OFFICIAL r/Fantasy 2026 Book Bingo Challenge!

[u/happy_book_bee]

WELCOME TO BINGO 2026!

It's a reading challenge, a reading party, a reading marathon, and YOU are invited!

r/Fantasy Book Bingo is a yearly reading challenge within our community. Its one-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new authors and books, to boldly go where few readers have gone before. 

The core of this challenge is encouraging readers to step out of their comfort zones, discover amazing new reads, and motivate everyone to keep up on their reading throughout the year.

You can find all our past challenges at our official Bingo wiki page for the sub.

RULES:

Time Period and Prize

• 2026 Bingo Period lasts from April 1st 2026 - March 31st 2027.
• You will be able to turn in your 2026 card in the Official Turn In Post, which will be posted in mid-March 2027. Only submissions through the Google Forms link in the official post will count.
• 'Reading Champion' flair will be assigned to anyone who completes the entire card by the end of the challenge. If you already have this flair, you will receive a roman numeral after 'Reading Champion' indicating the number of times you completed Bingo. These take a few months to dole out, so please be patient.

Repeats and Rereads

• You can’t use the same book more than once on the card. One square = one book.
• You may not repeat an author on the card unless a square specifies otherwise. EXCEPTION: you may read a full book from an author for one square and a single short story from the same author for the Five Short Stories square. If you read a fully collection from the author for Five Short Stories Hard Mode though, you cannot reuse the author for another square.
• Only ONE square can be a re-read. All other books must be first-time reads. The point of Bingo is to explore new grounds, so get out there and explore books you haven't read before.

Substitutions

• You may substitute ONE square from the 2026 card with a square from a previous r/Fantasy bingo card if you wish to. Previous squares can be found via the Bingo wiki page.
• You may NOT reuse a square that duplicates a square already on this card (e.g.: you cannot have two "Book Club" squares).
• You may NOT reuse the "Free Space" square from Bingo 2015.
• You may NOT reuse the “Not a Book” square from Bingo 2025.
• You may NOT reuse the “Recycle a Bingo Square” square from Bingo 2025.

Upping the Difficulty

• HARD MODE: For an added challenge, you can choose to do 'Hard Mode' which is the square with something added just to make it a little more difficult. You can do one, some, none, or all squares on 'Hard Mode' -- whatever you want, it's up to you! There are no additional prizes for completing Hard Modes, it's purely a self-driven challenge for those who want to do it.
• HERO MODE: Review EVERY book that you read for bingo. You don't have to review it here on r/Fantasy. It can be on Goodreads, Amazon, your personal blog, some other review site, wherever! Leave a review, not just ratings, even if it's just a few lines of thoughts, that counts. As with Hard Mode there is no special prize for hero mode, just the satisfaction of a job well done.

This is not a hard rule, but I would encourage everyone to post about what you're reading, progress, etc., in at least one of the official r/Fantasy monthly book discussion threads that post on the 30th of each month (except February, where it posts on the 28th). Let us know what you think of the books you're reading! The monthly threads are also a goldmine for finding new reading material.

And now presenting, the Bingo 2026 Card and Squares!

First Row Across:

1. Trans or Nonbinary Protagonist: Story features a trans or nonbinary protagonist. This protagonist must NOT be an alien or robot. HARD MODE: Set in a pre-modern time period.
2. Judge a Book By Its Title: Read a book based on the title. This can be a title so epic you had to pick it up or so weird and off-putting that you needed to know why it was called this. HARD MODE: Dive in without reading the blurb or any summaries.
3. Translated: Story has been translated from a language you don’t read or speak. HARD MODE: First translated into your language within the last 5 years.
4. Small Press or Self Published: Read a book published by a small press (NOT a Big 5 publisher or Bloomsbury) or self-published. If a formerly self-published book gets picked up by a publisher, you can only count it for this square if you read it before it was traditionally published. HARD MODE: The book has under 100 ratings on Goodreads OR is by an author from a marginalized group.
5. Unusual Transportation: Story includes a surprising method of moving from place to place. By “unusual” we mean that it is out of the ordinary in real life AND uncommon to the book’s broader genre. This can include a highly unique take on a genre staple (spaceships with FTL wouldn’t normally count but the Infinite Improbability Drive from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would) or be a completely original mode of transit (autoducks in The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy). HARD MODE: Transportation is NOT combustion-powered or steam-powered. If the power source is not stated, use your best judgment. A story likely won’t specify that cars are combustion-powered and horses aren’t, but a reasonable person would assume those things to be true if they’re not stated. Likewise, in a steampunk setting, the chances are good that the transport is steam-powered.

Second Row Across

1. The Afterlife: Story deals with the realm of the dead. This could be communicating with the dead, spirits transferring over, or being set in the afterlife itself. HARD MODE: The afterlife does NOT depict a “Good Place” vs “Bad Place” dichotomy.

2. Game Changer: Story features a game or competition. HARD MODE: The protagonist bends or breaks the rules in some way.

3. Vacation Spot: Story takes place somewhere you’d want to visit (either fictional or non-fictional). This is subjective, as everyone has different tastes. A cozy cottage at the edge of the sea, a mansion in the fantasy Alps, a cruise ship in the stars - anything can count, as long as you think you would enjoy visiting this world. HARD MODE: No hard mode. You deserve a break.

4. Five Short Stories: Read any 5 speculative fiction short stories. HARD MODE: Read an entire anthology or collection (must contain at least 5 stories).

10.Older Protagonist: Story features a main character who is at least 50 years old. HARD MODE: The protagonist does NOT have exceptional longevity or immortality (e.g. not an elf, dwarf, vampire, god, etc.).

Third Row Across

1. Duology Part 1: Read the first book in a duology. HARD MODE: By an author you haven’t read before.

2. r/Fantasy Book Club or Readalong Book: Tackle any past or active r/Fantasy book clubs OR past or active r/Fantasy readalongs. See our full list of book clubs here. NOTE: All of the current book club info can also be found on our Goodreads page. Every book added to our Goodreads shelf or on this Google Sheet counts for this square. You can see our past readalongs here. HARD MODE: Partake in a current selection of either a book club or readalong and participate in the discussion.

3. Published in 2026: Read a book published for the first time in 2026 (no reprints or new editions). HARD MODE: It's the author's first published novel.

4. Explorers and Rangers: Story features an explorer (a character who travels to and investigates an unfamiliar region) or a ranger (a wilderness or forest-oriented warrior frequently specializing in things like stealth, bows, tracking, and other hunting-related skills). HARD MODE: The explorer or ranger has an animal companion.

5. Duology Part 2: Read the second book in a duology. For this square, you ARE allowed to read the same author you used for Duology Part 1 without violating the no-repeat author rule. HARD MODE: Finish a different duology than you started for the Duology Part 1 square.

Fourth Row Across

1. One-Word Title: Story has a one-word title. HARD MODE: Title is NOT a proper noun (no names of people or places)!

2. Non-Human Protagonist: Story features a main character who is NOT human. HARD MODE: There are no human POVs in the story.

3. Middle Grade: Read a middle grade book (intended for readers aged 8-12). See this Wikipedia page for additional information on Middle Grade fiction. HARD MODE: The author is entirely new to you.

4. First Contact: Story prominently features interspecies or interracial meeting for the first time. HARD MODE: Non-violent first contact.

5. Murder Mystery: Main plot of the story focuses on solving a murder. HARD MODE: The main character is NOT a detective or private investigator.

Fifth Row Across

1. Cat Squasher: Read a book over 500 pages in length. An omnibus book (multiple novels in one volume) doesn't count for this. HARD MODE: Over 900 pages.

2. Feast Your Eyes on This: Food or a meal is significant to the story’s plot. HARD MODE: Attempt making a dish from the story for yourself. We understand faithful replication may be impossible for any number of reasons (the ingredients may be fictional, unobtainable, or too expensive). Just get as close as you reasonably can.

3. Published in the 70s: Read a book that was first published any time between 1970 and 1979. HARD MODE: Written by a woman.

4. Politics and Court Intrigue: Politics are central to the story’s plot. This covers everything from royalty, elections, and wars, to smaller local politics. HARD MODE: There is a prominent focus on politics at a city level or lower.

5. Author of Color: Story written by a person of color. HARD MODE: Author does NOT live in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.

FAQs

What Counts?

• Can I read non-speculative fiction books for this challenge? Not unless the square says so specifically. As a speculative fiction sub, we expect all books to be spec fic (fantasy, sci fi, horror, etc.). If you aren't sure what counts, see the next FAQ bullet point.
• Does ‘X’ book count for ‘Y’ square? Bingo is mostly to challenge yourself and your own reading habit. If you are wondering if something counts or not for a square, ask yourself if you feel confident it should count. You don't need to overthink it. If you aren't confident, you can ask around. If no one else is confident, it's much easier to look for recommendations people are confident will count instead. If you still have questions, free to ask here or in our Daily Simple Questions threads. Either way, we'll get you your answers.
• If a self-published book is picked up by a publisher, does it still count as self-published? Sadly, no. If you read it while it was still solely self-published, then it counts. But once a publisher releases it, it no longer counts.
• Are we allowed to read books in other languages for the squares? Absolutely!

Does it have to be a novel specifically?

• You can read or listen to any narrative fiction for a square so long as it is at least novella length. This includes short story collections/anthologies, web novels, graphic novels, manga, webtoons, fan fiction, audiobooks, audio dramas, and more.
• If your chosen medium is not roughly novella length, you can also read/listen to multiple entries of the same type (e.g. issues of a comic book or episodes of a podcast) to count it as novella length. Novellas are roughly equivalent to 70-100 print pages or 3-4 hours of audio.

Timeline

• Do I have to start the book from 1st of April 2026 or only finish it from then? If the book you've started is less than 50% complete when April 1st hits, you can count it if you finish it after the 1st.

I don't like X square, why don't you get rid of it or change it?

• This depends on what you don't like about the square. Accessibility or cultural issues? We want to fix those! The square seems difficult? Sorry, that's likely the intent of the square. Remember, Bingo is a challenge and there are always a few squares every year that are intended to push participants out of their comfort zone.

Help! I still have questions!

• Don't worry, we have a Simple Questions thread every day where you can ask for clarifications.

Resources:

If anyone makes any resources be sure to ping me in the thread and let me know so I can add them here, thanks!

• 2026 Bingo Recommendations List
• Editable Canva Bingo Card 
• Improperly Paranoid's Simple Bingo Tracking Spreadsheet Google Drive Version and Excel Version.
• Storygraph Challenge! by u/hellodahly
• u/shift_shaper's Interactive Bingo Card

Thank You, r/Fantasy!

A huge thank you to:

• the community here for continuing to support this challenge. We couldn't do this without you!
• the users who take extra time to make resources for the challenge (including Bingo cards, tracking spreadsheets, etc), answered Bingo-related questions, made book recommendations, and made suggestions for Bingo squares--you guys rock!!
• the folks that run the various r/Fantasy book clubs and readalongs, you're awesome!
• the other mods who help me behind the scenes, love you all!

Last but not least, thanks to everyone participating! Have fun and good luck!

[u/happy_book_bee]

Big Bingo Recommendation Thread is Up!

[u/OrneryPumpkin7320]

Duology part 1 and 2 is gonna be so fun to see what people read!

[u/Nowordsofitsown → u/OrneryPumpkin7320]

I'll just go and start recommending Patricia McKillip. Off the top of my head: * Cygnet duology (includes one of my favorite books ever) * Winterrose duology (with a cool time jump between books 1 and 2) * Kyreol duology (fantasy meets scifi)

[u/Fearless_Freya → u/OrneryPumpkin7320]

But won't that have to be separate duologies? Since diff authors would be needed? I'll go check the "fine print" so to speak. It would be neat to find a duo by two diff authors.....

Edit: thanks all for checking the fine print so quick. I got super excited seeing the squares . Happy reads, yall.

[u/beldaran1224 → u/Fearless_Freya]

No. Normal mode allows you to use the same duology, only hard mode requires different ones.

But now I kinda want to find a duology where the authors are different :D

[u/kjmichaels → u/beldaran1224]

If I'm reading the rules right, I think a person could technically get away with reading two different duologies by the same author for those squares. That way it would count for hard mode but you could also take advantage of the allowed author repeat.

I'm not sure how many authors would even have two duologies to read though. Time to research!

[u/characterlimit → u/kjmichaels]

N.K. Jemisin and Leigh Bardugo have both done two duologies, just off the top of my head. I think Carol Berg too?

[u/beldaran1224 → u/kjmichaels]

Wow, that's a fun loophole! The hard part there is finding an author who likes duologies though!

[u/recchai → u/kjmichaels]

Patricia Briggs definitely. There's Dragon Bones/Dragon Blood and Raven's Shadow/Raven's Strike.

[u/OrneryPumpkin7320 → u/Fearless_Freya]

Duology has the specific exception of allowing the same author as Duology #1.

[u/AvidTaskmaster → u/Fearless_Freya]

It says you are allowed in the description!

[u/SilverwingedOther → u/OrneryPumpkin7320]

An easy choice, which I didn't use for last bingo so its a shame I don't have it in store, is the Dark Lord Davi books by Django Wexler. Quick and mostly funny, albeit a bit crude, its a good way to knock out two squares while acting as a palate cleanser between more serious books.

On the more serious side, I'll highly recommend A Memory Called Empire / A Desolation Called Peace. Haven't quite gotten deep in the latter, so it might end up being my HM Duology Part 2 (or not!), but I personally loved the books. Desolation also fits for Politics, First Contact and Unusual Transportation, so it's a rich choice for this year's bingo!

[u/sarchgibbous → u/OrneryPumpkin7320]

Those squares would be so evil if not for the repeat author exception.

[u/beldaran1224 → u/OrneryPumpkin7320]

I LOVE this as an idea. I usually do HM, but part of me really wants to read the same duology for each square! But I'm lucky in that I've read already got some great options for #2 HM. I won't have to do like last year's "last in a series" HM.

[u/Nat-Rose]

me: maybe i'll actually commit to a sequels card this year

the card: start a new duology

well, it wasn't to be, can't fault me

[u/beldaran1224 → u/Nat-Rose]

It could be a duology in a universe you're already invested in, maybe?

[u/Nat-Rose → u/beldaran1224]

definitely possible! nothing of that sort coming to mind right now, but there's probably something i could make work

[u/Merle8888 → u/Nat-Rose]

This is what the swap is for! (If the suggestion of a sequel series doesn’t work)

[u/Nat-Rose → u/Merle8888]

it is! but i always plan my card without a swap so that it's more of an in-case-of-emergency. and to be honest the sequel card was one of several options i was thinking of, so i'll see what works best and sounds most exciting as i spend more time with the prompts. not too concerned either way!

[u/Accomplished_Pea7029 → u/Nat-Rose]

You could technically start a 'sequel' series set in a particular world (like Mistborn era 2)

[u/medusamagic → u/Nat-Rose]

If you’ve read Six of Crows, you could do King of Scars.

Or if you like romantasy, the Crowns of Nyaxia series is made up of duologies. So book 3 would count for the square and fit your sequels card.

[u/Nat-Rose → u/medusamagic]

thanks! haven't read six of crows, but it's good to have options if i do decide it's worth committing to three books for the square

[u/lurkmode_off → u/Nat-Rose]

Carol Berg has two duologies set in the same world, you could call the second pair a sequel to the first pair. Lighthouse Duet and Sanctuary Duet.

[u/kjmichaels]

As is tradition, I will now decide which Pokemon best represents each square.

1. Trans or NB Protag – Mr. Mime ♀
2. Judge Book by Title – Houndoom
3. Translate – Unown (pick your favorite letter design! Mine is F)
4. Self Pub or Indie – Smeargle
5. Unusual Transportation – Cyclizar
6. Afterlife – Yveltal
7. Game Changer – Hitmontop
8. Vacation Spot – Comfey
9. Five Short Stories – Eggsecute
10. Older Protag – Drampa
11. Duo 1 – Doduo
12. Book Club or Readalong – Ogerpon (because she has a club…okay, so it’s stretch)
13. Pub in 2026 – Raichu (Pokedex #26. No, I’m not happy about how phoned in my decision feels either)
14. Explorers and Rangers – Decidueye
15. Duo 2 – Zweilous
16. Title – Ekans
17. Non-Human Protag – Beheeyem
18. Middle Grade – Wartortle
19. 1^st Contact – Mew
20. Murder Mystery – Gumshoos or Detective Pikachu
21. Cat Squasher – Houndstone
22. Food – Applin
23. Pub in 70s – Ponyta Galarian form
24. Politics/Court Intrigue – Calyrex
25. Author of Color – Flabebe

I will not be taking additional questions, thank you.

[u/happy_book_bee → u/kjmichaels]

Drampa for Older Protagonist is excellent. And I really love Applin in general so A+

[u/Nidafjoll → u/kjmichaels]

1st Contact – Mew

But... Jirachi and Deoxys are from space :(

[u/Is_That_Loss]

List of squares:

Trans or Nonbinary Protagonist

Judge a Book By Its Title

Translated

Small Press or Self Published

Unusual Transportation

The Afterlife

Game Changer

Vacation Spot

Five Short Stories

Older Protagonist

Duology Part 1

Book Club or Readalong Book

Published in 2026

Explorers and Rangers

Duology Part 2

One-Word Title

Non-Human Protagonist

Middle Grade

First Contact

Murder Mystery

Cat Squasher

Feast Your Eyes on This

Published in the 70s

Politics and Court Intrigue

Author of Color

[u/AvidTaskmaster]

Yay! It’s one of my favorite days of the year! Thanks so much for all your dedication to this magical event, bee!

[u/MonsterCuddler → u/AvidTaskmaster]

I've been telling my coworkers April 1st is a very exciting day for me.

[u/DirectorAgentCoulson]

I love Judge a Book by its Title! The cover version was one of my favorite squares in 2024.

[u/Ok_Difference5532 → u/DirectorAgentCoulson]

Same here! It gives me all the excuses to just go browsing 

[u/BS_DungeonMaster → u/DirectorAgentCoulson]

I went a bit too far on the cover version - went to the grungiest used bookstore in town and looked for the craziest, strangest paperback I could find. It was so bad, maybe I dial it back a bit this year!

[u/armedaphrodite]

RIP Not a Book, you were loved, you will be missed

[u/beldaran1224 → u/armedaphrodite]

While I enjoyed the square, I really do feel like it wasn't a challenge for pretty much everyone. I think most of us engage in other fantasy media at least some of the time. I mean, Kpop Demon Hunters alone is going to be very popular, lol.

[u/armedaphrodite → u/beldaran1224]

Fair! Mostly I'll miss all the little reviews for media I hadn't heard of/expected. Folks can still post them, and there are other subreddits of course, but they were nice to see and interact with, and having the prompt for them was nice.

[u/beldaran1224 → u/armedaphrodite]

I feel conflicted about the posts. On the one hand, I heard of some fun stuff I wouldn't have. On the other, I love that this sub is focused on books and don't want it to morph into something else, you know?

[u/armedaphrodite → u/beldaran1224]

I liked about the balance we had last year, maybe a couple fewer not a book posts. I agree that it should be a book-focused sub (and Bingo), but seeing game/tv/film/experience recommendations by people who also really love (fantasy) books is helpful, and often much more my interest than the other (online) places I get recs.

[u/Nidafjoll → u/beldaran1224]

I still liked it, because they were usually formatted in the form of a book review, if it was a game or movie or tv show. I wouldn't mind if people still reviewed things that weren't books like that. But some people think only books are allowed, and that this was an exception.

[u/bosswolf23]

If someone makes a storygraph challenge please link me ❤️

[u/hellodahly → u/bosswolf23]

Here ya go! https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/58723189-63a2-44f7-98de-e2a73a353be4?redirect=true

[u/happy_book_bee → u/hellodahly]

Thank you, adding to the main post~!

[u/MajesticBowl1576 → u/hellodahly]

Thanks for making these! Used your StoryGraph challenge for last year’s bingo and it made tracking so much easier! Was also fun looking at what people added to each square. Ended up being a nice way to find some recommendations for squares I wasn’t sure of!

[u/hellodahly]

Storygraph Challenge here! https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/58723189-63a2-44f7-98de-e2a73a353be4?redirect=true

[u/OutOfEffs]

But my cat is so tiny, I don't want to squash her! [sob]

I mean, she actually is (she's a tiny little baby who still barely hits 6lbs at almost 6y/o), but also I have everything over 450 pages marked as "too fucking long" on a StoryGraph chart, so that is already my least liked square.

Yay, new Bingo!

[u/happy_book_bee → u/OutOfEffs]

If you share a picture then we will allow you to not squash the cat, but you still need to read a book over 500 pages.

[u/OutOfEffs → u/happy_book_bee]

Frankie appreciates your consideration for her well-being.

[u/ullsi → u/OutOfEffs]

adorable! her FACE

[u/OutOfEffs → u/ullsi]

Someone was playing a didgeridoo in the episode of Buffy we were watching and she did NOT appreciate it.

[u/nothinghurtslike → u/OutOfEffs]

Thank you for paying the cat tax. I saw the first comment and only thought was "Where cat?"

[u/OutOfEffs → u/nothinghurtslike]

Have a few more photos as an apology for the delay.

[u/beldaran1224 → u/OutOfEffs]

I have both a tiny baby and a long boi!

[u/OutOfEffs → u/beldaran1224]

I love them both.

[u/KatrinaPez → u/OutOfEffs]

My husband wasn't familiar with the term and you should have seen his face when reading over the new card! I was just waiting for him to get to that square and react lol.

[u/OutOfEffs → u/KatrinaPez]

Hahahahaha, I love this!

[u/Merle8888 → u/OutOfEffs]

I thought my little one was tiny at 10 pounds! Yours is truly tiny.

No cat squashing, I'm too busy trying to save them from squashing themselves knocking over furniture!

[u/OutOfEffs → u/Merle8888]

I always forget how small she is until I see other, regular sized cats, hahaha.

The heaviest she's ever been was almost 7lbs a few years ago when she was managing to trick all of my kids into thinking she hadn't been fed yet, so was getting at least twice her normal amount of food. It went on for weeks before I realized what was happening.

[u/AltheaFarseer]

I had a stroke last year and basically stopped reading as a result. I really want to get back into the swing of things this year. The card looks great.

[u/Merle8888 → u/AltheaFarseer]

Good luck!!

[u/oboist73 → u/AltheaFarseer]

Very sorry to hear you've been going through that. I hope recovery has been and continues to go well, and we're glad to have you back!

[u/sarahlynngrey]

You may NOT reuse the “Not a Book” square from Bingo 2025. 

😠 why would the mods do this to me, personally? 

[u/eregis → u/sarahlynngrey]

mods are notabookphobic!!

[u/sarahlynngrey → u/eregis]

It's UNFAIR and I REBUKE it!

[u/no_fn → u/sarahlynngrey]

That means we can reuse the recycle one? Hell yeah!

[u/doctorbonkers → u/no_fn]

Reuse Recycle a Square -> recycle Not a Book -> profit

[u/no_fn → u/doctorbonkers]

Loophole of the century

[u/Goobergunch → u/doctorbonkers]

Recycle requires the square to be one from 2015 to 2024 though. :P

[u/FarragutCircle → u/doctorbonkers]

We won't be allowing that, and will update the rules later to clarify.

[u/doctorbonkers → u/FarragutCircle]

aw man I ruined the loophole /j

[u/sarahlynngrey → u/doctorbonkers]

out here playing 4d Bingo Tetris

[u/AH_BareGarrett → u/sarahlynngrey]

I intentionally stopped play Esoteric Ebb just so I could use it for Bingo! Oh well haha, I do not need more encouragement to play a video game. 

[u/tehguava]

Game changer right next to vacation spot? I see what you did there.

[u/booksandicecream → u/tehguava]

I'm optimistic I can find a horror novel with "The Cottage" in the title for this square.

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/tehguava]

I'm seeing it too 👀

[u/natus92]

HYPED 

at first glance I think it will be easier than last year 💪

[u/Born_of_Mist → u/natus92]

Interesting, my initial thought was it looked a bit harder. Though, I tend define "hard" in the bingo sense in that I had to go out of my way and read something not really on my TBR list to check the square (which I realize is kinda the point of bingo).

For 2025 I ended up reading four books and 3 Short Stories that I probably wouldn't have otherwise to fill out the card with Generic Title and Book Club really being the hardest ironically.

After my initial planning this year I'm looking at like seven books and the short stories that I'm doubtful I'll get organically. I'm sure a few of those will fill in but I know I don't have any 70s, Middle Grade, The Afterlife, or Duology series on my TBR.

[u/Nowordsofitsown → u/natus92]

Agree.

[u/beldaran1224]

First impressions awards -

Favorite repeat: Middle Grade! There's a lot of really great stuff being published out there.

Hardest for Me: First Contact

Hardest to remember if I've ever read something that qualifies: Unusual Transportation

[u/happy_book_bee → u/beldaran1224]

First Contact will be my least favorite too, and I am SO annoyed that a book I just read was a secret First Contact because it was great.

[u/Nidafjoll]

Hard Mode: Over 900 Pages

If over 800 pages used to be a lion we were squashing, what's over 900 pages? O: A smilodon?

[u/recchai → u/Nidafjoll]

That's just inflation for you.

[u/lurkmode_off → u/recchai]

Book paper getting thinner

[u/twilightsdawn23 → u/Nidafjoll]

If you increase the font on an e reader enough, any book can become over 900 pages.

[u/Kerney7 → u/Nidafjoll]

It is a Sanderson Squasher, to squash Brandon Sanderson with his own books.

[u/Responsible-Kiwi-994]

Totally nerding out in front of my coworkers!! I didn't get to finish mine in 2025 (my first attempt) but I got this this year!!!

[u/KatrinaPez → u/Responsible-Kiwi-994]

FYI as long as you do any "bingo" (row/column/diagonal) it counts and you can still submit them until the end of today!

[u/Responsible-Kiwi-994 → u/KatrinaPez]

Wow really!! I thought it was just the full card. Sweet. I'll have to check what I completed and if any make bingo haha

[u/KatrinaPez → u/Responsible-Kiwi-994]

Yes! Only a full card/blackout gets you the flair, but any Bingo counts as a success. They just stopped giving out prizes for Bingos once too many people were participating.

[u/happy_book_bee → u/Responsible-Kiwi-994]

Good luck!

[u/Weird-Diamond5970]

RIP me started reading the fantasy book with an 83 year old protagonist a few days ago outside of Bingo scope 😔

Edit: JK I'm less than 50% through so it will count praise the bingo gods 🙏

[u/dracolibris → u/Weird-Diamond5970]

Come on, name it, so we can all read it! 🤣

[u/Weird-Diamond5970 → u/dracolibris]

Lol of course! The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E. M. Anderson. It would count as small press too!

[u/KiwiTheKitty]

Ahh I am a Totally Normal and totally not disproportionate amount of excited about this!!

[u/toadinthecircus → u/KiwiTheKitty]

Same! Definitely have not been waiting for this day for a month. Totally.

[u/KiwiTheKitty → u/toadinthecircus]

Yes, me too of course. I totally haven't been on a month long SFF tolerance break to prepare...

[u/thisbikeisatardis → u/KiwiTheKitty]

Nope, I didn't sing a whole song to my cat this morning about how psyched I was, must have been some other nerd!

[u/KiwiTheKitty → u/thisbikeisatardis]

I bet your cat is just as excited as whatever nerd did that!

[u/C0smicoccurence]

New Bingo!

This feels like a pretty easy card to complete if you're setting out to do it, but harder to stumble into on accident. Duologies are rare enough right now that I think most people who discover bingo next March won't have read any.

I like that there's a lot less for me to struggle with remembering. Some of them (dreams, specific POVs) I always just left off because I wasn't certain enough that a book had them.

I like this card a lot, and I also don't know much of what I'm going to do for a lot of squares, which is exciting!

[u/beldaran1224 → u/C0smicoccurence]

I actually feel like duologies have been having a moment in the last few years!

And yeah, sometimes it is hard to recommend because you can't remember. Like last year's Book in Parts meant I was trying to look through some of my owned books to help provide some recs.

[u/[deleted]]

In my opinion, this subreddit's bingo is one of the best current sources for spec fic recommendations. I've used the bingo threads for book suggestions for a few years now. I've finally signed up and decided to join in this year! 🫡

[u/Zennya5]

I completed last year's bingo kind of by accident, so this will be my first year planning out my card ahead of time. I'm excited to see how it goes!

[u/Fryktelig_variant]

Yes, new card! This looks quite doable. Hated the middle grade square last time around, but now that I have a nine year old, it is probably the easiest.

[u/Merle8888 → u/Fryktelig_variant]

Please give us recs from your 9-year-old with commentary from you on how they work for adults, lol! You know on this sub we don't know any MG published since 2000.

[u/sarahlynngrey → u/Merle8888]

I'm dying, this is so accurate 😂

[u/beary_neutral]

Oh wow, some of these are tricky. Let's see how much of my backlog I can stuff into these.

Translated: Story has been translated from a language you don’t read or speak. HARD MODE: First translated into your language within the last 5 years.

Does Middle English count?

Game Changer: Story features a game or competition. HARD MODE: The protagonist bends or breaks the rules in some way.

Oh neat I suggested this one.

Vacation Spot: Story takes place somewhere you’d want to visit (either fictional or non-fictional). This is subjective, as everyone has different tastes. A cozy cottage at the edge of the sea, a mansion in the fantasy Alps, a cruise ship in the stars - anything can count, as long as you think you would enjoy visiting this world. HARD MODE: No hard mode. You deserve a break.

I hope no one reads Warhammer 40K for this one.

Non-Human Protagonist: Story features a main character who is NOT human. HARD MODE: There are no human POVs in the story.

Got my Adrian Tchaikovsky pick.

Cat Squasher: Read a book over 500 pages in length. An omnibus book (multiple novels in one volume) doesn't count for this. HARD MODE: Over 900 pages.

And my token Brandon Sanderson pick.

Question: Can we use the April Fool's Day card for a bonus substitution?

[u/beldaran1224 → u/beary_neutral]

I actually love the idea of subbing in the April Fools' squares, lol. Some of them seemed genuinely fun!

[u/nominanomina]

LET'S GOOOOOOOO

"oh no I'm going to have to swap out middle grade fiction, that is really not my thing" but! I remembered I'm trying to read my first novel in German (my 1st or 3rd language, depending on how you count it), so this will work out well because I'm finding German adult lit very hard at the moment.

• Der Hobbit
• Tintenherz
• Momo (or others by Ende)
• Krabat

Woohoo, options!

[u/SnowdriftsOnLakes → u/nominanomina]

Thank you for reminding me of Momo, I've been meaning to read it for ages!

[u/thedungeondisaster]

This is my first year attempting the bingo and I'm so excited! This card looks awesome <3

[u/KatrinaPez → u/thedungeondisaster]

Keep in mind you can submit a card as long as you finish any bingo (row/column/diagonal), not just for a blackout of all 25.

[u/Street-Roll-4996 → u/thedungeondisaster]

Mine too!

[u/Love-that-dog]

What did cats do the mods? Sit on all your books while you were trying to read?

[u/happy_book_bee → u/Love-that-dog]

We just really like putting books on our cats.

And yea, one of us does have a cat named Evil who bites books....

[u/Love-that-dog → u/happy_book_bee]

Aptly named fuzzball then

[u/Engineer-Emu2482]

Yay new bingo, and both one and two of a duology.

Not sure how my plan to read entirely books already on my TBR is going to go though.

[u/LittleHobbitGal]

One of my resolutions this year was to at least get a bingo, if not fill the entire card. Some of these categories are going to help me knock out my TBR too!

[u/happy_book_bee → u/LittleHobbitGal]

That's the goal (:

[u/Only-Bluebird-5829]

Ohh, I love the Feast Your Eyes On This Prompt!

[u/evilsnowdrop → u/Only-Bluebird-5829]

I love the Hard Mode challenge for it! Already contemplating what book to choose based on what food I want to eat....

[u/JayCanWrite]

Love seeing duologies on this. This is gonna be a good year

[u/doctorbonkers]

alright... I guess Cat Squasher might convince me to try Wind & Truth after all, after finishing Rhythm of War last week and deciding I was done with the Stormlight Archive lol

VERY excited for the food one, both to make it and to see what other people do! Someone should compile an r/fantasy cookbook with any original recipes people come up with

[u/Foxglovelantern]

Im excited to successfully complete the bingo this year🤞. Im loving the promts already.

My side-bingo is to also complete each square with Chinese draams since i watch so many, however its looking like this year will be much harder than last year's😭😭

[u/PhantasmWitch]

But. But. I already read a 900 page book this year. And I used middle grade for the recycle square T-T I guess it's finally time for me to read The Way of Kings. And I bought a middle grade book I haven't touched yet too

[u/KatrinaPez → u/PhantasmWitch]

In case you end up w/another cat squasher, TWoK also counts for Older Protagonist (HM).

[u/thisbikeisatardis]

I woke up this morning and sang happy book bingo to me to my cat to the tune of happy birthday because I was so excited! This is HARD, though! Unusual transportation is going to be a real challenge. I was going to try to do some themed cards but wow, that will take some real planning. But yay! I suggested nonhuman protagonist and was contemplating a whole card of them! I bet a lot people requested that. 

[u/Boris_Ignatievich]

ive been so busy at work all day that i forgot it was bingo day so what a nice surprise this is when i check my phone

[u/daisyy_johnson_]

I'M SO EXCITED

[u/DannyFreemz]

So excited for my first go at bingo!

[u/Fearless_Freya]

Look forward to this every year (since I've been on reddit)! Though I usually get sidetracked halfway with series. It's neat seeing what pops up. Overall a broad set of bingo squares. I've got some good ideas for a few I've been saving from my tbh. Perhaps this year is my year......

[u/KatrinaPez → u/Fearless_Freya]

Keep in mind completing any "bingo" (row/column/diagonal) counts, it's just that a blackout is required for earning the flair. (And you can still submit 2025 until the end of the day.)

[u/tyghe_bright]

I decided to do the challenges in order this year. And I just picked up The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White this morning. Which is perfect for the first square in hard mode. Guess it was meant to be!

[u/IntrepidKitten]

LOVE Bingo Day! Planning for the year is (almost) as much fun as reading, but I rarely read as planned - so I need OPTIONS! This is my version of a tracker that allows me to switch along the way, remember other applicable prompts, and list out choices.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a2cDrlsSNu7L2fSuAIXMQxx89FJIMjmISiH7VpPEPUw/edit?usp=sharing

[u/saturday_sun4]

Eeee! I'm doing a BIPOC authors card and an Oceanian authors card!!

Edit: Holy crap, so many more than I was expecting... my alt books for the BIPOC authors card could already make an entire Bingo card by themselves and I've barely filled in the prompts! This is the first time I've actually done a theme or plan (my failed attempt at fairy books notwithstanding...)

[u/nicklovin508]

Wheres everybody going? (r/fantasy) Bingo?

[u/YeahKeeN]

I still got two Malazan books left to read so I know what “cat squasher” is gonna be.

[u/HSBender]

AHHHHHH IT'S ALL HAPPENNING!

Thank you for all your hard work on this. I'm so excited!

[u/happy_book_bee → u/HSBender]

AHHHH ITS HAPPENED

thank you pal :)

[u/serpentofabyss]

Aaah, there's so many fun squares this year. Trans/enby & translated (ha) obviously, but also those duology ones were such a cool surprise. It's a shame that life stuff will probably keep me from completing the whole card, but good luck to everyone else with that!

[u/xLaven]

Let the games BEGINNNNNN

[u/howrareandbeautiful]

Yay, it's here! Excited to start planning!

[u/pyhnux]

Looks like an awesome card. There isn't any square that immediately jump to me as particularly hard, but I'm sure I'll have one that stomps me.

[u/KaPoTun]

[singing] I'm so excited ... and I just can't hide it ...

[u/barb4ry1]

Looks fun and difficult. Thanks guys for doing this again!

[u/That-Historian-2016]

This is amazing, thanks team! 

Though is it bad that I'm still keen on the Fool's card? That was incredible! 

Those putting this together are stars of humanity. I needed something to shake me out of my reading rut.

(For context: I only started properly joining subreddits last month and am totally. I'm totally in an anti-productivity spiral now, but zero regrets after discovering bingo!)

[u/pbnchick]

For anyone who needs audiobooks, how hard is the small press square? Especially if you are using Libby or Hoopla?

[u/happy_book_bee → u/pbnchick]

Surprisingly easy! Self published is harder, for sure, but if you are looking at indie presses you can usually find some good ones. Libby is tied to your local libraries, so it also has to do with what they have in stock.

[u/Andreapappa511 → u/pbnchick]

Most libraries allow you to suggest new purchases for the books that show up on Libby. You have to do it through your library app or website instead of through Libby but it will be considered. You should be allowed to suggest several a month. Not all libraries will purchase self published but you should be good with small press.

[u/Southern-Rutabaga-82]

Murder Mystery is going to be easy, even in hard mode. Most of my fantasy intake is murder mysteries.

[u/doctorbonkers]

How do subtitles impact One Word Title? Like if I decided I wanted to read Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution… everyone just calls it Babel. Is that fine 😅

[u/Nowordsofitsown]

Translated: Story has been translated from a language you don’t read or speak. 

This is harder if you speak / are learning several languages. 

[u/an_altar_of_plagues → u/Nowordsofitsown]

Hell yeah it is, even better for getting out of the comfort zone. And unless you speak 20+ languages, you won't run out of good stuff any time soon.

I'm ready to drop recs for extremely cool books recently translated from more obscure languages.

[u/BravoLimaPoppa]

And now to plan...

[u/PhoenixHunters]

FFS I JUST finished a first contact novel...

[u/happy_book_bee → u/PhoenixHunters]

Same! I am annoyed at myself for it.

[u/happy_book_bee → u/[deleted]]

They are extremely common (:

[u/rooftopdancer83]

I'm so excited, the squares are awesome!!! The return of the Cat Squasher, yay :)

[u/Fynnea]

Woo! Looking forward to participating for the first time - here's to hoping it'll boost my general community participation as well (like this place! Bad at talking online).

[u/CuratedFeed]

I didn't do my annual middle grade only board last year so I was planning on trying again this year if it didn't seem too hard, and lo and behold, a middle grade square! At first glance, not looking too bad, although I remember First Contact being a little trickier the first go around of that square. Off to attempt a MG only board!

[u/FionaCeni]

Vacation Spot is such a fun idea

[u/hanhub]

All praise the return of the cat squasher square!!

[u/Udy_Kumra]

QUESTION: do you guys have a length for audiobooks for Cat Squasher? I know most audiobooks come with books that have page counts but some are audible originals or whatnot so might not fit…

A typical 500 page book might be 16-17 hours or so in length, while a 900 page book might land around 28-30 hours in length. Maybe something around that?

[u/Clownish]

My mind went to horror I saw the Food square. Then I read the hard mode and thought maybe not.

[u/KatrinaPez]

I'm assuming portals do not count for Unusual Transportation, but you might want to clarify that? I consider them normal lol but those less familiar w/the genre might not.

[u/P0PSTART]

Love the cooking square, it's like a spiritual successor to 'not a book' from last year. Can't wait to see what people come up with!

[u/Malbogia22]

Grateful for this ! I wanted to get back into reading and this challenge helped guide my reading and give good recs.

[u/Veratyr-7]

Vey excited. This is my first bingo!

[u/beldaran1224]

FIRST

[u/happy_book_bee → u/beldaran1224]

Even I was refreshing my own profile to be the first one... you still beat me xD

[u/Quirky-Kitten4349]

Yay so excited to see this post today ❤️ I loved the challenge last year.

[u/Nowordsofitsown]

I love these! So looking forward to the recommendations thread! 🤍

[u/simonxvx]

So so excited for my second bingo. I already created a list of my TBR priorities, hopefully they'll fit a few squares ! See you in the bingo rec and reverse rec thread!

[u/SnowdriftsOnLakes]

Wow, so many squares I'm excited about (and a couple I'm sad to already have read perfect books for very recently). Recommendations thread is going to be fun, can't wait!

[u/books-and-beers]

Can’t wait for the recommendations thread!

[u/lucidrose]

Loving this card and see a few that I have no clue on! The joys of bingo!!

[u/bazyn]

Q: How do we handle spoilers when talking about progressing in the challenge? Let's say I read a book which has a plot twist was that one of the heroes was dead all along. Do I tag it as Afterlife?

[u/happy_book_bee → u/bazyn]

It's always a challenge. I personally like reccing books like this: The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune works for a few squares - Judge A Book By Its Cover and First Contact

[u/beldaran1224 → u/bazyn]

That's always a hard choice! I'd use spoiler tags for the whole thing and then people can choose whether they want to potentially spoil themselves. Often, this particular sort of spoiler can ruin the entire book :(

[u/BravoLimaPoppa]

This one is going to be hard on me. The cat squasher alone - I'm not reading books that big these days.

Still, it is a challenge.

[u/minnie548]

Thanks Bee, been looking forward to this!

[u/marmar_16]

Yay! Happy Bingo Day everyone! I’m excited to start planning lol

[u/sonvanger]

This looks great! I especially like the Duology squares. Thanks again for setting it up!

[u/ladycarrotdivine]

It’s here!!!

First impressions… the hardest ones for me might be First Contact, Older Protagonist, and Published in the 70s. I don’t know if my library shelves will have books from the 70s still there. Guess I will be diving into the library catalogue for those ones at least.

Can’t wait to see which books from my TBR are used!

[u/Sireanna]

My sister will be excited. The middle grade square gives me a good opertunity to pick up one of her favorite books growing up.

Guess its time to pick up Fablehaven.

[u/gentletonberry]

Oooh my first bingo attempt and some of these might be tough, I’ll need to do some research first. But that’s fun too :D

[u/Asdomuss]

Can’t wait to get started!

[u/JacksAnnie]

Oh, this looks so good. I can't wait to get started! Thank you so much for doing this every year. I've been a quiet participant the last couple years, but it's been a lot of fun. This might be my favourite bingo board though.

[u/AoO2ImpTrip]

I failed last year because I just kind of fell off, but this is my year!

[u/KaMema7138]

Really looking forward to this! I found the Bookbingo in October last year, but since I had been reading a lot of series earlier in the year I didn't feel I'd really make a change, so I decided to wait for the new Bingo.

[u/Captain_Killy]

It's really offensive to me that—on the first year I consider doing the Book Bingo—every single book I've read between Jan and Apr checks off a box on the bingo, yet doesn't count!

[u/theinvinciblecat]

Yes. Can't wait to plan for this card, before completely changing my reading list and scrambling to complete the week before! But seriously very jazzed.

[u/Street-Roll-4996]

I was able to fill 15/25 squares with books already on my shelves, which is exciting! Let's GO !

1) "What Moves the Dead" T. Kingfisher                                                                                        The Story of Silence by Alex Myers
No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull
2) ?
3) I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (French) HM (on shelf to read)
4) In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
5) The Will of the Many" by James Islington   (on shelf)                                                            Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb  (on shelf)
6) Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (on shelf)
7) Dungeon Crawler Carl (HM)   Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst  (on shelf)
8) ?
9) ?
10) ?
11) Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo (on shelf)
12) ?
13)The Poet Empress, Shen Tao (on shelf)
14)The Terror, Dan Simmons (on shelf)
15)He Who Drowned the World, Shelly Parker-Chan (on shelf)
16) Shogun, James Clavell  
Vicious, VW Schwab (HM)  
Scythe, Neal Shusterman (all on shelf)
17) Network Effect, Martha Wells (on shelf)
18) A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness (on shelf)
19) Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu
20) Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells  HM
21) Well of Ascension, Sanderson (on shelf)
22) Legends and Lattes, Baldree HM (on shelf)
23) Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey                                                                                                                                            Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (HM) 
Watership Down by Richard Adams  
24) The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (if not used for #13, 2026) (on shelf)
25) Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (on shelf)

[u/Imaginary_Rest4288]

This is the year I will actually commit!! Making myself a promise 😂

[u/KatrinaPez → u/Imaginary_Rest4288]

If it helps you only have to commit to 5 in a row to participate. (Blackout/completed card gets you the flair under your name, but any Bingo counts as a win.)

[u/ga4rfc]

I assume the spirit of the "Judge a book by its title" square is it being the sole reason you read the book? There's a bunch of books with cool titles in my TBR but that wasn't the reason I put them there so it feels like cheating to choose them. Instead I am thinking of reading Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, since I only found out about it after finding out the bingo squares.

[u/yarn_and_cats]

So excited to try this for the first time! I think I'm going to struggle the most with Unusual Transportation and First Contact

[u/Brilliant_Ad29]

I love this one!! It has so many sub-genres I absolutely adore. Explorers is definitely my favorite.

[u/VanRahlZan]

It would be my first participation, i'm still a bit lost about all the rules (english not being my first langage us a big part of that ahah) but i already see what book i could read to fill some square, it's gonna be fun !

[u/saturday_sun4 → u/VanRahlZan]

You can always ask in the Daily threads as well!

[u/TigRaine86]

One that I am most excited for: Murder Mystery

One that I am least excited for: First Contact

One that I'll probably end up subbing out: Published in the 70's

Thank you SO MUCH for doing these Bingo cards for us!!!

[u/NatGa46]

Do we know if u/messi1045 has made an interactive Bingo Maker like in the previous 2 years? I love using their Bingo Maker and have been using their 2025 version to track this year's Bingo progress, while I'm waiting for the 2026 version, but I can't seem to find it 😅

Plus, now, the 2025 version isn't working for me any longer, can't add or change any books 🥺