- BGG rank
- BGG #3,603
- BGG rating
- 6.2
Joking Hazard
- 3–10 players
- 30–90 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2016
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- BGG #4,513
- BGG rating
- 6.8
Bring Your Own Book
2015
Rules assistance for Bring Your Own Book
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–8 players
- 20 min
- 12+
- Complexity 1.1/5
For 3 players
Rules assistant for Bring Your Own Book
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Bring Your Own Book is a board game released in 2015 for 3–8 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Matthew Moore and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Player Judge.
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About the game
Your old favorite book is now your new favorite game! In Bring Your Own Book, players take turns drawing prompts from the deck, then race to find the best phrase in their own book that satisfies the prompt. What's the tastiest “name for a candy bar” in that history textbook you're reading for school? How quickly can you find “lyrics from a country western song” in your dog-training guide? What kind of “advice for graduating seniors” will appear in your anthology of limericks? In more detail, everyone has their own book and sits in a circle. The cards are placed face down, and the starting player has a one-minute timer. The starting player takes the top card off the deck, picks a prompt, and reads it aloud. Everyone except the Picker searches their book for text to match the prompt, sequential text of any length: a single word, half of a sentence, a whole sentence, multiple sentences, etc. The first Seeker to find matching text announces "I've got it" and starts the timer. When the timer runs out (or every Seeker announces "I've got it"), each Seeker reads what they've found. Seekers who didn't find text in time open to a random page and read a random sentence from it. The Picker chooses their favorite submission and awards the card to that Reader. After each round, the person to the left of the last Picker starts the next round. Once any player holds three cards, everyone passes their book to the player on their left. This happens any time a player reaches three cards during the game. Thus, it can happen as many times as there are players. The game proceeds until one player has collected the required number of cards and wins: with 5-7 players the first to 4 cards win; with 3-4 players the first to 5 cards win.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- (Self-Published)
- Noris Spiele
- MINDOK
- Gamewright
- 株式会社ケンビル (KenBill)
- frechverlag
- Happy Camper
- Scholastic Inc.
Questions and answers
Bring Your Own Book supports 3–8 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Bring Your Own Book is 20 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Bring Your Own Book for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Bring Your Own Book has a complexity rating of 1.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Bring Your Own Book belongs to these categories: Card Game, Humor, and Party Game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Player Judge. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Bring Your Own Book are: Matthew Moore. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Bring Your Own Book as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.