A Year With the BSC - A New Beginning and an Old Introduction
In which I rerelease an old series of mine.
A Year With the BSC is an informal series in which I explore the 1990s CD-ROM video game The Baby-sitters Club Friendship Kit. The game is more of a personal organizer; it features a calendar, an address book, a stationery kit, a flier maker, and a personality profile. I’m focusing on the most interesting aspect of the game: the personalized letters and the journal entries. The full list of entries can be found at rereadingmychildhood.com.
I have compiled all the original entries here. It’s mostly the original text, but I did fix some grammatical errors. And a few clarity issues. And some notes from future Amy. Look, if you need some pure, uncut, broken A Year With the BSC, I provided the URLs for the original posts. If they’re not there, take it up with WordPress. I can only maintain so many websites at once. See, I’m not that organized.
That being said, I wrote this series in 2018 and 2019, so keep that in mind while you read my opinions, especially those of the BSC members. Some of the members have grown on me (Mallory), others have weirded me out (Mary Anne), and some of them, I’ve shown more grace (Claudia).
With that in mind, I present A Year With the BSC, a ‘90s CD-ROM experience from a 2018 perspective, released in 2026.
An Introduction
Originally published: July 4, 2018
It started with a YouTuber named Brutalmoose. In particular, a video he made about a relic from my childhood: Where in the U.S.A. is Carmen Sandiego?
CD-ROM games were an important part of my upbringing. I still remember the large boxes with the colorful art promoting a fun experience for me and a learning opportunity so I could convince my parents that a fifty dollar game was a good investment in my education. Although I played Carmen Sandiego religiously, and I did learn a few things, I am still not sure where Carlsbad Caverns is. Kentucky? Is it Kentucky?
Anyway, I watched a Brutalmoose video about Carmen Sandiego , and it brought back a flood of memories. From Math Blasters to Diablo and finally, The Baby-Sitters Club Friendship Kit.
I first saw this game in a BSC Newsletter. I was a paying member of the Fan Club (mostly so I could get the diaries and pens) and with my membership, I received a newsletter. When I saw that black and white ad for a CD-ROM game, I knew I had to have it. I saved up my money and ordered it from the newsletter. An eternity later, I received the game.
The game centers around you being inducted as the newest member of the BSC, but the game itself isn’t really a game. It’s more of a personal organizer. There is a calendar and an address book. There are a few mini-games, but not much else.
It may seem like a lacking experience, but it wasn’t because of two things: the letters and the journal.
The game has a computer where you can input information about yourself: your favorite tv show, your family, your best friend, your personality traits. With that information, you get personalized letters from the BSC. I used to change the clock on my computer just so I could get more than one each day. Those letters were my life.
The journal is the other thing that is interesting. Throughout the year, the other baby-sitters write in it. About their charges, schoolwork, or whatever else. I changed the clock on my computer so I could get a new journal entry.
Well, thanks to a virtual machine and the internet’s uncanny archival abilities, I’m the newest member of the BSC and I’m going to chronicle their lives and share the letters I receive. It’s
A Year With the BSC
