[Gaming Review] Bring Your Own Book from Gamewright

I recently had the opportunity to demo one of Gamewright’s newest offerings, Bring Your Own Book.

BYOB

 

Game Details
Each player starts with any book lying around. Every round there is a judge who chooses a card and reads the text from the card to the other players. These prompts can be anything like ‘a line from an unpublished Dr. Seuss book’ or ‘a line in a ransom note.’ The other players then find a phrase in their book that they think will satisfy the judge. Once a player finds a response they yell “Got It;” this prompts a sand timer to be turned and the other players have 60 more seconds to find a phrase for themselves.

Once everyone finds a phrase or time runs up, players take turns reading their chosen phrase to the judge. The judge then determines who the winner is and awards that player with the card. Play then continues with a new judge going in clockwise order. Once a player gets two cards, the books are then passed along clockwise as well. Game play continues until one player gets four cards.

Game Thoughts:

The thing I like the most is the replay-ability of the game. Each time you play, you can choose different books and even when the same phrase cards come up, if you are playing different books, the answers will be different.

The box says 3+ players, however, I would recommend a game size of 5-7 players. Any less and I think there is not enough people, and any more I think the game gets a bit unmanageable. Also a good variation I could see is where players write their responses down and hand them to the judge instead of players reading them out loud as that would help keep the choice impartial. The only issue with that is if you start writing large amounts of text.

This past weekend I tested the game out with my gaming group and everyone had a good time. It is a game that can include people who enjoy more intense games as well as more casual games. I put it in line with Apples to Apples and The Game of Things in that it is good for players of all ages. With my group, the game naturally turned “inappropriate for younger players” and no one was unhappy that we broke the game out.

The game is small enough to travel with you and the box is in a nice package with a magnetic clasp that could easily fit on your bookshelf in easy reach.

Final Rating: 4/5 Ninja Stars
Final Thought: Page 302 of Wicked should be banned from all responses ever!

DSC00996

Game Specs
Includes: 100 cards (with 2 categories each), 1 sand timer, rules
Plays: 3+
Play Time: 20 minutes
Price: $14.99

Out now, you can buy this and many other games from Gamewright here.

About the author

Media Journalist | Michael loves all things pop culture and has an opinion about everything whether you ask for it or not. Michael collects steelbooks, posters, convention exclusives, LEGO, Transformers, and everything in between.