Plot Twist Book Exchange Game

This plot twist book exchange game is one of the most fun ways to exchange books with friends! Play it at a book club, at a girls night, or even at a bookstore where you want to exchange used books!

I love doing gift exchanges during the holidays and at favorite things parties. This year for our annual reading retreat I thought it would be fun to do a book swap but instead of just doing a book exchange, I thought it’d be fun to turn it into something similar to a holiday gift exchange with books involved!

So I told everyone to bring a pretty book to exchange – something with sprayed edges, a signature copy, etc. You could absolutely just do it with used books or bookish gifts or really anything book related, everyone just needs to bring something to do with the theme.

Honestly, you could even just do this with any of these gift exchange themes as well, just with a book club. Or not – it’s really fun regardless.

Why You’ll Love This game

• Book themed – the prompts are all book themed using common plot twists you’ll find in all sorts of books!
• Works for a big group – I have variations available for both a smaller group and a bigger group, just by adding in additional sets of cards!
• Easy to setup – as long as everyone brings something to swap, all you have to do is print and cut out the cards to prep!

How to Setup the Plot Twist Game

Just like with my gift exchange card game, the setup for this one is super simple.

Assign everyone to bring something like I mentioned above. Books, bookish items, book baskets, you name it. Decide on a theme and tell people to bring something to exchange to participate. No need to wrap anything!

You provide a couple of extra items that will be in the center and get added into the game with various cards. I recommend making these ones you’re okay keeping afterwards in case no one ends up with them.

Print and cut out the plot twist exchange cards using my instructions in the printable PDF based on the number of people playing. There are instructions that explain which cards go for round 1 versus round 2-3 depending on the number of people playing.

There are four different colors of cards in the PDF (only green cards are shown in the photos but there are four colors in the actual game):

• Purple – round 1 special cards
• Yellow – round 1 regular cards
• Red – round 2-3 special cards
• Green – round 2-3 regular cards

How to play

When you’re ready to play, have everyone put their item in a pile on a table (or floor or ottoman) in the center of the group. Then you as the host just randomly pass them out so that everyone has an item that is not their own.

Have everyone sit in a circle with their item visible in front of them or in their hands. You want everyone to be able to see what everyone has the entire game.

Place your extra items in the center of the group. Then choose who is going to start the game and hand them the bag with the plot twist cards in it.

How the Game is Played

This game is played in three rounds regardless of how many people you have playing. There is a card that ends a round immediately (and one that can end the game as well), so you’ll likely end up playing closer to two rounds, but you’re going to say three rounds.

1. The first person chooses a card out of the bag, reads it out loud, and completes whatever action it says on the card.
2. They pass the bag clockwise and the next person does the same.
3. Keep going around the circle until you get back to the spot (it may not be the person if people swapped spots) in the circle that you started the game. This is one round.
4. Play a second round (and a third round if you’d like) using the bag of round 2 and on cards.
5. At the end of the final round, the game is over and everyone keeps whatever is in their hand.
6. As the host, you keep whatever items are “dead” or still in the center area. I’ll explain what a dead item means in the card explanations below.

Plot Twist Card Descriptions

Since the game play and cards are a little more unique than say our 12 days of Christmas gift exchange, I’ve included descriptions below to help answer questions that may come up as you play!

That being said, all the cards have very specific instructions them so hopefully you won’t even need these!

The game is created for 12 people to play card wise, but I’ve included details in the printable PDF on how to choose your cards for more or less than that to make sure you get a good mix of cards!

Basic Switching Cards

These ones are pretty self-explanatory and will make up the majority of the cards.

• Everyone pass cards – these are cards that say things like “everyone pass three times to the left.” Just follow the instructions and everyone in the entire circle passes their item based on what the card says.
• You swap cards – these are things like “swap with anyone who has the same eye color,” “swap with anyone who has the same birthdate” as you. Just the person whose turn it is switches their item with anyone of their choosing that meets the description on the card.
• Switch your item – similar to the one above, there are cards that say switch your item with the person on your left/right/etc. Just the individual switches their item based on the cards description.
• Switch seat cards – these say things like switch with anyone on the other side, and the individual whose turn it is chooses someone to switch seats with. Leave your items in the seat you leave.
• Multiple action cards – some of the cards have you doing two basic actions like switching with the item on your right and then switching with the item on your left. It’s just mixing things up even more but still basic actions.

Frozen Cards

There are a number of cards that talk about freezing items, items being frozen, and items being unfrozen. Here’s how those work.

• Freeze your item – if a card says to freeze your item, they can choose to freeze their item, meaning the item is frozen so no one can swap for it and it doesn’t move with any of the basic actions above. The player who has the frozen item is also frozen so their turn is skipped unless the frozen item comes back into the game. They are NOT out of the game, just frozen.
• Freeze for this round – there are also cards that say to freeze for just this round. If that’s the case, it’s frozen until the round ends and then back in play.
• Unfreeze or frozen items back in play – these are cards that say frozen items are now back in play. This means that any items that are frozen are no longer frozen and are back into the game just like at the beginning before they were frozen. If one of these cards is played and that card also says that the person can switch their item with someone, the unfreezing happens first and then the person can switch with one of the frozen items.

Dead Item Cards

Now this is where the game starts to really bring in the plot twists because have you ever done a gift exchange where items die? Didn’t think so and these kind of cards are ones that make this book club game so fun because no one will see it coming!

• Death cards – these cards indicate a death happened and tell you to remove your item from the game. Just place the item in a dead pile, they may come back to life later on but for now they’re out of the game. If any items are in the dead pile at the end of the game, they go to the host. Or you as the host can raffle them off to random people if you’d prefer! If someone gets a death card, they replace their “dead” item with one from the center.
• Back from the dead cards – these are just what you think they are. If someone plays this and there are any dead items, bring them back into play and they can be swapped for just like any other item!

Center Swap Cards

Another fun element of this plot twist exchange is cards that have you swapping with items in the center. They aren’t anyone’s books, they’re just extras that are in the center.

And they’re not always in play so if you know that you want a chance to get something, putting it in the center is not a great idea because it may never come out!

Any items in the center at the end of the game will go to the host (since she put in the original items in the center) or again as the host you can give them out or raffle them off!

• Swap with center – this is as straightforward as it seems, just swap your item with one of your choosing from the center! These might also be combined with a different action as well such as switch with your right then switch with the center.

Additional Plot Twist Cards

There are a handful of cards in the deck that are major twists that will alter the game completely. I’ve included basic explanations below to help you know how to handle these cards!

• Add a round – the add a round card does just that, adds one more round around the circle than you originally agreed to play. So if you said you were going to play two rounds, you’ll play three rounds.
• Round ends – if a card says the round ends, that round ends immediately without anyone still remaining in the round getting their turn. Go back to where the round started and move onto your next round. If it’s your final round, the game is over (after following the instructions on the card).
• Deux Ex Machina card – this one isn’t a huge change but it does require a six-sided die so as the host just make sure you have that handy or just don’t include this card.
• End the game right now – there is one card that allows a person to end the game immediately if they choose or swap with everyone else and keep playing.

More Book Club Ideas

Combine this book exchange game with one of these other book club ideas for the ultimate book party!

• Books to read – a must-read list of books for the year! Great for choosing a book club book!

Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the printable free download PDF. You will receive a link to download the PDF to your email within minutes. Print on card stock and you’re on your way.

If you’d prefer to not provide your email address, you can get a copy in my shop here.

If you do not see the form, click here to get to it.

If you do not see the email with the printable design templates immediately after you fill out the form, make sure to check your promotions, spam, and junk folders!

The file will include:

• 36 Plot Twist Book Exchange Cards
• Instructions
• Use policy – everything is for personal use only