Bookish Challenges discussion

Think Tetris meets your books pile — this is no ordinary reading game.

Here’s your mission:

🧱 You’re starting with 5 columns, each 3 blocks high. These blocks? They represent different aspects of reading described further below

🔄 Each round, you’ll get 5 new random book blocks. You can read at least 3 (or go for all 5) and place them above your current stacks.

🎯 The goal? Clear all your blocks by strategically stacking 3 or more of the same color in a row or column. Every clear gets you closer to victory!

💡You can end the game after 10 rounds, or keep going until you clear your stack.

🎁 Score time:

Each block you read for = 2 points
Clear the entire board = Bonus 25 points

📖 Sample game📖

Initial blocks

Your initial random stack looks like below

🟦 💖 ⬜ 🟠 🟥
🟫 🟥 🟫 🟩 🟩
🟠 🟪 🟤 💖 ⬜
  1   2    3    4    5

Note : ❌ means empty space in a row which contains some blocks where you can place new blocks in a round

Round 1

You receive the below 5 random blocks
🟤 🟠 🟤 🟠 🟦
You read for 🟠 🟠 🟦 tasks and decide to place the 2 bronze blocks over the current bronze block at position 4 thus eliminating the 3 of them and the blue box above the current blue block at position 1

So your board looks like

🟦
🟦 💖 ⬜ ❌ 🟥
🟫 🟥 🟫 🟩 🟩
🟠 🟪 🟤 💖 ⬜
  1   2    3    4    5

Round 2

🟥 🟩 ⬜ 🟩 🟦

You decide to read for all 5 and place the 2 green above the green at position 4, the red above the red at position 1 and white above the white at position 3 and the blue above the blue at position 1. Board at end of round 2:

❌ ❌ ⬜ ❌ 🟥
❌ 💖 ⬜ ❌ 🟥
🟫 🟥 🟫 ❌ 🟩
🟠 🟪 🟤 💖 ⬜
  1   2    3    4    5

and so on..


Each round, you’ll need to think strategically, decide which books to read, and place your blocks wisely to trigger those satisfying clears!

Blocks described

🟨 Yellow Blocks – Solid Foundation (Comfort Reads)

1. A book by an author you love
2. A book you’ve read before (reread)
3. A cosy mystery or light-hearted book

🟥 Red Blocks – High Stakes (Thrillers & Suspense)

1. A book with a chase or escape scene
2. A crime or psychological thriller
3. A book with “danger” in the title

🟦 Blue Blocks – Deep Dives (Long or Thoughtful Reads)


1. A book over 500 pages
2. A classic or literary fiction novel
3. A book exploring deep emotions or philosophy

🟩 Green Blocks – Fresh Discoveries (New & Diverse Reads)

1. A book by a debut author
2. A translated book
3. A book from a genre you rarely read

🟪 Purple Blocks – Magical Journeys (Fantasy & Sci-Fi)

1. A book with magic or mythology
2. A science fiction novel
3. A book featuring time travel or alternate realities

🟧 Orange Blocks – Historical Journeys (Past & Present Stories)

1. A historical fiction novel
2. A memoir or biography
3. A book set before 1950

⬛ Black Blocks – Dark & Twisted (Horror & Gothic Reads)

1. A horror or gothic novel
2. A book with a haunted house or eerie setting
3. A book featuring a villain’s POV

🟫 Brown Blocks – Down to Earth (Realistic & Contemporary Reads)

1. A contemporary fiction novel
2. A book with themes of friendship or family
3. A book about personal growth

⬜ White Blocks – Wild Card (Free Choice)

1. A book outside of your usual picks
2. A book with a one-word title
3. A book on your TBR

🟠 Gold Blocks – Award Winners (Critically Acclaimed Books)

1. A book that won a major literary award
2. A book recommended by a celebrity
3. A book from a “Best of the Year” list

🟤 Bronze Blocks – Knowledge is power (Learn Something New)

1. A book that has taught you something new
2. A book that inspires creativity or motivation
3. A book with a message that changed your perspective

💖 Pink Blocks – Love & Relationships (Romance & More)

1. A romance novel with an HEA (Happily Ever After)
2. A book about friendship, family, or personal bonds
3. A book featuring a love triangle or second-chance romance

Special powers:

You can use them one time at any point in the game. If you want to use any of them again, 5 points

1 - Swap all blocks of a colour with one of another colour
2 - Skip a block colour in one round
(i.e. if you receive 🟤 🟠 🟤 🟠 🟦 and decide to skip reading for 🟤 colour block but still use them)
3- Ask for another set of 5 blocks in a round

Points tracking: 50

res

Your block set

🟦 🟠 🟧 🟥 🟫
🟦 🟤 ⬛ 🟤 🟫
⬛ 🟤 🟫 🟧 🟩
  1   2    3    4    5

Round 1: Your set of blocks is below. You need to read for at least 3 of them and let me know their placement. Next round will commence after this round is completed

🟥 💖 🟨 🟥 🟫

🟥 Red Blocks – High Stakes (Thrillers & Suspense)
1. A book with a chase or escape scene
Book/Author: We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
Date read: May 13
How it fits: MC escapes from a motel
Position: 4

🟫 Brown Blocks – Down to Earth (Realistic & Contemporary Reads)
1. A contemporary fiction novel
Book/Author: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger
Date read: May 15
How it fits: MPG Contemporary
Position: 5

🟥 Red Blocks – High Stakes (Thrillers & Suspense)
2. A crime or psychological thriller
Book/Author: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Date read: May 16
How it fits: MPG Crime and MPG Thriller
Position: 4

I'd like to go on to the next round

Round 2

Your current set


🟦 🟠 🟧 ❌ ❌
🟦 🟤 ⬛ 🟤 ❌
⬛ 🟤 🟫 🟧 🟩
  1   2    3    4    5


New blocks
🟪 🟫 🟫 🟧 ⬜

🟧 Orange Blocks – Historical Journeys (Past & Present Stories)
1. A historical fiction novel
Book/Author: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Date read: May 21
How it fits: MPG Historical
Position: 3

🟫 Brown Blocks – Down to Earth (Realistic & Contemporary Reads)
2. A book with themes of friendship or family
Book/Author: What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
Date read: May 23
How it fits: about family ties
Position: 5

🟫 Brown Blocks – Down to Earth (Realistic & Contemporary Reads)
2. A book with themes of friendship or family
Book/Author: Home: Haus der bösen Schatten by Riley Sager
Date read: May 24
How it fits: about a family living in a weird house and how it impacted them
Position: 5

I'd like to go on to the next round

Round 3

Your current set

❌ ❌ 🟧 ❌ ❌
🟦 🟠 🟧 ❌ 🟫
🟦 🟤 ⬛ 🟤 🟫
⬛ 🟤 🟫 🟧 🟩
  1   2    3    4    5


New blocks
🟧 ⬛ 🟤 ⬜ 🟫

🟫 Brown Blocks – Down to Earth (Realistic & Contemporary Reads)
2. A book with themes of friendship or family
Book/Author: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Date read: May 25
How it fits: MPG Family
Position: 5

🟧 Orange Blocks – Historical Journeys (Past & Present Stories)
2. A memoir or biography
Book/Author: =The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive by Lucy Adlington
Date read: June 3
How it fits: MPG Memoir and MPG Biography
Position: 3

⬛ Black Blocks – Dark & Twisted (Horror & Gothic Reads)
1. A horror or gothic novel
Book/Author: Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
Date read: June 8
How it fits: MPG Horror and MPG Gothic
Position: 3 (after the orange blocks are gone)

I will read for one more book in this round

🟤 Bronze Blocks – Knowledge is power (Learn Something New)
3. A book with a message that changed your perspective
Book/Author: Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage
Date read: July 19
How it fits: MC has ADHD which shed a new light on my own life
Position: 4

done with this round

Round 4

Your current set


🟦 🟠 ⬛ 🟤 ❌
🟦 🟤 ⬛ 🟤 ❌
⬛ 🟤 🟫 🟧 🟩
  1   2    3    4    5


New blocks
🟩 ⬛ 🟠 ⬛ 🟥

⬛ Black Blocks – Dark & Twisted (Horror & Gothic Reads)
1. A horror or gothic novel
Book/Author: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Date read: August 2
How it fits: MPG Horror and MPG Gothic
Position: 3

🟠 Gold Blocks – Award Winners (Critically Acclaimed Books)
3. A book from a “Best of the Year” list
Book/Author: The Birthday List by Devney Perry
Date Read: August 14
How it Fits: #115 on Best Books of 2018 list
Position: 2

🟩 Green Blocks – Fresh Discoveries (New & Diverse Reads)
2. A translated book
Book/Author: Der Leuchtturm am Ende der Welt by Jules Verne
Date Read: August 16
How it Fits: translated from French
Position: 5

I'd like new blocks please

Round 5

Your current set

❌ 🟠 ❌ ❌ ❌
🟦 🟠 ❌ 🟤 ❌
🟦 🟤 ❌ 🟤 🟩
⬛ 🟤 🟫 🟧 🟩
  1   2    3    4    5


New blocks
🟩 🟫 🟩 🟫 🟩

🟩 Green Blocks – Fresh Discoveries (New & Diverse Reads)
2. A translated book
Book/Author: Crash Test by Amy James
Date Read: August 21
How it Fits: read the German translation
Position: 5

🟫 Brown Blocks – Down to Earth (Realistic & Contemporary Reads)
2. A book with themes of friendship or family
Book/Author: Sense and Suitability by Pepper Basham
Date read: September 2
How it fits: about a saving a family and their estate
Position: 3

🟫 Brown Blocks – Down to Earth (Realistic & Contemporary Reads)
1. A contemporary fiction novel
Book/Author: The Plot Twist by Eleanor Goymer
Date read: September 4
How it fits: MPG Contemporary
Position: 3

I'd like new blocks please

Round 6

Your current set

❌ 🟠 ❌ ❌ ❌
🟦 🟠 ❌ 🟤 ❌
🟦 🟤 ❌ 🟤 ❌
⬛ 🟤 ❌ 🟧 ❌
  1   2    3    4    5


New blocks
🟨 💖 🟧 💖 🟩

💖 Pink Blocks – Love & Relationships (Romance & More)
1. A romance novel with an HEA (Happily Ever After)
Book/Author: Obsession Falls by Claire Kingsley
Date read: September 7
How it fits: romance novel with a HEA
Position: 5

💖 Pink Blocks – Love & Relationships (Romance & More)
1. A romance novel with an HEA (Happily Ever After)
Book/Author: The Second Story Bookshop by Denise Hunter
Date read: September 9
How it fits: romance novel with a HEA
Position: 5

🟧 Orange Blocks – Historical Journeys (Past & Present Stories)
1. A historical fiction novel
Book/Author: Murder in Highbury by Vanessa Kelly
Date read: September 15
How it fits: MPG Historical Fiction
Position: 3

I'd like new blocks please

Round 7

Your current set

❌ 🟠 ❌ ❌ ❌
🟦 🟠 ❌ 🟤 ❌
🟦 🟤 ❌ 🟤 💖
⬛ 🟤 🟧 🟧 💖
  1   2    3    4    5


New blocks
🟥 🟠 🟧 ⬛ 🟠

🟠 Gold Blocks – Award Winners (Critically Acclaimed Books)
3. A book from a “Best of the Year” list
Book/Author: Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
Date read: September 17
How it fits: #51 on the Best Books of 2023 list
Position: 2

🟠 Gold Blocks – Award Winners (Critically Acclaimed Books)
3. A book from a “Best of the Year” list
Book/Author: The Note by Alafair Burke
Date read: September 29
How it fits: #326 on the Best Books of 2025 list
Position: 2

🟧 Orange Blocks – Historical Journeys (Past & Present Stories)
3. A book set before 1950
Book/Author: Hollow by Karina Halle
Date read: September 30
How it fits: set in 1875
Position: 3

I'd like new blocks please

Round 8

Your current set

❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
🟦 ❌ ❌ 🟤 ❌
🟦 🟤 🟧 🟤 💖
⬛ 🟤 🟧 🟧 💖
  1   2    3    4    5


New blocks
💖 🟧 ⬜ 🟠 🟫

🟧 Orange Blocks – Historical Journeys (Past & Present Stories)
3. A book set before 1950
Book/Author: Murder in Constantinople by A.E. Goldin
Date read: October 8
How it fits: set in 1854
Position: 3

⬜ White Blocks – Wild Card (Free Choice)
3. A book on your TBR
Book/Author: Der Donnerstagsmordclub und der unlösbare Code by Richard Osman
Date read: October 8
How it fits: was on my TBR since December 2024
Position: 3

💖 Pink Blocks – Love & Relationships (Romance & More)
1. A romance novel with an HEA (Happily Ever After)
Book/Author: Little Pieces of Light by Emma Scott
Date read: October 10
How it fits: romance novel with a HEA
Position: 5

new blocks please

Round 9

Your current set

❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
🟦 ❌ ❌ 🟤 ❌
🟦 🟤 ❌ 🟤 ❌
⬛ 🟤 ⬜ 🟧 ❌
  1   2    3    4    5


New blocks
🟧 🟦 🟩 🟤 🟦