2. Hmm . . . will have to put our heads together. I think that linear is still probably your best bet. I like the library floor plan idea–and so, I suspect, would librarians. It could look like an old-fashioned library where the roof has been lifted off, and the rooms have irregular shapes, and the pieces march along a path that goes in and out of the rooms. If you had enough rooms, each one could correspond to a subject, so if you’re in the “poetry room,” you have to guess poetry.

There are problems with that (you need multiple instances of each category as the pieces progress around the board), but I’m guessing that nostalgic, book-loving players like myself would love the “make believe” aspect of a more realistic looking game board. You could also do the library thing, I suppose, but ignore the theme rooms, or have the pieces travel over subject-labeled bookshelves . . . I guess the main thing is, even though the progression of the game doesn’t parallel something like Clue, it would be nice to have a board game that’s as fun to look at as Clue’s is.

3. Shhhh . . .

2. I’d be interested in alternative game board design ideas you might have. I had originally started with a library floor plan set out like Clue, but had problems making it come together in a way that didn’t make the play cumbersome. Should it be linear (start to finish) or free form like Clue? It never came together right, so we went with super simple.

3. Reading through your play-by-play, it struck me that the “Losers” should have had a final shot at matching the “Winners” in Round 12. First team to have the most books after completion of an entire round would win.

Thanks again!