In the words of the great RuPaul: “Reading is WHAT?” “FUNDAMENTAL!”
As a card-carrying library enthusiast, I can say that the first time I saw Foxmind‘s new By the Book game, my heart lit up. This is a super cute stacking puzzle game that challenges book lovers to put together a perfectly balanced bookshelf for a furry friend while using a good dose of reasoning. But these aren’t your run-of-the-mill, color-coordinated built-ins you see scrolling #BookTok — organizing these shelves take a little more flair.
Players will choose a challenge card, place one of the shelves on a leveled surface, then place the books indicated on their card onto the shelf. Once those are in place, they put the other shelf on top and check with the included level — aesthetically disguised as a flower pot — to see if the top shelf is completely balanced. Don’t worry if you get stuck though: Each challenge card has a possible solution on the back to help you out.
But wait, there’s more to your stacking challenge! A couple of rules make the challenges a bit trickier: at least two books have to be touching the top shelf, sometimes the books must be horizontal or vertical according to the card, etc. If the clever cat is on the player’s challenge card, they have to place it on one book and between two others — that sneaky pal is just trying to snuggle in for a bookshelf nap.
All of the book pieces are cute; they’re durable and sturdy for stacking, but also painted in a rainbow of colors so your shelf is the ultimate library goals. The 12 books are all different sizes, making each challenge a bit different every time you play. The challenge cards are four levels of difficulty, so kids can master each level before they move on to the next. What’s especially great about this game is that kids can play solo, or they can race and time each other to play together. If they’re not the competitive type, they can also work together to figure out the solution.
As the box says, this game truly is a “novel stacking puzzle.” It’s a really unique game of balance and stacking with a very appealing aesthetic that also makes it cute to display when you’re not playing. All of this packed into one game is sure to guarantee it tops the best-sellers list!
BY THE BOOK
In this single-player game, kids will draw one of 40 challenge cards indicating which books they must use and how many of those books they must place horizontally. Then they will try to build a balanced bookshelf following that prompt.
