If you aren’t aware, every year, the massive r/Fantasy Reddit publishes a reading bingo sheet.
If you complete the entire card (and turn it in during a form they post the following March) you get a “Reading Champion” flair in the subreddit. If you do this for multiple years, they’ll increment your title to “Reading Champion II”, “III,” etc.
I like to publish a guide for completing the bingo in the genres I write in (LitRPG/progression), but this year I wanted to encourage my kids to attempt it (not for Reddit flair, just for fun), and as I started thinking about making suggestions for them, I thought: “Why not make a second guide?”
So here we are!
I didn’t leave their full rules for each square in this post to enhance readability, but you can find them in their 2025 thread if you’re curious.
bold = completes challenge
Italics = completes hard mode of challenge
1. Knights and Paladins:
One of the protagonists is a paladin or knight. HARD MODE: The character has an oath or promise to keep.
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
First Test by Tamora Pierce
2. Hidden Gem:
A book with under 1,000 ratings on Goodreads. New releases and ARCs from popular authors do not count. Follow the spirit of the square! HARD MODE: Published more than five years ago.
Away is a Strange Place to Be by H.M. Hoover
Weirdos of the Universe, Unite! By Pamela F. Service
Winter of Magic’s Return by Pamela F. Service
Orphan Planet by Rex Burke
Replacement by Jordan Rivet
BETA by M.T. Zimny (will count as hard mode after September if it doesn’t get a lot of reviews before then)
Monster Makers, Inc. by Laurence Yep
3. Published in the 80s:
HARD MODE: Written by an author of color.
Space Demons by Gillian Rubinstein
This Time of Darkness by H.M. Hoover
The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts
Monster Makers, Inc. by Laurence Yep
4. High Fashion:
Read a book where clothing/fashion or fiber arts are important to the plot. HARD MODE: The main character makes clothes or fibers.
Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
5. Down With the System:
Read a book in which a main plot revolves around disrupting a system. HARD MODE: Not a governmental system.
Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Maze Runner Series by James Dashner
6. Impossible Places:
Read a book set in a location that would break a physicist. The geometry? Non-Euclidean. The volume? Bigger on the inside. The directions? Merely a suggestion. HARD MODE: At least 50% of the book takes place within the impossible place.
Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar
The Wizard’s Dilemma (#5 in Young Wizards series) by Diane Duane
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron
7. A Book in Parts:
Read a book that is separated into large sections within the main text. This can include things like acts, parts, days, years, and so on but has to be more than just chapter breaks. HARD MODE: The book has 4 or more parts.
8. Gods and Pantheons:
Read a book featuring divine beings. HARD MODE: There are multiple pantheons involved.
Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones
The Immortals series by Tamora Pierce
Percy Jackson & the Olympians by Rick Riordan (or his other series based on other pantheons, such as the Kane Chronicles)
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
9. Last in a Series:
Read the final entry in a series. HARD MODE: The series is 4 or more books long.
There are lots that count here, but here are a few suitable series I can recommend that are exactly 4 books long:
Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede
The Time Quartet by Madeline L’Engle
The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale
My Teacher is an Alien by Bruce Coville
The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville
Rod Albright Series by Bruce Coville
The New Magic Trilogy by Pamela F. Service (yes, it’s called that, yes, there are four books)
The Immortals series by Tamora Pierce
Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce
10. Book Club or Readalong Book:
Read a book that was or is officially a group read on r/Fantasy. Every book on this Google Sheet counts for this square. HARD MODE: Read and participate in an r/Fantasy book club or readalong during the Bingo year.
Hard mode is doing a current book club book and joining in the discussion. Y’all on your own with that, but these are all YA books that count for the normal version of the square:
Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Markswoman by Rati Mehrota
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tabir
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso
Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorfor
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
I Was a Teenage Weredeer by C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus
11. Parent Protagonist:
Read a book where a main character has a child to care for. The child does not have to be biologically related to the character. HARD MODE: The child is also a major character in the story.
Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
Legend of Luke by Brian Jacques
Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
12. Epistolary:
The book must prominently feature any of the following: diary or journal entries, letters, messages, newspaper clippings, transcripts, etc. HARD MODE: The book is told entirely in epistolary format.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
13. Published in 2025:
HARD MODE: It’s also the author’s first published novel.
14. Author of Color:
HARD MODE: Read a horror novel by an author of color.
Elatsoe by Darcy Little Badger
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorfor
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tabir
Markswoman by Rati Mehrota
Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep
I am sure there are more out there! Please let me know about authors of color I’m missing, especially if anyone knows of a book that counts for hard mode here.
15. Small Press or Self Published:
HARD MODE: The book has under 100 ratings on Goodreads OR written by a marginalized author.
Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain by Richard Roberts
Orphan Planet by Rex Burke
Replacement by Jordan Rivet
All the Dust that Falls by Zaifyr
BETA by M.T. Zimny
16. Biopunk:
Read a book that focuses on biotechnology and/or its consequences. HARD MODE: There is no electricity-based technology.
Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards
Monster Makers, Inc. by Laurence Yep
Goosebumps #2: Stay Out of the Basement by R.L. Stine
17. Elves and/or Dwarves:
HARD MODE: The main character is an elf or a dwarf.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
18. LGBTQIA Protagonist:
HARD MODE: The character is marginalized on at least one additional axis, such as being a person of color, disabled, a member of an ethnic/religious/cultural minority in the story, etc.
Elatsoe by Darcy Little Badger
Scholomance by Naomi Novik
Dreadnought by April Daniels
19. Five SFF Short Stories:
Any short SFF story as long as there are five of them. HARD MODE: Read an entire SFF anthology or collection.
20. Stranger in a Strange Land:
HARD MODE: The main character is an immigrant or refugee.
Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Joust by Mercedes Lackey
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Neverending Story by Michael Ende
Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
21. Recycle a Bingo Square:
Use a square from a previous year (2015-2024) HARD MODE: Do the old hard mode
22. Cozy SFF:
“Cozy” is up to your preferences for what you find comforting, but the genre typically features: relatable characters, low stakes, minimal conflict, and a happy ending. HARD MODE: The author is new to you.
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards
All the Dust that Falls by Zaifyr
Haley and Nana’s Cozy Armageddon by M.C. Hogarth
23. Generic Title:
Read a book that has one or more of the following words in the title: blood, bone, broken, court, dark, shadow, song, sword, or throne (plural is allowed). HARD MODE: The title contains more than one of the listed words or contains at least one word and a color, number, or animal (real or mythical).
Court Duel by Sherwood Smith (#2 of Crown & Court Duet)
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
24. Not A Book:
Do something new besides reading a book! Watch a TV show, play a game, learn how to summon a demon! Hard mode: post a review
25. Pirates:
Read a book where characters engage in piracy. HARD MODE: Not a seafaring pirate.
Cytonic (Skyward #3) by Brandon Sanderson
Tress and the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Pippi Goes on Board by Astrid Lindgren
Please let me know if you have any other suggestions, and I’ll add them to the list!