Shelve the Book
A simple card game not just for librarians
Game Rules
The game is designed for two to five players. Players take on the role of librarians who organize books on shelves. They gradually place five books on each of three shelves, and at the end of the game, they tally up points for well-organized books. The player with the highest score wins.
Sorting Options
Points can be earned by sorting books according to one of four sorting categories – academic field, cover color, author's last name, and accession number. Points are awarded for cards adjacent to each other on the same shelf (row) that have the same academic field and/or the same cover color and/or are sorted alphabetically and/or their numbers form an ascending or descending sequence. Alphabetical sorting can also be done in "reverse," and a minimum of three adjacent cards is required for scoring.
Game Setup
At the start, each player receives one card. From the draw pile, a number of cards equal to the number of players plus one is flipped face up into a shared offer. The player with the lowest number on the card in their hand starts.
Playing Cards
Players will gradually place cards into their shelves until each player has filled their three shelves with five books each. When placing cards on the table, they must proceed as follows:
- The first card can be placed anywhere (of course).
- Every subsequent card must be placed so that it is vertically or horizontally adjacent to a previously placed card.
- The final result must be a 5×3 matrix of cards, i.e., three shelves with five books each, perfectly aligned (no row may stick out).
- Once placed, a card cannot be moved later.
An example of a game in progress with possibilities for further card placement is shown in the following image.
Player's Turn
Players take turns in a clockwise direction. During their turn, each player chooses whether to:
- draw one card from the face-up offer or
- draw two cards from the draw pile.
In the first case, the player will choose from two cards in their hand, placing one on their shelves. The card offer on the table is then replenished from the deck.
In the second case, the player will have a choice of three cards, placing one in front of them and returning one face down to the top of the draw pile. They may even return a card they originally held in their hand (i.e., not one they just drew).
If the draw pile "runs out" (i.e., contains one or zero cards), players may only choose from the face-up cards in the center of the table.
End of the Game
After each player has placed 15 book cards, the game ends. Each player tallies their points for their combinations, and the one with the most points wins. To score a combination, a minimum of three adjacent books must satisfy a condition. Larger sets of four or five books earn more points. Possible combinations include:
- Identical book cover colors side by side.
- Identical academic discipline symbols side by side.
- A "sequence" of numbers or names. Numbers do not have to be consecutive; what matters is an ascending or descending order.
Scoring
- Triplet = 1 point
- Quadruplet = 3 points
- Quintuplet = 5 points
A single book can be part of multiple combinations. For a sequence, a situation may occur where there are two triplets – one descending and one ascending. In that case, each triplet earns one point.
Scoring Example
The top shelf contains:
- A sequence of five accession numbers – 5 points.
- A triplet of identical academic discipline symbols – 1 point.
- A triplet of identical cover colors – 1 point.
- A triplet of authors in alphabetical order (Greenspan – Marx – Nietzsche) – 1 point.
The middle shelf contains:
- A triplet of identical cover colors – 5 points.
- Two sequences of numeric sequences (6–7–65 and 20–33–65) – 2 points.
- Two sequences of name sequences (Blackwell–Einstein–Jung and Austin–Hegel–Jung) – 2 points.
The bottom shelf contains:
- A quintuplet of identical academic discipline symbols – 5 points.
- A quintuplet of authors in alphabetical order (reversed) – 5 points.
- A sequence of three accession numbers – 1 point.
In total, the player scores 8 + 9 + 11 = 28 points.