Bring Your Own Book
Bring Your Own Book Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 100 prompt cards
- 1 60-second sand timer
Object
Collect four cards (6–8 players) or five cards (3–5) by searching through your book for the most entertaining phrases that match the chosen prompts.
Set Up
- Each player should grab a book from somewhere nearby and then gather back to form a circle in the playing area. You can play with any book: novel, cookbook, travel guide, etc. Be creative with your choices!
- Stack the prompt cards face-down in the center, along with the timer.
How to Play
Whoever last read an epic novel becomes the first Picker. The Picker takes the top card off the deck, picks one of the two prompts, and reads it aloud.
Example prompt card: "The last thing you want to hear on a first date" / "When I was a kid, this is where they said that babies came from."
Seek
Everyone except the Picker then searches their books for text to satisfy the prompt. Seekers should look for sequential text of any length: a single word, half of a sentence, a whole sentence, or multiple sentences.
"Got It"
The first Seeker to find matching text announces, "I've got it," and then turns over the sand timer. This signals to the rest of the Seekers they have 60 seconds to also find a relevant word or phrase.
Read
When the timer runs out (or every Seeker announces "I've got it"), each Seeker reads aloud what they've found. Seekers who didn't find text in time may open their books to a random page and read a random sentence from it.
Judge
The Picker chooses their favorite submission and awards that Seeker the prompt card.
Rotate
After each round, the person to the left of the last Picker becomes the new Picker. Play continues just like the previous round. Also, every time any player reaches two cards, everyone passes their books to the left.
Ending the Game
The first player to collect four cards (6–8 players) or five cards (3–5) wins.
Variants
Cutthroat Rules
Set up and play is like the basic rules except:
- Everyone INCLUDING the Picker searches their book for text to match the prompt.
- The Judge for the round is the last player who said "I've got it." If multiple Seekers didn't find a selection in time, the Picker chooses one to be Judge.
Democratic Rules (4–8 Players)
Object: Collect four cards (6–8 players) or five cards (4–5).
Set up and play is like the basic rules except once the timer runs out, The Picker now counts down, "3, 2, 1, Vote," and everyone including the Picker points to the person with their favorite submission. The Reader with the most votes receives the card.
If there is a tie, the Picker breaks it.
Other ways to play
- Start the timer immediately.
- Play with newspapers or magazines.
- Use the cards as writing prompts.
- Get 20 people to play at once.