The 2024 Natively Bingo Reading Challenge
The reading bingo challenge is a fun activity for readers of all levels to participate in if they wish! Anyone can join if they would like to, with no pressure to compete!
How To Set Up Your Bingo Card
You all submitted prompt ideas for the bingo squares, and the top 16 were voted on, giving us enough prompts to make a 4x4 bingo card!
You can create your own unique bingo card at https://bingobaker.com using the prompt list below.
Once your bingo card is created, you will get a unique serial number and link which you can add to the wiki post below this to bookmark it. This will be the card that you play with in 2024.
You can find the prompts for the bingo squares in the dropdown below. Feel free to adjust the wording however you like to get them to fit in the squares.
🏆Winning Prompts for 2024 - Use These to Make the Bingo Card🏆
- Read something with no reviews/gradings/ratings on Natively - 25 votes
- Read a book that you added to Natively - 23 votes
- Read the book that has been in your 積読/TBR pile the longest - 20 votes
- Read a book chosen randomly by lucky draw or with a qualifier from the qualifier list (see below) from your 積読/TBR pile - 20 votes
- Read a debut (an author’s first book, whether they’ve written more or not) - 19 votes
- Read an author you’ve never read before - 19 votes
- Read something that has won an award - 19 votes
- Finish a series (can be either one you are already reading or you can start a new one) - 18 votes
- Join/Participate in a Book Club - 18 votes
- Read something non-fiction - 16 votes
- Read 1 vol. or story (from a graded reader, for example) in a single day - 15 votes
- Read a book with a non human protagonist - 14 votes
- Read something at a higher Natively level than what you’ve read so far - 14 votes
- Read something from the free samples/something you can read for free (such as syosetsu, kakuyomu, tonarinoyj, etc) - 14 votes
- Read something where the setting is a workplace (any occupation is ok) - 14 votes
- Read a book with a bad cover / read a book you bought or wanted to read despite the cover - 13 votes
The Rules
- You only need to fill 4 squares to get a bingo, but you can fill more for additional bingos and a challenge.
- You will additionally have one “free space” that you can use to mark out any prompt you want, so use it wisely.
- If one book falls under two different prompts, it can only apply to one, so make your best choice.
- If you are unsure whether or not something counts towards a prompt, feel free to use your own best judgment – the goal is to learn and have fun and you know how you do that best!
If you want to make it more challenging, or change the way you play, check out the modification list below!
Modifications List
Up for a challenge? Check out the Modifications List
The prizes
The biggest prize is having fun reading in Japanese! But, for bragging rights you can “win” the following ranks that you can add to your natively profile’s about me section if you wish:
(Note: Suggested ranks - Actual rank names in discussion now)
Rank 1 - one bingo: 読者
Rank 2- two bingos: 本好き
Rank 3- three bingos: 本の虫
Rank 4 - four bingos: 司書
Rank 5 - all squares filled: 一目十行
Note: Further ways to display ranks are under discussion, but for now there is no further place to display them.
TBR Selection Qualifier List
You can use the list below for the prompt “Read a book chosen randomly by lucky draw or with a qualifier from the qualifier list (see below) from your 積読/TBR pile”
Expand me!
- Read the book you bought the earliest
- Read the latest book you bought
- Read the book published most recently
- Read the book published earliest
- Read the book with the shortest title
- Read the book with the longest title
- Read the book with the most colourful cover
- Read the book with the simplest cover
- Read a book with warm colours on the cover
- Read a book with cool colours on the cover
- Read the book with the darkest cover
- Read the book with the lightest cover
- Read a book by a male author
- Read a book by a female author
- Read the next book in a series you have started (if applicable)
- Read a book that you don’t remember why you bought/what it’s about
- Read the longest book in your pile
- Read the shortest book in your pile
- Read the easiest book in your pile
- Read the hardest book in your pile
- Start the book you hesitate to read the most
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we make a specific bingo card for beginners/manga/genre, etc.
This bingo board is meant to be general and for all levels so that anyone can participate. If there is an appetite for creating a beginner, intermediate, or advanced card or any other permutation, feel free to use any of the guidelines or suggestions/methods here for references and to organize!
Can we do this for Korean?
I’ve posted this on the Japanese forums to start with since we have a lot more readers here but I’m happy to look at adapting whatever the result here is for Korean if there is enough interest.
I see people talking about completing the card with as few books as possible, but I thought one book = one square?
The standard rules are that one book = one square, but there is a modification in the modification list to try and complete the card with as few books as possible.
I want to use one story/book/volume/whatever to complete a square, but I'm not sure if it counts.
You can feel free to use your best judgement, but if you aren’t sure you and want a second opinion, you can ask in the thread as well to hear what the community has to say.
Archive
Prompt Suggestion Guidelines & Prompts From 2023 - For Future Use
Prompt suggestion guidelines
- The challenge is meant for readers of all levels, so make sure your prompt suggestion is something that is also beginner friendly, i.e. could apply to a manga or short story
- Make sure to keep it general so that readers can use their creativity to complete it, i.e. suggest a specific genre instead of a specific author
How will the prompts be selected?
I will take all the suggested prompts and shuffle the order using a random number generator to create the layout of the bingo board.
If we get more than 16 total prompt suggestion, I will create run off polls where the 16 prompts with the most votes “win”.
(If this scenario occurs and we end up with ties for the lowest voted prompts, I will use a random number generator to select the winners in the interest of keeping things simple.)
- Read something with no reviews/gradings/ratings on Natively - 25 votes
- Read a book that you added to Natively - 23 votes
- Read the book that has been in your 積読/TBR pile the longest - 20 votes
- Read a book chosen randomly by lucky draw or with a qualifier from the qualifier list from your 積読/TBR pile - 20 votes
- Read a debut (an author’s first book, whether they’ve written more or not) - 19 votes
- Read an author you’ve never read before - 19 votes
- Read something that has won an award - 19 votes
- Finish a series (can be either one you are already reading or you can start a new one) - 18 votes
- Join/Participate in a Book Club - 18 votes
- Read something non-fiction - 16 votes
- Read 1 vol. in a single day - 15 votes
- Read a book with a non human protagonist - 14 votes
- Read something at a higher Natively level than what you’ve read so far - 14 votes
- Read something from the free samples/something you can read for free (such as syosetsu, kakuyomu, tonarinoyj, etc) - 14 votes
- Read something where the setting is a workplace (any occupation is ok) - 14 votes
- Read a book with a bad cover / read a book you bought or wanted to read despite the cover - 13 votes
- (2) Read something that hasn’t been translated into your native language - 13 votes
- (3) Read something with a one-character title - 13 votes
- Read a book that takes place, at least partially, at a 神社⛩️ - 12 votes
- Read a book published the year you started learning Japanese - 12 votes
- Read something spicy - 11 votes
- Read a book where at least one character speaks a dialect - 11 votes
- Read a book with only kanji in the title/no kanji in the title - 11 votes
- Read something published during or after 2020 - 11 votes
- Read something that is historical fiction - 10 votes
- Read the prettiest book you own - 10 votes
- Read the lowest-leveled book on your TBR list - 10 votes
- Read the second volume of a series - 10 votes
- Read something written before 1940 - 9 votes
- Read something chosen by someone else for you (can be from the forum or IRL people in your life, maybe someone random working in a nearby café) - 8 votes
- Read something with a food related title - 8 votes
- Read something suggested by the site you buy content from that you would normally ignore - 8 votes
- Read something wholesome - 8 votes
- Read a book suggested by the “what do I read next” megathread - 7 votes
- Read a book that contains not even a mention of a middle- or high-schooler - 7 votes
- Read a book where the author shares a kana initial with you - 7 votes
- Read something with elderly main characters - 7 votes
- Read something with no other adaption - 7 votes
- Read something nostalgic - 6 votes
- Read something that has a different media adaption - 5 votes
- Read the cheapest (but not free) book you own - 4 votes
- Read a fiction version of a non fiction book - 2 votes