Bookstore events that bring readers back through the door
Most people who come into a bookstore head for the shelf they already know, pick something up, and leave. A Let's Tingo board walks them past the rest of the shop. We build a bookstore scavenger hunt with you, a bingo board of shelves, books and corners of your store worth finding, and your customers play it as they browse.
Each player gets their own board from the same list of finds, and the first to fill five in a row calls a Tingo. The regular who only ever visits the mystery section ends up in poetry, and the staff picks table gets the attention you put into it.
How it works for your customers
A QR code on a sign by the register, on a bookmark or on a flyer in the window is all it takes. People scan it, join in a tap, and get their board. Joining is free for them, in the app or in a browser.
Friends and families work their way through the shop together, calling out the store cat and the signed copy on the front table, taking down books they'd never have picked up otherwise.
A bookstore scavenger hunt around your own shelves
You know which sections people walk straight past, and those are the ones to put on the board. A find like "Local author shelf" or "Map inside a cover" sends people into the corners of the store, and a find like "Author signing" brings them to the evenings you work hard to fill.
We write the board with you, from your knowledge of the store and your regulars and ours of what makes a good find. The board carries your name, your colors and your logo.
Bookstore event ideas that run all month
A board doesn't have to be one evening. Set it to end when the month does, and people come back more than once to finish it. For a launch party, a signing or the store's birthday, make it a join-any-time game, so people who arrive late can jump in halfway through.
Families who come in on a Saturday morning can play one too, working through the children's section and the picture books together.
A prize that keeps them coming in
Turn it into a sponsored game and the board ends in a prize drawing. Players who hit the Tingo target before the game ends are entered, they can see how many people are playing and how many have qualified, and one winner is drawn when time runs out. A signed first edition or a store gift card gives people a reason to see every shelf.
Bookstore event ideas for your board
These are the kind of finds that make good bookstore events. Your board would be built around your own shelves and the people who come in.
On the shelves
- Dog on a cover
- Staff pick card
- Signed copy
- Map inside a cover
- Poetry shelf
- Local author shelf
- Graphic novel
- Cookbook
- Travel guide
- Hardcover classic
- Ribbon bookmark
- Blue spine
Around the store
- Store cat
- Reading chair
- Rolling ladder
- Window display
- Bookmark rack
- Used book cart
- Gift wrap station
- Children's corner
- Hand-lettered sign
- Bargain table
- Puzzle shelf
- Store tote bag
At your events
- Author signing
- Story time rug
- Book club table
- Launch party cake
- Author photo
- Open mic
- Trivia night
- Coffee urn
- Event poster
- Name tag
- Signing line
- Microphone stand
Let's build a board for your bookstore
Tell us about your store: what you stock, who comes through the door, and what you most want them to find. We'll come back with ideas for what a Tingo board could look like on your shelves. Let's Tingo works the same way for library scavenger hunts, Main Street events and farmers market events, and you'll find everything else we build on our partners page.