Books & Board Games Vol. II
If You Like That, Try This: Books and Board Games— Volume II
By: Brittany Shields
We’re BACK with some more book and board game combos!
If you didn’t already know, another one of my hobbies is playing board games. I think it’s fun to see connections between books and games that have similar themes or goals.
You can check out Books and Board Games Volume 1 HERE.
If you like that book, then try this board game!
The goal is to introduce some of the games that I enjoy or that I would like to play. There is also always the option to go all out and make a whole themed party out of it with costumes, book discussion, and game-playing!
Perhaps this post will help connect gamers to books and book lovers to games. Both worlds are imaginative and fun escapes.
Feel free to share your favorite games in the comments below- we’re always looking for new ones!
Happy reading/gaming!
If you liked Lessons in Chemistry…. try playing Periodic!
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is a historical fiction novel about a female chemist and the challenges she faces in the 60s to be taken seriously in her field of study. She is wrongfully terminated and ends up doing a cooking show where she teaches housewives the chemistry behind cooking and baking. Check out my full review HERE.
Periodic: A Game of Elements is a game where players collect sets of elements and advance their research by moving through the periodic table. The conservation of energy forces players to spend carefully and play efficiently. The game ends when someone completes the research track or when a stack of goal cards is depleted. If you want a fun way to familiarize yourself with the periodic table, this is a great option!
Players: 2-5.
Time: 40 minutes to play
Replayability Factor: Unknown because I haven’t actually gotten to play this game yet
*2021 Mensa Recommended
If you liked Red Rising…. try playing Red Rising!
Red Rising by Pierce Brown is the first book in a long series. This is your classic dystopian fantasy/sci-fi series about classism and the rebellion against the ruling elite that takes place in space and on terraformed planets. It’s similar to Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and Lord of the Flies but a more intense, adult version. My full review HERE.
Red Rising, the game, is a is a hand-management, combo-building game where you represent one of the houses from the book attempting to rise to power as you piece together an assortment of followers. I liked that the effects of the cards were related to the way the character functioned in the book.
You don’t have to know the book to enjoy the game— my husband played fine without having read the book, but it’s more enjoyable when you recognize the characters. Your view of certain characters sometimes influences who you want in your hand sometimes as well.
Players: 1-6 players. I have not tried it solo, only two players and I think it may play better at more than 2 to diversify the card selection faster
Time: 45-60 minutes to play
Replayability Factor: Pretty high- the cards you have access to changes every game so you have to adapt to the hand you’re dealt and what other people are picking up; you may not be able to employ the same strategy every time
*2021 International Gamers Award Solo Recommended
If you liked Cultish… try playing Herd Mentality!
Cultish by Amanda Montell is a humorous but serious look at how language is powerful and has played a big role in cult followings. It’s a nonfiction book that looks at the influence of words and the dangers of controlling language. Very interesting! You can read my full review HERE.
Herd Mentality, is a super easy game that my kids can even play. It’s all about answering questions and trying to be part of the majority. Questions like- What is the best breakfast food? or What’s the biggest animal you could lift? You may not be answering honestly, but the power of the majority is what lures you to write your answer. Only majority answers get points.
Players: 4-20+; you could really play with as many people as you want, you only need pen and paper to write an answer, it will just get harder to determine majority with more people
Time: 20-30 minutes to play
Replayability: High- unless you’re constantly playing with the same people and the same cards but the odds of that are low, plus you still have to guess what other people will say in the moment.
*2024 Årets Spil Best Adult Game Winner
If you liked Everyone on This Train is a Suspect… try playing Colt Express!
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson is a mystery book in the style of a modern Agatha Christie; a whodunit where the reader is presented with all the clues to solve it and the narrator is honest. This is part of a fun series and is very entertaining just as it is mysterious. This particular book is a about a murder that occurs on a train traveling across all of Australia. My full review is HERE.
(It doesn’t have the Western vibe as the Colt Express game, but the landscape is similar!)
Colt Express is also mysterious and takes place on a (3D) train where everyone is a suspect because everyone is robbing the train and shooting other bandits. Each person has a hand of potential actions that are selected and played one at time, sometimes visible, sometimes hidden. Once cards are played, they are gone back through and actions are actually taken using the game pieces. You never know who is going to be shot or robbed. Whoever has the most money at the end wins.
Players: 2-6
Time: 40 minutes to play
Replayability: High- every game is different and cards dictating how cards can be played change with each game and offer extra effects for more advanced plays
*2014 Golden Geek Most Innovative Board Game Nominee
*2014 Golden Geek Best Thematic Board Game Nominee
*2014 Golden Geek Best Family Board Game Nominee
If you liked The Lost Apothecary… try playing The Quacks of Quedlinburg!
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner is a dual timeline historical fiction novel. One timeline tells the tale of an apothecary in London during the 1700s who would sell well-disguised poisons to women to be free of harmful men in their lives. The second timeline is present day London to a woman who finds a clue related to the ‘apothecary murders’ from long ago. This was a fun read with some interesting themes that could be discussed. My full review can be found HERE. There are also some extras at the back of the book including the historical context for apothecaries, a list of plants and what they’re used for, a guide to creating your own in-home apothecary (think a lot of essential oils…), information on mudlarking (which I wish I had had the chance to do when I visited London several years ago!), and some recipes for remedies, teas, cookies.
The Quacks of Quedlinburg is a push-your-luck game where you play the part of an apothecary putting all kinds of ingredients into your pot to create a potion worth the most points. But if you accidentally put too many cherry bombs in your pot, it will explode! Each round you collect money that you spend to buy more ingredients and then you randomly pull out ingredients from your bag to put in your pot, each one having specific effects that influence the points you’re awarded for your tincture.
Players: 2-4
Time: 45 minutes to play
Replayability: Moderate- it’s mostly a game of luck so that always changes, but there is some strategy involved in terms of which ingredients you spend your limited funds on; it can be frustrating but if you go into it with the right mindset it’s a fun little unpredictable game
*2022 Årets Spel Best Family Game Winner
*2018 Meeples Choice Award Winner
*2018 Golden Geek Best Family Board Game Winner
If you liked The Last Murder at the End of the Word… try playing One Night Ultimate Werewolf!
The Last Murder at the End of the World is a dystopian mystery. It’s set on the ‘last surviving island of the world’ after a flesh-eating fog kills the rest of humanity. That’s not really the focus of the book though. On this idyllic little island, someone has been murdered. Who would do such a thing? They must find out who killed her, but it won’t be an easy task: everyone’s memories from the night are wiped. The murderer could be themselves! This one was a unique book for sure. My review can be found HERE.
One Night Ultimate Werewolf is the perfect duo to this book because just like in the book, the villagers ‘go to sleep’ and when they wake up, someone has been ‘killed’! They have to figure out who the killer (werewolf) is. The tricky part is that not only are people deceiving, but certain player roles allow them to look at people’s roles or switch people’s roles. Someone who starts out as a villager could end up being switched to a werewolf and not know it.
It is another game where it might not be a great if members in the group can’t separate lies in a game from people’s real life character and trustworthiness.
Players: 3-10
Time: 10 minutes
Replayability: The part of the game that adds replayability is the element of deception. Everyone gets different roles with each new round (sometimes the same) but with the switching of roles, it’s more about tricking or deducing and being able to read when other players are lying. If you like these kinds of games then the replayability is high. For other groups, a few rounds each time is enough.
*2014 Meeples Choice Award Nominee
*2014 Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Nominee
*2014 Golden Geek Best Family Board Game Nominee
If you liked the Throne of Glass series… try playing Embers of Memory!
The Throne of Glass series is a really popular fantasy/romance series by Sarah J. Maas. I’ve only read Throne of Glass so far. (Review HERE) Based on the reviews for the game, it is recommended to read the whole series before playing because I think it’s kind of set during the Kingdom of Ash book and there may be spoilers if you haven’t read them all. Throne of Glass definitely feels like an introductory book that is enjoyable but you just know it’s not going to be your favorite book in the series. It sets up the medieval type setting with magic and fae and the main character— Celaena— being an assassin that is recruited out of prison to participate in a competition to be the king’s next champion and eventually (hopefully) earn her freedom.
Embers of Memory is a card game I have not played yet so this information comes from other sources. Many people rave about the artwork in this game. It is a cooperative campaign-style game that is played in stages or ‘chapters’ that come with different challenges you must complete before moving to the next chapter. Osprey publishing says: “Working together, you must delve into the memories of the young queen and help her face her inner demons before she is overwhelmed. Be warned--each challenge you face is more complex than the last, testing the bond between you and your partner to its limit.”
“I know absolutely nothing about the book series that that this game is based on, but I've found it to be a fascinating game with a surprising amount of depth. I play a fair number of tabletop games, and this isn't just one of those flashy but mediocre tie-in games that you sometimes see. It's challenging and fun. The rules change for each chapter in the campaign. Sometimes it gets a little more difficult and sometimes you gain new advantages, and the changes keep the game engaging. The fantasy/romance theme probably means more to someone who knows and enjoys the books, but it also works kind of as a joke if, like me, you're unfamiliar with them and uninterested in the genre.”— Reviewer on Amazon
Players: 2
Time: 45 minutes
Replayability: It sounds like it has pretty good replayability, but that there is an advantage to not waiting too long in between each play or you ‘lose’ some of the knowledge or skill that is helpful in moving through the game.
*2020 Origins Awards Best Card Game Nominee
If you liked A Dead Draw… try playing Bang!
A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni (reviewed HERE) is in the Tracy Crosswhite series— which is a great series. Tracy grew up doing shooting competitions and knows her way around a gun. I’m sure there is probably a book that fits this game more specifically but I don’t read Westerns so I don’t have one to recommend. In A Dead Draw, we actually do get a Wild West type of vibe and a duel in an old mining village. Spaghetti Western movies are mentioned throughout the book. The main character is a detective currently working cold cases. Dugoni shares his goal for this book: “I wanted her to face a lawless situation where she stood isolated, on her own, and had to either kill or be killed, to put her shooting to the ultimate test— take a life or lose her own.”
Bang! is a big group, spaghetti Western themed game where the primary objective is to shoot ‘em up! Each player draws a card that determines their role and their special abilities. The sheriff and his deputy are going after the outlaws and the renegade. The outlaws are going after the sheriff and the renegade doesn’t care who dies as long as he is the last one standing. There are cards that give you different types of guns that lengthen your range in players you can ‘reach’ with your gun. There are also cards that cause another player’s bullet to miss.
The best times I’ve had playing this game were late at night when we spoke in accents and when we played ‘Miss’ cards we would yell ‘muchacho’ and juke them. You got to immerse yourself in the world!
Players: 4-7 (best with 7)
Time: 20-40 minutes
Replayability: Lots of replayability because your role and special powers change and everyone’s actions and cards they draw are different every time. The down side to this game is that players who get out early can lose interest in the rest of the game because there is no further actions taken by them or way to get back into the game.
*2003 Origins Awards Best Card Game Design Winner
*2002 Meeples Choice Award Nominee
*2007 Golden Geek Best Party Board Game Nominee
If you liked Famous Last Words or Break Every Rule… Ransom Notes!
Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister doesn’t necessarily have a ransom note, but the main character’s world is turned upside down when she finds a cryptic note from her husband the morning she finds he has taken hostages downtown. The words are the catalyst for her search for her escaped husband and her belief in his innocence. Full review HERE.
Break Every Rule by Brian Freeman may not have a note (I can’t remember) but is about a father’s quest to find his kidnapped wife and daughter and how he will break any rule he has to to get them back. Full review HERE.
Ransom Notes has a completely different vibe than either of these books but it’s super fun and funny to play and will maybe ease some of the tension from both of those missing person books. In Ransom Notes you have a collection of individual magnetic words that you piece together on a magnetic board to create your ‘ransom note’ that fits the particular prompt. You can see from the picture above an example someone posted from their gameplay. It is generally family-friendly but you will have to go through the words and cards and remove a few inappropriate ones before playing.
The object of the game is to get points— a judge is randomly assigned per round to pick the best note. To be honest, the points are really a side quest. We usually just enjoy the creative process of writing the notes and really don’t pay much attention to the points. Which says something because we are very competitive!
Players: 3-6
Time: 30- 90 minutes (play as few or many rounds as you want)
Replayability: I suppose if you play all the time you might remember previous notes for each category and could theoretically end up repeating the same phrases for the same prompts but it’s not really a game you play alllll the time or always with the same people. It’s a nice party game to pull out when you want to be ridiculous and not have to teach a hard game.
If you liked The Midnight Library or The Wishing Game… try playing My Shelfie!
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is about a special library between life and death where main character, Nora, gets to ‘try on’ different lives to see what choices she could have made differently to have gotten a different, more ‘perfect’ life. Full review HERE.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer is on my to-read list so I haven’t read it yet. But the front of the book has a bookshelf and main character competes in a competition to win a book and hopefully secure the funds to adopt one of her orphaned students that she has already shared her love of books with.
My Shelfie is a fun bookshelf-themed game that even has 3D bookshelf components. It may not be a magical bookshelf, but you will compete with others to pick tiles that either have images of books, cats, board games, plants, or picture frames and position them on your shelf to achieve a variety of goals and hopefully earn the most points.
It is more strategic than you would think, but still accessible to younger players. I’ve played this one with my 8 year old.
Players: 2-4
Time: 30 minutes
Replayability: Lots of replayability with this one because your tile board to draw tiles from changes every game, your individual goal card changes, and the community goals change as well.
*2023 5 Seasons Best International Family Game Nominee
If you like Project Hail Mary… try playing Spacebase!
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is a book where a science teacher and his BFF alien buddy science and engineer the crap out of space stuff to save their planets from a star-eating microbe. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that’s the main gist!
Weir fashions a brilliant, humorous, and endearing story set in space that is filled with complicated science that he generally dumbs down for us, giving us a very pleasant book. My full review can be found HERE.
Spacebase is not a game I’ve played before but I see it recommended a lot. It’s a space-themed dice game with an engine building component and a good balance of luck and strategy. Sounds like it is similar mechanics to Settlers of Catan where someone rolls the dice and everyone benefits from each roll. I cannot tell you more about this game from my own experience but I know there are many people who love this game.
(I almost put Terraforming Mars here— which I also haven’t played but have seen it recommended a lot— but it is a longer game and a little more complicated. It fits the theme of the book a little better with the idea of terraforming a new planet for life, so if you are up for a challenge, check this one out too.)
Players: 2-5
Time: 60 minutes
Replayability: I do not know the answer to this, but based on the raving reviews, I would assume replayability is not an issue with this one.
*2018 Meeples Choice Award Nominee
*2018 Golden Geek Best Family Board Game Nominee
*2019 Origins Awards Best Board Game Nominee
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