You're staring at a screen full of kanji. Your Pretty Derby girl is exhausted, her mood is "Terrible," and you have absolutely no idea which dialogue option won't tank her stats. We've all been there. If you’re playing the Japanese version of Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, you basically have two choices: learn fluent Japanese overnight or find the right Uma Musume Google Doc.
Most players go for the doc.
But here is the thing. The internet is a graveyard of abandoned spreadsheets. You click a link from a 2021 Reddit thread and get a "404 Not Found" or a "Request Access" screen that never gets approved. It’s frustrating. Managing a stable of horse girls is hard enough without having to hunt through dead links. To really thrive in the URA Finals or tackle the newer, more complex scenarios like Grand Masters or Project L'Arc, you need data that is actually up to date.
The chaos of the Uma Musume Google Doc ecosystem
Why is it so messy? Cygames updates this game constantly. Every time a new support card drops or a new training scenario releases, the meta shifts. A doc that was gold six months ago is basically a paperweight today.
The most famous "master" docs were originally community-led projects. You probably remember the ones that translated every single random event. Those were massive undertakings. These days, the community has largely shifted toward web-based tools and specialized Discord servers, but the classic Uma Musume Google Doc remains the backbone for deep-dive theorycrafting and inheritance calculators. It’s the raw data.
The struggle is real because the game doesn't just ask you to pick "Left" or "Right." It asks you to gamble. One choice gives you +20 Speed; the other gives you a "Small Hearts" recovery and a random chance at the "Charismatic" skill. If you guess wrong during a critical training turn, your entire run—and all that spent TP—is toast.
Translation vs. Strategy
There’s a big difference between a translation doc and a strategy doc. Most people start looking for a translation guide. They just want to know what the buttons do. But once you hit the mid-game, you start looking for the "hidden" spreadsheets. These are the ones that track hidden stat modifiers for specific race tracks or the exact stamina requirements to survive a 3200m run at Tenno Sho (Spring).
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Honestly, the "Hidden Stats" docs are where the real nerds hang out. Did you know that the ground condition doesn't just affect speed? It changes the efficiency of your guts stat. Most casual players don't care, but if you're trying to win in Champions Meeting, that's the kind of granular detail you find in a well-maintained Google Doc.
Where the best data lives now
If you are looking for the current "Holy Grail" of spreadsheets, you have to look toward the specialized community groups. The "Gamewith" site is the Japanese standard, but for English speakers, the primary Uma Musume Google Doc resources are usually maintained by the Discord community.
- The Event Tracker: This is usually a simplified sheet that lists the choices for every support card. It’s faster than a wiki if you have it open on a second monitor.
- Inheritance Calculators: These are complex. They help you figure out which parents will give you the best "Blue Factors." Without these, you’re just guessing and hoping for a 3-star Speed factor that will never come.
- Scenario-Specific Guides: New scenarios like "Reach for the Stars" have entirely different mechanics. A doc from the URA era is useless here. You need the specific breakdown of how many points each training level provides.
Some people prefer the auto-translators or the "UmaBuddy" style overlays. They're cool. They're fast. But they don't explain why you should pick an option. A spreadsheet curated by a human expert usually contains notes like, "Only pick the bottom option if you already have 400 Stamina, otherwise you'll fail the next race." That nuance is everything.
Why some docs disappear
You might wonder why your favorite Uma Musume Google Doc suddenly goes private. Usually, it's one of two things: bandwidth or burnout. Google Sheets has a limit on how many people can view a document at once. If a link goes viral on Twitter or a major gaming forum, the doc freezes. The owner then has to move it to a website or restrict access to keep it functional.
Then there’s the "Cygames Factor." While the developer is generally okay with fan-made guides, they sometimes change the API or the way data is handled, making old scraping methods used by doc-makers obsolete. It’s a constant cat-and-mouse game.
Making the most of the data
Don't just keep the doc open. Use it to build a routine. The best players I know don't check the doc for every single event. They use it to memorize the "trap" events—the ones that look good but actually give you a debilitating status effect like "Overweight" or "Lazy."
Once you memorize those, you only need the Uma Musume Google Doc for the high-level stuff. Like calculating exactly how much "Intellect" you need to ensure your skills actually activate during a race. (Spoiler: It’s higher than you think).
Actionable Steps for the Dedicated Trainer
If you're tired of losing races because of a bad dialogue choice, here is how you should handle your documentation:
- Bookmark the living documents: Look for sheets that have a "Last Updated" timestamp within the current month. If it’s older than 60 days, the data on new support cards will be missing.
- Prioritize the "Choices" Spreadsheet: Keep a tab open specifically for "Support Card Random Events." This is the most common reason for a failed run.
- Use the "Tier List" with caution: Docs that rank girls or cards are subjective. A "Tier C" card might be "Tier S" for your specific build if it provides the right distance-specific gold skill.
- Join the Discord: Most high-quality Uma Musume Google Doc links are pinned in the "Resources" or "Guides" channels of the major fan servers. This is where you get the "Direct Access" links that aren't throttled by public traffic.
- Learn the Icons: Even without a doc, start associating the icons in the text (like the blue stamina heart or the yellow speed boot) with the rewards. It makes you less dependent on the sheet over time.
The reality of being an overseas player is that the community is your best asset. The game is beautiful, the music is great, and the racing is tense. But without that one specific Uma Musume Google Doc tucked away in your bookmarks, you're just a trainer lost in the woods without a map. Get the right map, and those 3-star factors will eventually start rolling in. Or, at the very least, you'll stop accidentally making your horse girls depressed because you picked the wrong lunch option.