Nerd Games - Winter 2026

[LovelyMiss (Ashley - Nerd Games Chief Morale Officer)]

Welcome to the Nerd Games!

Runs January 1, 2026 - March 31, 2026

This is a craftalong where nerdy crafters all over the world can share our projects and give each other encouragement - that’s really all there is to it! If you feel you might be a nerd, or enjoy some nerdy things of any kind, or if you’re just nerdy about crafting, you’re more than welcome here!

HOW TO JOIN

Simply make any craft, take photos of it, and post them in this group with the following header, which will be explained below:

Prompt: (Write the name of the prompt you are entering your craft for here. Don’t forget to include the month!)
Team: (Choose one of three, listed below)
Project Name: (Name your craft anything you like; fanciful titles or simple labels/descriptions are all fine)
Project Link: (Paste the link to your community post for the bonus points)
Brief Description: (Tell us anything you’d like to about the craft, such as how you made it, and why it fits the prompt.)
Project Photo(s): (Post photos of your awesome craft here, so we can ooh and aah over it!)

FAQs

Have more specific questions about the Nerd Games? You can find FAQs here!

THE TEAMS

There are three teams to choose from, and no requirements for joining any of them; simply choose one that speaks to you, put the team name in your first project header, and presto - you’re a member! You will remain on the same team for the entire season. You may change teams in future seasons.

• Cheese Trustees
• Veggie Vigilantes
• Pepperoni Posse

THE PROMPTS

Prompts will be posted on a monthly basis in the post below. Please choose a prompt. Monthly battles are the only time sensitive prompts. The non-battle prompts are open for the entire season. See THE POINTS section below for point values and several additional crafting opportunities for each of your crafts. You can craft specifically to fit the prompts, or you can craft first and then find a prompt to fit it into. We’re pretty lax about slightly stretched interpretations of the prompts; just explain in your description how it fits!

• Monthly prompts will close at 11:59pm Central Time on the last day of the current month.

BONUS POINTS

We are trying to keep things simple, so there will only be one type of bonus point available. COMMUNITY POINTS will be given when you post a link to a post you’ve made within the Lettuce Craft community, and will be worth 20 bonus points for each project shared. Please be sure to participate in the entire community and not just in the craftalong!

THE POINTS

This competition is just for fun and the points are for nothing more than motivation and bragging rights, but go ahead and rack up points by posting projects for you team! Points break down as follows:

• Monthly battles and prompts: 20 points each (must take at least 30 minutes of crafting time)
• Free Range: 20 points each (must take at least 30 minutes of crafting time. Up to sixallowed per season
• Big Time projects: 50 points each (must take at least 5 hours of crafting time. Up to threeallowed per season)
• Zaps: 10 points each (any craft that takes less than 30 minutes to make. Up to five allowed per season)
• Research Projects: 100 points (must take at least 20 hours of crafting time. Up to two per season)
• Bonus Points: COMMUNITY bonus points (worth 20 extra per project) are the only bonus opportunity available at this time.

Special Note:
All prompts are supposed to be crafted within the current season. However, we have decided to make an exception to this rule. Let’s say you craft something for a swap near the end of the Summer season. You’ve sent the swap package, but it hasn’t been received yet. Fall season begins, your partner has received their swap item, and you are ready to post. You may go ahead and post your project from the previous season for the current season.

THE RULES

• Players must craft to the best of their abilities and have a minimum of 30 minutes of crafting time per submission, unless otherwise noted.
• A project can only be submitted for one prompt or crafting opportunity.
• A project does NOT have to be "nerdy,” it only has to fulfill the prompt as you see fit.
• Submitted projects must be started and completed during the current season, unless otherwise noted.
• There is SO MUCH to do in the Nerd Games. Do not feel like you have to craft everything. Do what inspires you.
• We welcome all players from the Nerdyverse, no matter their Geekdom. We even welcome non-nerds!
• We are never mean.
• We never exclude someone.
• We will keep it clean-ish (PG-13).
• Never hesitate in contacting the gamemakers with your questions, concerns, or ideas.

[storerboughtcreation (Jamie Storer - Nerd Games Tracker)]

Reserved for tracking

[Smeddley (* Nerd Games Lieutenant *)]

Post your projects with the following header:

Prompt: (Write the name of the prompt you are entering your craft for here. Don’t forget to include the month!)
Team: (Choose one of three, listed below)
Project Name: (Name your craft anything you like; fanciful titles or simple labels/descriptions are all fine)
Project Link: (Paste the link to your community post for the bonus points)
Brief Description: (Tell us anything you’d like to about the craft, such as how you made it, and why it fits the prompt.)
Project Photo(s): (Post photos of your awesome craft here, so we can ooh and aah over it!)

Monthly Battles:

January Battle - Book vs Audiobook

January Theme – Classic Books, Pun-Style (puns by LovelyMiss)

1. Winnie-the-Glue - Craft something that is red or a shirt, is sweet or in a pot (honey), is a bear, or requires glue to put together.
2. Alice’s Adventures in Yarnderland – Craft something made with yarn, that uses a mirror, is wondrous/fantastical, or is blue.
3. The Woodwork in The Willows – Craft something made of wood, related to nature/plants, that requires water to make, or is green.
4. The Glitter House on the Prairie – Craft something that is sparkly/uses glitter, is useful around the house, is considered old-fashioned, or is brown.
5. Goodnight Monotype – Craft something that uses a lettering/words, is black and white, or is useful for sleeping/relaxing.

[LovelyMiss (Ashley - Nerd Games Chief Morale Officer)]

Remember BOOK IT!? If you were an elementary school kid in or after 1984 you might! It was a program where you could read books and earn a certificate for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. We’re doing BOOK IT! but Nerd Games style: MAKE IT!

You will set a Personal Goal for each month of the season. There will also be an overall Nerd Games Goal for the season.

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GOALS

Nerd Games Goal: Submit at least 20 total projects of any kind during the season.

Monthly Personal Goals: You Decide!

Set Your Monthly Personal Goals: Post all of your monthly goals in this thread ASAP (deadline: Friday, January 23, 2026). By submitting your monthly goals now, you have the opportunity to plan ahead for both crafting and strategic prompt submission, and maybe even time to work on longer-term projects!

Goals can be whatever you want but need to include a number. They can be the same or different each month. Only submit ONE GOAL PER MONTH.

Examples:

January: Submit 5 ATCs.
February: Submit 1 Battle and 1 Zap.
March: Claim Community Bonus Points on 1 project.

You must submit the projects to meet your monthly goals in the associated calendar months. (E.g., if your Personal Goal is to submit 5 ATCs in January, you must post all 5 ATCs during January.)

You will be in charge of deciding whether or not you met your goals when you claim your prize(s).

Make them yours, make them realistic, and make them something you’d actually like to accomplish! Everyone’s lives, capacity, and approaches are different. Don’t worry about other people’s goals or comparing effort. Set your goal and MAKE IT!

POST YOUR GOALS IN THIS THREAD ASAP!

Anytime on or before FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2026, post your goals in this thread using the format below.

MY MAKE IT! GOALS:

January:

February:

March:

If you missed the submission deadline (Friday, January 23, 2026) for Personal Goals, you are still eligible for the Nerd Games Goal, so hop in and MAKE IT!

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PRIZES

If you reach all three of your Personal Goals, you’ll be eligible to claim a small physical prize at the end of the season. If you reach all of your Personal Goals AND the Nerd Games Goal, you’ll be eligible to claim an additional small prize at the end of the season.

To honor our inspiration, anyone who completes the Nerd Games Goal will be entered into a drawing for a pizza place gift card at the end of the season! You must OPT-IN to the drawing by clicking “YES” on the poll below once you have completed 20 projects. The winner will be drawn randomly after March 31, 2026, and will be required to share an email address to receive a digital gift card.

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CLAIM YOUR PRIZES

MAKE IT! Personal Goals

Once you have completed the requirements, send the below claim form to LovelyMiss via private message by 11:59 pm (central) on March 31, 2026.

Prizes will be sent after the season ends.

CLAIM FORM

I am claiming: (MAKE IT! Personal Goals OR MAKE IT! Personal Goals+Nerd Games Goal)

I attest that I have completed the requirements for the prize(s) I am claiming: Yes/No

My name and mailing address (as it should be formatted for sending, including country) are:

_ _

MAKE IT! Nerd Games Goal

Once you have met the MAKE IT! Nerd Games Goal (submit at least 20 projects this season) you must opt-in to the drawing for a pizza place gift card by clicking Yes in the poll below.

I have submitted at least 20 projects and would like to be entered into the drawing for a pizza place gift card:

• Yes

[LovelyMiss (Ashley - Nerd Games Chief Morale Officer)]

Pin Prize Collection

We’re continuing the Nerd Games enamel pin collection! Each season you’ll have the opportunity to earn up to three (or sometimes more) pins. Each pin will be different, and every season the pins offered will be different. Try to collect them all, or have fun picking and choosing ones to work toward!

PIN EVENTS:

NOTES: Interpret these however you want, and feel free to use a single project for as many pin events as possible!

Take a Look: Submit THREE projects of any kind AND create posts for the projects in the appropriate Lettuce Craft categories (and don’t forget to claim Community bonus points) AND heart TEN posts AND comment on at least FIVE projects in this thread.

It’s in A Book: Submit FIVE projects that represent, are inspired by, or incorporate books or words AND create posts for the projects in the appropriate Lettuce Craft categories (and don’t forget to claim Community bonus points).

Reading Rainbow: Submit SIX projects that represent the colors of the rainbow (ROY G BIV). You may choose to make EITHER: six projects, each focusing on one specific color (totalling six different colors), OR six projects that focus a rainbow of color or rainbow-theme. (You cannot mix and match some single colors and some rainbow themes. Pick one or the other. Use whatever tones/shades/tints you want for each project. They do not need to be consistent. For instance, if you use pastels for one of your six projects, you do NOT need to use pastels for all of them.)

Note: ROY G BIV = Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Feel free to ignore Indigo. It’s inclusion in the rainbow was because of Newton’s obsession with the number 7 and historical cultural factors, not because it’s truly distinct. Light and colors are a continuous spectrum!

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To claim your prizes:

Once you have completed the requirements, send the below submission form to LovelyMiss via private message by 11:59 pm (central) on March 31, 2026.

Prizes will be sent after the season ends.

Pin Event Submission Form

I am claiming: (Take a Look, It’s in a Book, Reading Rainbow)

I attest that I have completed the requirements for the Pin Event(s) I am claiming: Yes/No

[LovelyMiss (Ashley - Nerd Games Chief Morale Officer)]

Saving this spot for something else.

[Tapestry (Jenn)]

I love this season’s theme! Fun fact: I worked on the Book It! campaign at the ad agency where I worked many years ago when Pizza Hut revived it.

[LovelyMiss (Ashley - Nerd Games Chief Morale Officer)]

That is an epically fun fact! Any interesting tidbits or stories to share? It was certainly one of the reasons I read so much, and why I was loyal to Pizza Hut way past the point of it tasting good.

[Mountains_and_Clouds (SaRa :) [they/her])]

I admit I sometimes look at those old lenticular BookIt! badges on eBay, and then realize I really don’t need one… or do I?

Edit to add:
Here are my monthly goals!

January: Make/submit 3 jointed paper dolls out of recycled packaging materials

February: Make/submit 2 watercolor paintings

March: Make/submit 1 ceramic item I have never made before.

[craftADDchick (Cindy)]

MY MAKE IT! GOALS:

January: Finish 2 WIPs from 2025

February: Finish 2 WIPs from before 2025

March: Finish 1 Research Project (2018 Temperature Scarf)

[Tapestry (Jenn)]

MY MAKE IT! GOALS:

January: Complete 1 painting and 1 postcard

February: Make valentine paper or chenile cat

March: Finish lap blanket for my mom

[gozer (Becca)]

Reserved for my Make it Goals.

January - Join ATC swap

February - Finish MH custom doll

March - Make 1 STS item

[Tapestry (Jenn)]

@LovelyMiss

Any interesting tidbits or stories to share?

The campaign I worked on would have been in the late 2010s and it was a digital sticker/build an avatar program with a fun dragon character. You could earn points to decorate him with clothing and accessories, in addition to earning your free pizza certificates.

I’m a programmer, so I was doing the code to actually overlay the pieces, anonymously store the reader data, making the database etc. Every single company event at my company had Pizza Hut pizza. Every new product launch, holiday. Annnnnd I don’t like PH pizza because it makes my reflux go insane. Just PH though.

I did love that dragon campain though. It was super fun. Other than waiting on assets from the creatives which were always last second.

[roler (Laura)]

MY MAKE IT! GOALS:

January: Finish making a shawl for ME

February: Finish at least five scrapbook pages

March: Make and deliver three ATCs to coworkers.

[ezrib (Tab)]

My Make It Goals

January- Make my niece’s wedding dress embroidery

February- Rescue at least 3 clothing items by altering or mending

March- Make my husband’s “Quilt of Spite”

[Tapestry (Jenn)]

@ezrib

Make my husband’s “Quilt of Spite”

Yeah, I need more info . Sounds hillarious though.

[ezrib (Tab)]

The story behind the “Quilt of Spite”… my husband had been wanting me to make him a blanket, I designed a really detailed quilt I wanted to make for him, (lots of applique, lots of personalized items, it would be gorgeous ). I was going to do it in monochrome, so instead of just making it, I told him I wanted to make him a quilt and asked if he had a color preference…(mistake #1)

He got really excited & then went on to tell me he wanted a denim & flannel rag quilt, (I hate making rag quilts!)
I told him that I had a different idea that I thought he’d like & his face FELL, so of course, being the loving wife I am, I agreed to make this thing.
Then I asked if he’d like to help pick out fabrics (mistake #2). He went nuts & picked out crazy fabrics… we’re talking llama canvas, bumble bee flannel, star wars, plaid., etc… none of it coordinates. I have zero ambition to make this thing & it has been taunting me for a year. I need to just make it & get it done so it has been dubbed the Quilt of Spite

[Tapestry (Jenn)]

That…makes a lot of sense. Forgive me for laughing. The name still tickles me. A rag quilt wouldn’t be my first choice either.

[AudiobookLover]

MY MAKE IT! GOALS:

January: Complete and post snow globe collage quilt, get 2026 Quiltalong set up, get the first quarter Quiltalong Bingo set up

February: will add before 01/23

March: will add before 01/23

[ezrib (Tab)]

oh laugh away- if it wasn’t me that was stuck making it, I’d laugh too