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: 04 / 05
Word: 03 / 05
Object: 01 / 05



Your list
1- Celebration - Penalty
2- Coffee - Object
3- Bullet
4- Midnight
5- Red - word
6- Search - connection
7- Yellow
8- Mountain
9- Garden - Connection
10- Bird
11- Cinema - neutral
12- Missing - penalty
13- Wings
14- Bound - connection
15- Magic
16- Christmas tree
17- Fly - word
18- Flower
19- Left
20- Bunny
21- Sweater - Object
22- Life - word
23- Queen - Penalty
24- Instinct
25- Beautiful


Wildcards unlocked
1. Skip a task completely
2.
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: 15

First 3 cluemaster clues are:
a. Bees
b. Cold
c. Bean

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 Guess’

Bees - garden
Cold - Sweater
Bean- Coffee

Congrats! You revealed 3 correct words!

Garden - Connection
Read a book that you can connect to garden in any manner

Sweater - Object
Read a book with sweater on cover

Coffee - Connection
Read a book with coffee on cover
Congrats you revealed a wild card - Skip a task completely
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!

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


coffee cups on table on the cover
3/1/25

Sweater - Object
Read a book with sweater on cover


2/19/25
looks llike a sweater on the cover

Garden - Connection
Read a book that you can connect to garden in any manner
The Cat Who Sang for the Birds
3/6/25
Birds in title and they like to hang out in the gardern

a. Temperature
b. Festival
c. Cleopatra

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.

a. Temperature
b. Festival
c. Cleopatra

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.

a. Temperature 5- Red
b. Festival 1- Celebration
c. Cleopatra - 23- Queen

Congrats! You revealed 1 correct word!

Red - Word
Read a book with red in title

Celebration - Penalty
Read one of the penalty tasks or -2 points

Queen - Penalty
Read one of the penalty tasks or -2 points /i>

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

Celebration - Penalty
4- Read a book published before 2015
The Dead Zone
Published 1980
Read: 4/1/25

Queen - Penalty
5- Read a book with any 3 letters of PENALTY in title
Ghostly Interests
4/3/25
T,L, Y in title

Red - Word
Read a book with red in title
Roses Are Red4/20/25
Red in title

a. Leather
b. Missing
c. Action

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.

C Search
B. Missing
A.Bound

Think I got skipped?

C Search
B. Missing
A.Bound

So sorry! My GR notifications are a mess.. You can use books completed after 30 April

Congrats! You revealed 2 correct words!

Search - Connection
Read a book you can connect to a search

Missing - Penalty
Read one of the penalty tasks or -2 points

Bound - Connection
Read a book you can connect to bound /i>

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

Missing - Penalty
Read one of the penalty tasks or -2 points
5- Read a book with any 3 letters of PENALTY in title
Glorious Exploits
4/15/25
E l t in title

Bound - Connection

The Silent Sisters
5/23/25

Page 43
He felt plastic ties cinch one wrist and then the other. His ankles were similarly bound.

Search - Connection
Read a book you can connect to a search
What the River Knows
5/23/25

Page 104
My point is that Mr. Sterling won’t have to search every known site.”

Finished

a. Lights
b. Kite
c. Nature

A - 11 cinema
B - 17 fly
C- 22 Life

Congrats! You revealed 2 correct words!

Cinema - Neutral
Read a book that meets general guidelines

Fly - Word
Read a book with fly/flies/flying in title

Life - Word
Read a book with life/lives/living in title /i>

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