moony mentions me and my work on The Mane Quest as an influence in the video. I am flattered, I feel heard, and I may have cried a little from sheer validation.

I hugely appreciate this nuanced and spot-on take about this often-forgotten niche, and can heartily recommend watching it.

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Horse Games and Gender – How Video Games often fail to combine Quality and Femininity
Horse Games and Gender – How Video Games often fail to combine Quality and Femininity

There has been a significant amount of progress in recent years in how female characters are included and designed.

What remains is an imbalance between how our industry tackles subject matters and activities that have a gendered connotation, which is a significant factor in the utter scarcity of well-made games about horses.

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Scams, Asset Flips, and Naive Amateurs: The Horse Girl's Guide to Recognizing which Games are Worth Supporting
Scams, Asset Flips, and Naive Amateurs: The Horse Girl's Guide to Recognizing which Games are Worth Supporting

Horse Games are an underserved niche and their players are practically begging for new projects to follow and support. With this article, I want to give people in the horse game audience some tools and background information on how to better gauge which projects might deliver on their promises, which red flags to watch out for in new game announcements and which critical questions to ask. 

Horses 2025 is Out Now and Unsurprisingly Looks Nothing Like Its Announcement Trailer
Horses 2025 is Out Now and Unsurprisingly Looks Nothing Like Its Announcement Trailer

In case you missed it, about a year ago an odd game announcement made waves in the horse game community. I have not bought it, nor do I plan to write an actual review, but I did want to put out a quick follow up to give everyone who cares a little bit of closure.

Living Creatures vs Meat Motorcycles – How to Make Horses in Games Feel Alive
Living Creatures vs Meat Motorcycles – How to Make Horses in Games Feel Alive

What makes horses in games feel alive and how do you get players to care for them? When complex independent behaviors are out of scope, what measures can developers take to give players a sense of emotional attachment on a budget? How do you get game horses to feel like actual living creatures rather than just four-legged bicycles? Fortunately, there are a lot of options if you’re a little bit horse-savvy, so let’s look at some of them

2025 in Review – Website Stats, Highlights and Musings
2025 in Review – Website Stats, Highlights and Musings

As 2025 comes to an end, I’ll continue the cherished TMQ tradition of sharing numbers, insights, highlights and sappy feelings about my website and my work.

Tiny Horse Game Jam #2 – Here’s 21 (!) Brand New Innovative Little Horse Games to Try for Free
Tiny Horse Game Jam #2 – Here’s 21 (!) Brand New Innovative Little Horse Games to Try for Free

The Tiny Horse Game Jam is a community project that took place for the second time already in November 2025. Game developers get together to create and finish very small horse games over the course of a month.

The Tiny Horse Game Jam is the perfect antidote to beginners’ general tendency to hopelessly overscope when making their own horse game.

Review: The Ranch of Rivershine – An Almost Perfect Horse Game and What We can Learn from it
Review: The Ranch of Rivershine – An Almost Perfect Horse Game and What We can Learn from it

I have written about The Ranch of Rivershine on this site on various occasions over the years, but what’s been missing is an actual review of the game. The time for that has definitely come, so let’s dive into my actual play experience with the most successful indie horse game on Steam.

Animal Fest is live on Steam now, and lots of Horse Games are on Discount
Animal Fest is live on Steam now, and lots of Horse Games are on Discount

Steam’s “Animal Fest” is happening right now, and quite a few horse games are part of it – meaning, a lot of them are on discount. Here’s some tips for what to check out, along with links to my reviews where they exist:

Exclusive Game Announcement: Horses of Hoofprint Bay, a 2D Stable Management Game Inspired by My Childhood Favorite Horse Game
Exclusive Game Announcement: Horses of Hoofprint Bay, a 2D Stable Management Game Inspired by My Childhood Favorite Horse Game

I have very special news to share today: Horses of Hoofprint Bay is a brand new upcoming horse game that’s incredibly special and dear to me for various reasons I’ll tell you all about below. But first of all, here’s the just-released trailer

analysisAlice Ruppertgirl games, horse game history, barbie games, recommendationComment