This is the worst day of your life. And now you’re about to be arrested.

I grabbed two books from two different series that revolve around a kid suddenly becoming super rich, and the kookiness that ensues. I thought it would be interesting to see how the same subject is tackled in two separate works of interactive fiction.

One is Famous and Rich from the Which Way Books series. The other is this one, Instant Millionaire, written for the Twistaplot series by none other than RL Stine. Between the two, this one has the superior cover. I can’t look at that kid’s spastic face without smiling.

You can tell right out of the gate that this book is going to be full of whimsy, so Stine should be in his element here.

Instant Millionaire wastes no time and drops its titular contest right in your lap from Page One. You immediately have four lucky numbers to choose from, three of which can end the story prematurely via two losing tickets and a third choice where you bungle the whole thing by misplacing the winning ticket. If you pick the correct number, you’ll get your easy million, with the caveat that you must spend it all in one month, at which point you get another five million to do with as you wish. Fail to dispose of the million, however, and you forfeit whatever you haven’t spent or given away. Whether we decide to buy lots of expensive junk or give the money away to strangers, we’ll embark on a series of events equal parts zany and unfortunate.

Stine manages to make this romp pretty funny and enjoyable for what it is. It’s fun to see all these different scenarios play out as we try to figure out how to get rid of so much money in such a short time. Tossing the money at strangers in the street results predictably in an absolute riot, with people brawling on the sidewalk for handfuls of cash. Throwing a party for the whole city results in one disaster after another. Buying a sports car for half a mil nearly kills us, we’re chased and/or kidnapped once or twice, and at one point aliens come to eat our dough!

Some of the gags made me chuckle, like our eccentric Uncle Clyde who is consistently unimpressed by literally everything (even his nephew becoming an instant millionaire), and the fact that nobody’s sure what the name of the contest sponsor is due to his sloppy signature.

Most of the illustrations aren’t terribly interesting, though the quality is pretty good. Jowill Woodman is especially good at drawing moody locations, like creepy circus tents and night shots of fireworks shows above the city. Also, that cover with Teenage Jim Carey.

Instant Millionaire is good for a quick, light read and a quick, light laugh. RL Stine really milked the concept of “what would you do if you had to spend a million bucks as quickly as possible?” It helps that what you see is what you get: the book looks like a bucket of whimsy, and it doesn’t disappoint in that regard. One thing is for sure, Stine’s penmanship is much better suited to this sort of book than the horror genre.

Time for bed. Uncle Mac out.