From Classics to MMORPG: #CYBILS2024 Games & Puzzles Book List

Welcome to the #CYBILS2024 Game & Puzzle Emporium … book list style. Make your move on with classic puzzles like Rubik’s Cube, perennial favorite chess; online and roleplaying games, and, last but not least, adventurous quests and escape rooms. And in case you were wondering, there is (a lot) more to these stories than competition and winning.

friendship challenges
loyalty tests
family riddles
undiscovered history
hidden battles of the heart
identity and self esteem searches

#CYBILS2024 List of Sports-Themed Books

A book included in this list doesn’t imply anything about its eligibility for a CYBILS Award, nor is it an endorsement.

This post contains buy links which earn the CYBILS Awards advertising fees through Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates.

Book covers link to Goodreads. Blurbs extracted from Goodreads.

Break the Game (Spellbinder, #2)

After leveling up from basement roleplaying games to saving an entire magical realm, Ben (12) has no interest in returning to a life with homework and chores. So when his very un-magical LARP session is crashed by monstrous frog-men from another dimension, he can't wait to get back into hero mode. Someone is after all the Spellbinder’s books, which grant the users — including Ben — epic reality-shifting powers. Ben, and his friends must embark on an epic quest to save the books and their owners. Best. Spring Break. Ever.
EMG Speculative Fiction submission, 2024

Didn’t See That Coming

Kiki Siregar (17) is a fabulous gamer with a lot of confidence. She can’t help but be totally herself… except when she’s online. Her secret? She plays anonymously as a guy to avoid harassment from other male players. Even her online best friend—a cinnamon roll of a teen boy who plays under the username Sourdawg—doesn’t know her true identity. Which is fine, because Kiki doesn’t know his real name either, and it’s not like they’re ever going to cross paths IRL. Until she transfers to an elite private school for her senior year and discovers that Sourdawg goes there, too. But who is he? How will he react when he finds out Kiki’s secret? And what happens when Kiki realizes she’s falling for her online BFF?
Young Adult Fiction nominee, 2024

Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial (Dungeon Runners, 1)

Kit has dreamed of being a Dungeon Runner all his life, although being a gnorf (part gnome, part dwarf) means he's much smaller than the other competitors. When a space opens up for a new team in the Dungeon Running League, Kit is in. With his new friends Sandy and Thorn, they're ready to take on anything - mazes, puzzles, monsters, treasure and most of all adventure!
EMG Speculative Fiction submission, 2024

Dungeons and Drama (Dungeons and Drama, #1)

Riley has big aspirations to become a director on Broadway. Crucial to this plan is to bring back her high school’s spring musical, but when Riley takes her mom’s car without permission, she's grounded and stuck spending her after-school hours working at her dad’s game shop. Riley has a musical to save, so she convinces Nathan—a nerdy teen employee—to cover her shifts. In exchange, she’ll flirt with him to make his gamer-girl crush jealous. But Riley didn’t realize that meant joining Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game…or that role playing would be so fun. Soon, Riley starts to think that flirting with Nathan doesn't require as much acting as she would've thought...
Young Adult Fiction nominee, 2024

Erno Rubik and His Magic Cube

A solitary child, Erno Rubik grew up in post-World War II Hungary obsessed with puzzles, art, nature, and the underlying patterns and structures. He became a professor of art, architecture, and design, who was still fascinated with how objects work together, sometimes becoming greater than their components. In a quest to help his students understand three-dimensional objects and how they move—not to mention a desire to entertain himself—he fashioned a cube whose pieces twisted and turned without breaking, and unexpectedly invented the Rubik's Cube, the most popular puzzle in history, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024.
Elementary Nonfiction nominee, 2024

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library: The Graphic Novel

When Kyle learns that the world's most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town's new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, he's determined to be there! But the tricky part isn't getting into the library--it's getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route!
Elementary/Middle-Grade Graphic Novel nominee, 2024

A Game Most Foul

Attending the prestigious Ashford College’s writing seminar is a dream come true for Jules Montgomery, but the summer isn’t unfolding as she hoped. Navigating London with her gradual hearing loss is difficult, and hiding it from her classmates is a challenge. When a fellow student goes missing, neither the police nor their teacher, Professor Watson, seem that concerned. Jules and her new friends Percy and Suruthi are determined to get to the bottom of the case and they’re not the strange man who frequents Jules’ aunt’s antique shop is eager to help—and his name is none other than Sherlock Holmes.
Young Adult Fiction submission, 2024

A Game of Noctis

In the opulent, sinking city of Dantessa, the Great Game rules all. Pia Paro believes that so long as you follow the rules, you always have a chance at winning. But after her beloved Gramps is sentenced to a life of servitude, Pia accepts a dangerous offer and joins a team of players seeking to win the most perilous game of Noctis. Soon after joining her new team, the Seafoxes, With her grandfather’s life at stake, Pia must decide whether she’s brave enough to not just break the rules, but to change the very nature of the Game.
Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction nominee, 2024

Gamerville

Max Lightning is howling at the moon—he’s finally qualified for Gamerville, a championship where players compete to be top dog in the multiplayer video game Lone Wolf of Calamity Bay. But his dreams of domination are doomed when his parents send him to Camp Refresh. Gone are the long nights of downing energy drinks and getting copious amounts of screen time. They've been replaced with fresh air and group activities under the hot sun—a shock to the system for a lone wolf like Max. Can Max escape Camp Refresh and level up at Gamerville, or has he finally played his last match?
Elementary/Middle-Grade Graphic Novel nominee, 2024

Get the Party Started (DnDoggos #1)

They've picked their characters and favorite dice, and are ready to set off on the adventure their game master Magnus has created for them. Pickles, Tonka, and Zoey are given a quest to fetch a magical dog collar from a nearby swamp. When they triumphantly return, they soon find that the collar isn't the only thing that has gone missing. All the squeaky toys in town have disappeared and Squish, the mayor's young son, has set off on his own to find them. It's up to the Doggos to rescue Squish, track down the missing toys, and save the day!
Elementary/Middle-Grade Graphic Novel nominee, 2024

Lion’s Game, volume 1: Masters of Mali (Lion’s Game, 1)

After the assassination of one of Mali’s greatest kings. The traitors behind the coup set out to erase his legacy from Mali’s history. Their efforts fail when the youngest princess of Mali escapes with her newborn child to the Tuareg tribes in the Sahara. The exiled princess swears an oath of vengeance against the family that unjustly stole Mali’s throne. That oath becomes her legacy and is passed down through the generations to her descendants. Diata is the heir who carries his family’s vendetta against the Keita. When word of the tournament reaches his clan. Diata sees his opportunity to get close to the enemy. To become the next general, he needs to make his way through several mercenaries, a pirate king, and dozens of other warriors bred for war on the battlefield.
Young Adult Graphic Novel submission, 2024

May the Best Player Win

May Li's middle-school chess team just earned a victory at the state championship—and with it, a ticket to nationals. What’s even more exciting is May got a splashy feature in the biggest chess magazine in the country for being the top female player. May should be thrilled, but some of her teammates, aren’t too pleased with the attention she’s getting—and they’re even questioning her skills. Anxious feelings begin to affect her performance and, what’s worse, eat away at her love for the game. Now May is left to wonder: Can you still play for fun when you’re playing to win?
Elementary/Middle-Grade Fiction nominee, 2024

Mr. Fox’s Game of No!

Can you beat Mr. Fox at his Game of No? The rules are simple: every time he asks a question, you must respond with “NO.” If you accidentally say “YES,” then it’s back to the beginning of the book for you. Kids will giggle uncontrollably as they gamely aim to avoid Mr. Fox’s clever traps.
Fiction Picture Book nominee, 2024

The Mystery of Locked Rooms (The Delta Games, 1)

Twelve-year-old Sarah Greene wants nothing more from her seventh-grade year than to beat the hardest escape room left in her town with her best friends, West, and Hannah. As soon as they're in she immediately worries that attempting the funhouse is a bad idea but Sarah has no choice but to continue, since her future is at stake.
Elementary/Middle-Grade Fiction nominee, 2024

Puzzleheart

Perigee (12) has never met a problem they couldn’t solve. So when their Dad’s spirits need raising, Perigee formulates the perfect road trip to Dad’s childhood home to reunite him with his estranged mother. There's something in it for Perigee, too, as they will finally get to visit “Eklunds' Puzzle House,” the mysterious bed & breakfast their grandparents built but never opened. Deadly puzzles pop up at every turn, knives spin in the hallways, and staircases disappear. The answer lies at the heart of the House, but in order to find it, Perigee and their new friend Lily will need to solve a long-lost, decades-old riddle… if the House itself doesn’t stop them first.
EMG Speculative Fiction nominee, 2024

Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games

This is an inviting introduction to what TTRPGs are, why they matter, and how readers can get involved. And like any popular guide to arcana, this book is geared toward an audience of gamers, non-gamers, and general readers alike. Equal parts enlightening, adventurous, and approachable, this appealing graphic nonfiction book is one that everyone can enjoy!
Young Adult Graphic Novel nominee, 2024

Table Titans Club (Table Titans Club #1)

Valeria Winters has an easier time finding trouble than making friends. A fantasy-obsessed nerd with the legendary confidence—and temper—of a Valkyrie, Val promises her mom that things will be different at her new school. As if by fate, she meets the Table Titans, the school’s tabletop gaming club. Finally, Val has found her own adventuring party! And even better . . . a place where she belongs. So when the future of the club is threatened, Val makes it her personal quest to save the Table Titans. She’ll have to face the fire-breathing wrestling coach and popular girl Kate, who seems out for revenge. Revenge for what? Val has no clue.
Elementary/Middle-Grade Graphic Novel nominee, 2024

Twelfth Knight

When her painstakingly crafted tabletop game campaign was shot down, Viola Reyes best friend suggests she try being more “likable.” Being VP to Student body president and running back Jack Orsino isn't easy either. And then there is Twelfth Knight, Vi’s favorite escape from the world. But MMORPGs aren't kind to girls who are extremely competent and have the swagger to prove it. So Vi creates a masculine alter ego, a knight named Cesario. Then comes the alarming discovery that Cesario and Duke Orsino surprisingly well-matched. Before long, Vi and Jack become more than just weapon-wielding characters in an online game. But Vi has been concealing her true identity from Jack, and Jack might just be falling for her offline…
Young Adult Fiction nominee, 2024