Some games are clearly designed to challenge you, some to frighten you senseless, and others simply to make you smile. Bibi & Tina: Ready, Set, Ride! firmly belongs in that last category. It is a bright, cheerful and wonderfully uncomplicated adventure that knows exactly who it is for, while still offering enough variety to make spending time around Martin’s Farm enjoyable for the whole family.
Based on the long-running German Bibi & Tina franchise, this latest adventure once again brings Bibi, Tina and Alex together for another summer holiday filled with horses, competitions and just enough witchcraft to keep things interesting. This time, however, there is a big event on the horizon, with the Summer Cup taking centre stage at Falkenstein Castle. What starts as an exciting riding competition soon becomes a story about friendship, fairness and dealing with someone determined to win at any cost.
Welcome Back To Martin’s Farm
From the moment you return to Martin’s Farm, Ready, Set, Ride! makes it clear this is not going to be an especially complicated adventure. That is very much a compliment. The game is designed to be accessible, particularly for younger players, and it introduces its various activities without drowning them in complicated menus or lengthy explanations.
You can play as Bibi, Tina or Alex, each bringing their own connection to the world of the series. Along the way, familiar horses, including Sabrina and Amadeus, return, while a selection of additional horses can be unlocked as you progress. There is something genuinely pleasant about simply spending time in this world, particularly if you already have an affection for the characters.
The locations help enormously, too. Martin’s Farm, Falkenstein Castle, the Old Mill, Wolf’s Gorge, the forest and Redwell Castle all provide familiar surroundings to explore. They are not huge open-world environments, but they give the adventure enough space to feel like a proper journey rather than a collection of disconnected riding events.
The Summer Cup Begins
The main story revolves around the Summer Cup, giving the game a clear sense of purpose. Rather than simply riding around completing unrelated activities, you are gradually preparing for a tournament and trying to collect enough points to reach the final.
The events cover a pleasing range of disciplines. Checkpoint races test your ability to follow the course, show jumping asks you to get your timing right, while flag races and ring jousting introduce their own little challenges. There are also slalom and trail events, ensuring that you are not simply repeating exactly the same activity every few minutes.
It is all very approachable, but there is still a satisfying feeling when you nail a difficult section of a course or manage to finish an event without losing valuable points. Mistakes matter, although the game never becomes so demanding that younger players are likely to feel completely overwhelmed.
For experienced players, the simplicity will probably be noticeable. The mechanics are not particularly deep, and after several events you will understand most of what the game is asking you to do. That is not necessarily a weakness, though. For its intended audience, keeping things straightforward allows the focus to remain on the characters, horses and adventure.
Carriage Driving Changes Things
The biggest addition this time around is carriage driving, and it is a surprisingly welcome one. Bibi, Tina and Alex have their own carriage to use during the Summer Cup, and these events offer something different from the traditional riding sections. Instead of simply guiding a horse beneath you, you have to steer the vehicle around courses, through flower gates and around slalom sections.
It might sound like a relatively small addition, but it gives the tournament a little extra variety. The carriage events also fit naturally into the world of Bibi & Tina, feeling like something that genuinely belongs in this sort of countryside competition.
There is a nice rhythm to switching between riding and driving, particularly when you are trying to build up enough points for the final. It is not going to replace a dedicated racing game any time soon, but it does exactly what it needs to do here.
Your Horse Is Part Of The Adventure
One of the nicest touches in Ready, Set, Ride! is that looking after your horse is not merely an optional cosmetic distraction. Before heading into competitions, you can brush your horse, pick out its hooves, feed it, and decorate it for the big event.
After a particularly energetic ride, you can also cool the horse down with water. These activities are simple, but they help create the sense that the horse is more than just a vehicle for getting around the course.
For younger players in particular, this aspect of the game could be one of its biggest attractions. There is something satisfying about preparing your horse before an event and then taking it into competition. The care activities also provide a welcome change of pace from the faster tournament challenges.
The ability to unlock additional horses adds another little incentive to keep playing. Players who become attached to their favourite horse can spend more time exploring the world and working towards unlocking new companions.
Friendship Comes First
Although the Summer Cup provides the central structure, the story is ultimately about friendship. Stephanie von Schotterburg is determined to win, and as the competition progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that she is prepared to go beyond simply being the best rider.
This gives the adventure a simple but effective message about fairness and sticking together. It is exactly the sort of theme you would expect from a Bibi & Tina story, and the game does not overcomplicate it.
Bibi’s witchcraft also plays an important role. Her magical abilities add a little sparkle to the otherwise grounded horse-riding adventure and help distinguish the game from a straightforward equestrian simulator. It is used as part of the broader adventure rather than overwhelming everything else, which feels like the right balance.
The story itself is unlikely to surprise older players, but that is hardly the point. Ready, Set, Ride! is much more interested in creating an enjoyable adventure for younger audiences than in delivering a complicated narrative full of twists and moral ambiguity.
A World Full Of Horses
Visually, the game adopts a colourful, friendly presentation that suits the franchise perfectly. The countryside environments are pleasant to explore, the characters are recognisable, and the horses are easily the stars of the show.
There is not the level of visual detail you would expect from a major open-world release, but Ready, Set, Ride! does not need it. The world is designed to be welcoming rather than technically spectacular, and the overall presentation supports that goal.
There is also a pleasing sense of familiarity throughout the locations. Returning to places associated with the Bibi & Tina universe makes the game feel like an extension of the wider franchise rather than an unrelated horse-riding title wearing a familiar name.
Simple Doesn’t Mean Bad
Perhaps the biggest question about Bibi & Tina: Ready, Set, Ride! is whether adults or experienced players will find enough depth here. The honest answer is probably not.
The riding mechanics are fairly basic, the activities can become repetitive, and the overall challenge level is deliberately low. Someone looking for a demanding equestrian simulation or a technically sophisticated racing experience is likely to come away disappointed.
But judging the game entirely through that lens would miss what makes it work. Ready, Set, Ride! is accessible because it does not expect children to master complicated controls or understand elaborate systems before they can have fun. It gives them horses to ride, places to explore, competitions to enter, and characters they recognise. There is value in that simplicity.
A Lovely Family Adventure
What I particularly like about Ready, Set, Ride! is that it never seems embarrassed about being a game for younger players. It does not try to make itself needlessly complicated in an attempt to appeal to everybody. Instead, it focuses on creating a cheerful, approachable experience that puts horses, friendship and adventure at the centre of everything.
That makes it an ideal game for younger Bibi & Tina fans, particularly those who enjoy horses and want something they can pick up without having to learn a mountain of complicated mechanics. There is enough variety to keep the Summer Cup moving, while the horse care activities and exploration provide welcome downtime between competitions.
Older players may find themselves wishing there were more depth, particularly once they have completed several tournament events. Yet even then, there is a certain charm to the straightforward nature of the experience. Sometimes a game does not need to be difficult to be enjoyable.
Final Verdict
Bibi & Tina: Ready, Set, Ride! is a cheerful, accessible and genuinely likeable adventure that knows exactly what it wants to be. The Summer Cup provides a fun central challenge, while the different riding disciplines, new carriage-driving events, horse-care activities and familiar locations give younger players plenty to get stuck into.
It is certainly not going to satisfy players looking for hardcore equestrian simulation, and the relatively simple mechanics mean that experienced gamers will probably race through much of the content without breaking a sweat. There is also some repetition once you have spent enough time with the various disciplines.
For its intended audience, however, those limitations are far less important. This is a game about horses, friendship, exploration and having a good time, and it delivers those things with an appealing warmth. The addition of carriage driving is a particularly welcome touch, while the familiar cast and gentle story make it an easy recommendation for younger fans of the franchise.
There is something rather refreshing about a game that simply wants you to enjoy yourself. Bibi & Tina: Ready, Set, Ride! may not be the deepest riding game around, but it is a lovely little summer adventure that understands the importance of fun, friendship and a good horse beneath you.
