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- River - Penalty
2- Books - Neutral
3- Trees - Penalty
4- Blood - Object
5- High - Word
6- Mystery - Neutral
7- Winter
8- Chef - Connection
9- Death - Word
10- Secret- Connection
11- Heart
12- Killer - Word
13- Soup - Neutral
14- Doctor - Connection
15- Chair - Object
16- Pet - Connection
17- Love - Word
18- Sleep - Connection
19- Hospital - Neutral
20- Robbery
21- Corpse - Object
22- Moon - Object
23- Snow - Word
24- Ice - Penalty
25- Cat - Object



Wildcards unlocked
1. Substitute that word with any other word
2. Skip a penalty
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: 48

First 3 cluemaster clues are:
a. Gourmet
b. Crime
c. Rest

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

First Guess

a. Gourmet- Chef
b. Crime- Mystery
c. Rest- Sleep

Congrats! You revealed 2 correct words!

8. Chef - Connection
Read a book that you can connect to chef in any manner

6. Mystery - Neutral
Read a book that meets general guidelines
Congrats you revealed a wild card - Substitute that word with any other word
You can use your wild card at any point in the game

18. Sleep - Connection
Read a book that you can connect to sleep in any manner

You can read them in any manner. Only books completed after 01 February 2024 will be accepted. Cluemaster will be back with 3 more clues after you complete these tasks!

6. Mystery - Neutral
The 10th Cycle by J.C. Ryan
Rating: 3 stars
Date read: 01/02/2025
Task: Read a book that meets general guidelines
How it fits: Book meets general guidelines

18. Sleep - Connection
Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
Rating: 5 stars
Date read: 07/02/2025
Task: Read a book that you can connect to sleep in any manner
How it fits: Most people sleep at night

8. Chef - Connection
Bake, Battle & Roll by Leighann Dobbs
Rating: 4 stars
Date read: 22/02/2025
Task: Read a book that you can connect to chef in any manner
How it fits: MC Lexy Baker is a pastry chef

First 3 completed

a. Frozen
b. Promise
c. Peeve

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 tasks in any order

Second guess
a. Frozen - Ice
b. Promise - Secret
c. Peeve - Pet

Congrats! You revealed 2 correct words!

Ice - Penalty
Please complete one of the penalty tasks or -2 points

Secret - Connection
Read a book you can connect to secret
Congrats you revealed a wild card - Skip a penalty
You can use your wild card at any point in the game

Pet - Connection
Read a book you can connect to pet

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

Ice - Penalty
Rules of Prey by John Sandford
Rating: 5 stars
Date read: 24/02/2025
Task: 5- Read a book with any 3 letters of PENALTY in title
How it fits: P, E, L, Y in title

Pet - Connection
Paper, Scissors, Death by Joanna Campbell Slan
Rating: 4 stars
Date read: 25/02/2025
Task: Read a book you can connect to pet
How it fits: Kiki adopts a pet great dane Gracie who is pictured on the cover.

Secret - Connection
Inside the Black Vault: The Government's UFO Secrets Revealed by John Greenewald Jr.
Rating: 4 stars
Date read: 01/03/2025
Task: Read a book you can connect to secret
How it fits: A book about uncovering government UFO secrets

a. Cold
b. Nurse
c. Knife

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 tasks in any order

Third Guess
Cold- Snow
Nurse- Doctor
Knife- Killer

Congrats! You revealed 3 correct words!

Snow - Word
Read a book with Snow in title

Doctor - Connection
Read a book you can connect to doctor

Killer - Word
Read a book with Killer in title

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

Snow - Word
Read a book with Snow in title

Hidden in Snow by Viveca Sten
Rating: 5 stars
Date read: 16/03/2025
Task: Read a book with Snow in title
How it fits: Snow in title

Doctor - Connection
Read a book you can connect to doctor

The Night Bird by Brian Freeman
Rating: 5 stars
Date read: 17/03/2025
Task: Read a book you can connect to doctor
How it fits: Victims are patients of psychiatrist Francesca Stein. A psychiatrist is a doctor.

Killer - Word
Read a book with Killer in title

A Killer Among Us: A True Story of Murder and Justice by Charles Bosworth Jr.
Rating: 3 stars
Date read: 14/04/2025
Task: Read a book with Killer in title
How it fits: Killer in title

a. Forensic
b. Tide
c. Transfusion

Fourth guess
a) Forensic - 9. Death
b) Tide - 5. High
c) Transfusion - 4. Blood

Congrats! You revealed 3 correct words!

Death - Word
Read a book with Death/Deaths in title

High - Word
Read a with "high" on title

Blood - Object
Read a book with blood on cover

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

Death - Word
Read a book with Death/Deaths in title
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Rating: 2 stars
Date read: 26/04/2025
Task: Read a book with Death/Deaths in title
How it fits: Deaths in title

Blood - Object
Read a book with blood on cover
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
Rating: 5 stars
Date read: 01/05/2025
Task: Read a book with blood on cover
How it fits: Blood on cover

High - Word
Read a with "high" on title
High Noon by Nora Roberts
Rating: 5 stars
Date read: 06/05/2025
How it fits: High in title

a. Box
b. Wheel
c. Cupid

Fifth guess
a. Box - Corpse
b. Wheel - Chair
c. Cupid - Love

Congrats! You revealed 3 correct words!

Corpse - Object
Read a book with Corpse on cover

Chair - Object
Read a with chair on cover

Love - Word
Read a book with love in title

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

Chair - Object
Read a with chair on cover
Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley
Rating: 5 stars
Date read: 17/05/2025
How it fits: Chair on cover

Love - Word
Read a book with love in title
From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming
Rating: 4 stars
Date read: 23/05/2025
How it fits: Love in title

Corpse - Object
Read a book with Corpse on cover
No One Left to Tell by Karen Rose
Rating: 5 stars
Date read: 09/06/2025
How it fits: Corpse on cover

a. Wolf
b. Cafe
c. Nature

Sixth Guess

a. Wolf - Moon
b. Cafe - Soup
c. Nature - Trees

Congrats! You revealed 1 correct word!

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


Soup - Neutral
Read a book that meets guidelines

Trees - Penalty
Please complete one of the penalty tasks or -2 points
Congrats you revealed a wild card - Swap a task for another
You can use your wild card at any point in the game

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

Trees - Penalty
Please complete one of the penalty tasks or -2 points
5- Read a book with any 3 letters of PENALTY in title

Whispers in the Rigging by Steve Higgs
Date read: 10/06/2025
How it fits: PENT in title

Soup - Neutral
Read a book that meets guidelines
Invisible Wounds : Prequel Novella by Candace Irving
Date read: 12/06/2025
How it fits: Meets general guidelines

Moon - Object
Read a book with Moon on cover
Paws of the Yeti by Steve Higgs
Date read: 16/06/2025
How it fits: Moon on cover

Round 6 completed

a. Write
b. Walk
c. Plus

Seventh guess

a. Write - books
b. Walk - river
c. Plus - hospital

You have not detected any correct word

Book - Neutral
Read a book that meets guidelines

River - Penalty
Please complete one of the penalty tasks or -2 points

Hospital - Neutral
Read a book that meets guidelines

You can read them in any manner. I will reveal the last 3 words once this round is over!

River - Penalty
Please complete one of the penalty tasks or -2 points
4- Read a book published before 2015

The Iodine Crisis: What You Don't Know About Iodine Can Wreck Your Life by Lynne Farrow
Date read: 20/06/2025
How it fits: First published January 1, 2013

Book - Neutral
Read a book that meets guidelines
Cold Blood by Robert Bryndza
Date read: 21/06/2025
How it fits: Meets guidelines

Hospital - Neutral
Read a book that meets guidelines
Familiar Territory: A Wizard in Bremen part 3 by Steve Higgs
Date read: 21/06/2025
How it fits: Meets guidelines

Round 7 completed

a. Ramp
b. Wonderland

There is on only 1 object and 1 neutral left so only 2 clues