Another year, another bingo challenge! Back by popular demand, this time for all languages!
The 2025 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!
Link to 2024 bingo thread for reference: 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge ☑️
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
- Since bingo is open to all languages this year, try and ensure your prompts are language/country agnostic and could apply to books from different languages (i.e., workplace is fine but “takes place in a shrine” is more difficult)
How It Works!
Just like we did last year, everyone can suggest prompt ideas until November 15th and we will vote on them to decide on what will be on the bingo squares. This year we will go with a 5x5 25 square card by popular demand - 25 for 2025 !
Once we have the winning prompts, you will be able to create your own unique bingo card at https://bingobaker.com (or using your favorite image editing tool) and play along, marking off a square with each book you read that matches a prompt.
Optional - when you create a bingo card at bingobaker, you will receive 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 2025.
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 25 total prompt suggestion, I will create run off polls where the 25 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.)
The Rules
- You only need to fill 5 squares in a row 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!
Difficulty Modifiers
If you want to make it more challenging, or change the way you play, check out the modification list below! (Copied from 2024)
Modifiers
- Take on the bingo challenge with only one type of book (manga, LN, novel, etc.)
- Take on the bingo challenge reading only books from your backlog
- Take on the bingo challenge without reading any books from your backlog (RIP your backlog )
- If any of the books you read has a different media adaption, also consume that media adaption
- Read only books that no one else has (at the time) used for their challenge
- No books you fill out the challenge with can be the same level
- All books you read are either physical or digital; no mixing
- Each book title/author read must start with a different syllable (e.g.: can’t read two books whose titles start with か)
- Bingo entries must abide by shiritori rules
- Extra spicy: your final book title must end with ん
- Fill your bingo card with books from just one genre
- Don’t use your free space
- Finish your bingo with as few books as possible (one book counting for multiple spaces)
- Extra spicy: read a single book that qualifies for an entire bingo line
The prizes
The biggest prize is having fun reading in your target language! But, for bragging rights you can “win” the right to put the number of bingos you got in your natively profile.
(bungakushoujo side note: Prize titles were not utilized very much in the 2024 thread, so I have not included them in 2025’s challenge unless there is demand for bringing them back in a language agnostic form)
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!
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.