Bookish Challenges discussion

Codenames



Rules

Welcome to the Bookish Codenames Challenge! This game will test your bookish instincts and reward you with exciting reading tasks. Here's how to play:

Objective

Your goal is to complete as many tasks as possible, earn points, and avoid penalties. The game ends when all connection tasks, word in title and word in cover are revealed.

Setup

The List: The game features a list of 25 words (everyone will receive a different set). Each word is secretly assigned a category:

Connection Tasks (5 words): Choosing these will mean you would need to read any book that somehow connects to that word

Cover Tasks (5 words): Choosing these will mean you need to read to have that particular object on cover

Word in Title Tasks (5 words): Choosing these will mean you need to read to have that particular word in the title

Neutral Words (5 words): These have no effect—just your lucky break! You need to read any book that meets general guidelines

Penalty Words (5 words): Landing on these triggers a penalty. You need to either give 2 points or complete one of the penalty tasks

Clue master will provide clues to guide you through the list (Be aware and make the correct choice as sometimes clues can make you tempted on penalty words).

How to Play

Clues and Turns:

The clue master will give you a one-word hint (e.g., Magic). The clue master's objective is to hint toward words which are related to connection tasks, cover tasks, or words in title tasks (avoiding the neutral and penalty). The hint relates to one or more words in the list.

Based on the clue, you pick a word from the list that you think matches.

Revealing Words:

If the word is a Connection Task / Cover / Word in title , you will complete the challenge.

If the word is Neutral, nothing happens, just read any book that meets general guidelines and you move to the next turn.

If the word is a Penalty, you must complete a small penalty task.

Scoring

Connection Tasks: 2 points each

Cover Tasks: 4 points each

Word in Title Tasks: 3 points each

Neutral Tasks: 1 point each

Penalties: -2 points or complete one of the penalty tasks from below

Wild Words: 4 randomly assigned words may have special powers:
1- Swap a task for another eg: if you have "home" as cover - you can switch it to word in title / ask for challenge / change to neutral - you will get points based on the task you change it to
2- Skip a task completely
3- Skip a penalty completely
4- Substitute that word with any other word and complete that challenge accordingly eg: if you "home" as cover but you are reading a book with "girl' on cover you can change the word home to girl and complete that challenge

Skips

1 free skip is available, then 4 points per skip

Progress
Connection: 05 / 05
Word: 05 / 05
Object: 05 / 05



Your list

1- Fire - Object
2- Cycle - Neutral
3- Flowers - Object
4- God - Neutral
5- Witch - Neutral
6- Wolf - word
7- Life - word
8- Car - object
9- Daughter - word
10- Rebel - Neutral
11- Game
12- Spoon - Object
13- Garden
14- Dragons - Penalty
15- Coffee - Neutral
16- Ship
17- War - Connection
18- Chair - Object
19- American - Penalty
20- Walk - Word
21- Animal - Connection
22- Queen - Connection
23- Time - Connection
24- Vampire Connection
25- Blood - word


Wildcards unlocked
1. Skip a task completely
2. Swap a task for another
3.
4.

Penalty Tasks

1- Read a book that you own
2- Read a book with author initials in "PENALTY"
3- Read from a series that you have already started
4- Read a book published before 2015
5- Read a book with any 3 letters of PENALTY in title

Points: 42

First 3 cluemaster clues are:
a. Ladle
b. Conflict
c. Wild

These 3 clues relate to 3 different words. You now guess 3 words from the above list which you think fits the clues and I will reveal what they relate to. You can complete the first 3 tasks in any order

I am going to choose
#12 - Spoon
# 17 - War
#21 - Animal

Congrats! You revealed 3 correct words!

Spoon - Object
Read a book that with spoon on cover

War - Connection
Read a book connected to war in any manner

Animal - Connection
Read a book connected to animal in any manner

You can read them in any order. Cluemaster will be back with 3 more clues after you complete these tasks!

Book: Meet Cute by Helena Hunting
Read: 2/7/25
Task: War
How it Fits: MC is in a legal battle with his Aunt over custody of his sister. Strategic plays are made on each side to try to win the legal battle.

Book: When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry
Read: 2/17/25
Task: Animal
How it Fits: A "meteorite" lands in Splendor and causes the cows and crows to behave oddly. It also effects the family dog in some ways.

Book: Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber
Read: 2/20/25
Task: Spoon
How it Fits: There are spoons on the cover

a. Dangerous
b. Supernatural
c. Liquid

These 3 clues relate to 3 different words. You now guess 3 words from the above list which you think fits the clues and I will reveal what they relate to. You can complete the first 3 tasks in any order

My guesses are;
A. Dangerous = Fire
B. Supernatural = Witch
C. Liquid = Coffee

Congrats! You revealed 1 correct word!

Fire - Object
Read a book with fire on cover
Congrats you revealed a wild card - Skip a task completely
You can use your wild card at any point in the game


Witch - Neutral
Read a book that meets general guidelines
Congrats you revealed a wild card - Swap a task for another
You can use your wild card at any point in the game


Coffee - Neutral
Read a book that meets general guidelines

You can read them in any order. Cluemaster will be back with 3 more clues after you complete these tasks!

Book: Best House on the Block by T.R. Ragan
Read: 3/3/25
Task: Witch
how it Fits: Meets general guidelines

Book: The Radio Hour: A Novel by Victoria Purman
Read: 3/11/25
Task: Coffee
How it its: Meets general guidelines

Book: Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews
Read: 3/14/25
Task: Fire
How it Fits: There is Fire in the background.

a. Death
b. Kin
c. Transport

Guesses
A. Death - #7 Life
B. Kin - #9 Daughter
C. Transport - #16 Ship

Congrats! You revealed 2 correct words!

Life - word
Read a book with life in title

Daughter - word
Read a book with daughter in title

Ship - Penalty
Complete one of the penalty tasks or -2 points

You can read them in any order. Cluemaster will be back with 3 more clues after you complete these tasks!

Book: California by Edan Lepucki
Read: 3/22/25
Task: Penalty - #4 - Book published before 2015
How it Fits: Published July 2014.

Book: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
Read: 3/26/25
Task: Read a book with "life" in title
How it Fits: Using the plural "lives" in the title

Book: The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne
Read: 4/8/25
Task: Daughter in title
How it Fits: Daughter is in the title.

All three tasks posted

a. Gift
b. Teeth
c. Hospital

Guesses

A. Gift - Flowers
B. Teeth - Wolf
C. Hospital - Blood

Congrats! You revealed 3 correct words!

Flowers - object
Read a book with flowers on cover

Wolf - word
Read a book with wolf / wolves in title

Blood - word
Read a book with blood in title

You can read them in any order. Cluemaster will be back with 3 more clues after you complete these tasks!

Task: Wolf
Book: Dark Wolf by Christine Feehan
Read: 5/24/25
How it Fits: Wolf in the Title

Task: Blood
Book: Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh
Read: 6/2/25
How it Fits: Blood in title

Task: Flowers
Book: Anchor by Nicole Blanchard
Read: 6/4/25
How it Fits: Flowers on cover

a. Legs
b. Power
c. Change

Guesses
Legs - #2 Cycle
Power - #4 God
Change - #10 Rebel

Sorry all 3 words above were neutral

Read any 3 books that meet the guidelines. You can use books finished after 5tg June. Cluemaster will be back with 3 more clues after you complete these tasks!

Task: Legs
Book: Leading by Kylie Gilmore
Read: 6/10/25
How it Fits: meets general guidelines for Neutral

Task: Power
Book: The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
Read: 6/16/25
How It Fits: Meets general guidelines

Task: Change
Book: Butter My Biscuit by Lyra Parish
Read: 6/17/25
How it Fits: Meets general guidelines

a. Man
b. Rule
c. Wash

Guesses
A. Man - #19 American
B. Rule - #22 Queen
C. Wash - #8 Car

Congrats! You revealed 2 correct words!

American - Penalty
Read a penalty task or -2 points

Queen - connection
Read a book connected to queen

Car - Object
Read a book with car on cover

You can read them in any order. Cluemaster will be back with 3 more clues after you complete these tasks!

Task: Penalty
Book: A Slice of Summer by Melissa McClone
Read: 6/21/25
How it Fits: 3 letters from " pEnALty" are in the title

Task: Car - Read a book with a car on cover
Book: The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
Read: 7/12/25
How it Fits: There is a car on the cover

Task: Queen - Connected to a Queen
Book: The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross
Read: 7/24/25
How it Fits: MC plots to restore a queen to the land.

a. Person
b. Powerful
c. Hands

Guesses
Person - Walk
Powerful - Dragons
Hands - Time

Congrats! You revealed 2 correct words!

Walk - Word
Read a book with walk or walking or walks in title

Dragons - Penalty
Read a penalty task or -2 points

Time - Connection
Read a book you can connect to time

You can read them in any order. Cluemaster will be back with 3 more clues after you complete these tasks!

Book: Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
Read: 8/6/25
Task: Time
How it Fits: Book covers the discovery of genes that cause an evolutionary event. They track the genes back from past time to present times and make predictions for the future.

Book: This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman
Read: 8/9/25
Task: Penalty
How it Fits: Has the letters P,E,N,T,L in PENALTY

Book: The Widow's Walk by Robert Barclay
Read: 8/22/25
Task: Walk
How it Fits: Walk in title The Widow's Walk

a. Electric
b. Black

Guessses
A. Electric - Chair
B. Black - Vampire

Congrats! You revealed the last 2 correct words!

Chair - Object
Read a book with chair on cover

Vampire - Connection
Read a book you can connect to vampire


You can read them in any order. These are your last tasks!