My Shelfie Set Collection Game Overview

We were at Origins Game Fair recently and I wanted to take a selfie with someone. A friend offered to take it, but I reminded them it isn’t a selfie if someone else takes it. I kind of giggled to myself because ever since I heard a character on Ted Lasso refer to them as ussies (since they’re taken of “us”), I’ve wanted to call them that instead. Funny how such a modern term can take on a life of its own. I don’t know if other hobbyists have a term for showing off their collection, but for tabletop gamers, taking a picture of your shelf of games is referred to as a “shelfie”. So while the title of the game, My Shelfie from Lucky Duck Games, might not make sense to everyone, it totally resonates with gamers.

At its heart, My Shelfie is a set collection drafting game with the feel of a version of Connect 4. Each player has their own upright bookshelf along with a randomly drawn Personal Goal Card. To begin the game, all item tiles are placed in the draw bag and the Living Room Board goes in center of the table. Two Common Goal Cards are set alongside the board with scoring tokens stacked based on the player count. Draw item tiles and randomly add them face-up to the Living Room Board in the area that coincides with whether there are two, three or four people playing.

There are a few ways to score points in My Shelfie. One is based on your ability to align tiles to correspond to your personal goal. Another is to earn scoring tokens for achieving the community goals. Third relates to adjacency of similar items on your bookshelf. Finally, the first person to fill their bookshelf earns one point for the End Game Token.

There are a lot of games that involve drafting tiles, but My Shelfie has similarities to Mahjong or Dragon Castle in what you’re able to select. On your turn, you make take 1, 2 or 3 tiles from the Living Room Board, but they must all be adjacent, in a straight line and independently accessible. In other words, everything you attempt to grab needs to be along an edge.

Once drafted, you must add all items selected that turn to the same column of your bookshelf. You can drop them in whatever order you please, but they all must go into the same slot without overflowing. The living room isn’t refilled until there are four or fewer tiles on the board at the end of someone’s turn. When that happens, remaining tiles are returned to the bag and the board is refilled in the same manner as the beginning of the game.

The end of the game is triggered when someone has completely filled their bookcase. The round is completed so all players have an equal number of turns then scoring is done based on the above-mentioned criteria. It might seem like it would be easy to align like items or match the common or personal goal cards, but it isn’t. You’ll feel compelled to always draw 2-3 tiles, but often they won’t align like you want. There’s a definite balancing act where you may have to sacrifice a grouping in order to fulfill a goal card.

With such simple drafting and scoring rules, younger players can certainly learn to play My Shelfie. It’s quick to set up and the gameplay flows well. If you’re inclined to add this to your game collection, ask about availability at your local game store, add one to your Amazon cart or order direct from Lucky Duck Games. Following award-winning titles like Flamecraft, Destinies and Chronicles of Crime, the company is bursting at the seams with new releases. Catch up on the latest news on their social channels, starting with Facebook or Instagram.

When was the last time you took a selfie, ussie or shelfie?