Bookshelf Board Game Review
📚 Bookshelf | 🏢 Publisher: Cat Alley Games
🧱 Designer: Caezar Al-Jassar | 🎨 Artist: Rory Muldoon
👥 1 to 6 Players | ⏱️ 15 Minutes | 🎯 Cooperative Dexterity Game
I have a soft spot for tiny games. There's this trifecta: small games, that are easy to teach, and can be enjoyed at two that I gravitate towards. Besides board games, I really enjoy reading. A good dexterity game is always welcome, enter Bookshelf. We had seen this one on socials, so when we saw it at LVLUP Games, we had to buy it
Spoiler alert, I packed this game on a recent work trip where I played this game nonstop with a friend. We had a marathon finish only to realize we might have been playing it slightly wrong. The rules say upright on the "X", which we didn't realize it meant straight up every time. I'm oficially blaming Alley Cat Games for that one, and I have been trying to beat the game with different groups and solo, and no luck yet
What is Bookshelf?
Bookshelf is a cooperative dexterity game where you’re working together to build a bookshelf eight cards high without knocking the whole thing over. Each round, you draw two bookshelf cards, choose one, figure out which books need to go on it, and then everyone works together to balance those books on the shelf. Once the shelf is added, you move the cat up one level and do it all over again
Easy enough, right? Well... we decided eight shelves wasn't enough. Then we decided to see if we could use the entire deck. That took us two hours and more than 20 attempts, so, yeah. Let's talk about Bookshelf 🙈
How It Plays
Setup is quick. Take the starter card and place it in the middle of the play area. The starter card tells you how many red books to remove from the tin, and you place those books upright on the Xs. Then you put the cat on top
On your turn, draw two bookshelf cards from the deck and choose one to play. The other card goes to the bottom of the deck, so you always have a choice of what challenge you're taking on next. The chosen card tells you which books you need to add. You find those books in the tin (or in the table if you are like me. I like to dump the books and look for them)
Place the card on top of the bookshelf, and then attempt to balance. The Xs on the card need to be covered by at least one book. Everyone places the books simultaneously, so there's a little bit of strategy in figuring out who should place what and when. Once you've placed your book, hold your breath, and let go! That's where the dexterity part comes in. Once all the books are balanced, you move the cat from its current shelf up one shelf, and the tiny cat can cause serious structural problems.
Balanced? repeat! Draw two cards. Pick one, place the books, add the shelf, move the cat. Keep going until you reach eight cards or the bookshelf topples. If you successfully add the eighth card without the bookshelf falling, everyone wins.
Components
Everything comes in a little tin. There are 10 bookshelf cards, 29 book meeples in six colors and different sizes, and one cat meeple
Who's This Game For?
Bookshelf is for anyone who likes dexterity games, cooperative games, or little games that you can pull out and start playing without a huge room or rules explanation. It's a good option if you want something small and portable. Everything fits in the tin, and setup takes almost no time. This is the kind of game that's easy to throw in a stocking stuffer, and it's inexpensive enough to gift to our favorite bibliophile
Pros
🧠 Easy to teach
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Play it with anyone
📦 Tiny and portable: everything lives happily in a neat little tin
🤝 Cooperative where you play at the same time
🐈 The components: I'm a sucker for cute meeples. I really like the tiny wooden books and the catastrophic little cat that tumbles the tower (almost) every time
Considerations
Steady hands and luck required
The game can get repetitive and frustrating if the tower keeps wiping out
Your play time can change dramatically if you decide to ignore the suggested difficulty
Rules ambiguity: as we learned on our trip, certain physical interpretations leave room for house rules 🙈
Bottom Line
I really like what Bookshelf is doing. It’s a tiny game with elementary rules, but once that tower gets wobbly, every millimeter matters. Sometimes a simple goal, a tiny cat, and an excuse to say "one more time" is all you need to have a good time. This is a game I'll be gifting this holiday season, and it's a game I'll play until I get bored of it
Recommendations
One of my favorite things about reviewing games is figuring out where they fit. If you like the sound of Bookshelf, or enjoy games that are cooperative, a little addictive, and have you saying "okay, one more time," here are a few I'd recommend:
Bandido: Another tiny cooperative game that's easy to teach, quick to play, and surprisingly challenging. It's a different kind of puzzle, but has that same appeal of trying to beat the game together
Pick 'n Packers: If the dexterity and balancing are what appeal to you about Bookshelf, this is another one to check out. It brings that same hands on challenge where everyone is working together to get things just right
If you're okay with a slightly bigger box that are still small:
The Game: cooperative card game where everyone works together discard 98 cards in ascending and descending piles. The catch? You have to manage your cards carefully because you can't share what's in your hand, and if someone can't play, game over
The Mind: cooperative card game about playing numbered cards in ascending order without talking or communicating. Everyone has to get a feel for the right moment to play their card. It sounds simple, but the tension around deciding when to go is what makes it so much fun
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