Games Untold

Games Untold is a collection of young adult novellas and short stories by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Originally published in November 2024, the collection is an installment in Barnes’s Inheritance Games Saga and also picks up on narrative threads from the Grandest Game Series. Like the preceding titles in the series, Games Untold incorporates mystery, luxury, and secrets to create a raucous adventure novel. The collection’s stories are written from the first- and third-person points of view and toy with conventional notions of storytelling linearity. The collection explores themes including the Complexity of Family Dynamics, the Impact of Wealth and Legacy on Identity, and Finding and Accepting Love. 

This guide refers to the 2024 Little, Brown and Company hardback edition of the novel.

Plot Summaries

Games Untold is a collection of eight novellas and short stories contributing to The Inheritance Games universe. Each piece is written from a unique point of view and employs a distinct narrative structure. 

In “That Night in Prague,” 18-year-old Avery Grambs flies to Prague to see her lover Jameson Hawthorne shortly after inheriting billions of dollars from Jameson’s grandfather Tobias Hawthorne. On the way, she reflects on her new circumstances, her decision to donate a portion of her inheritance, and her desire to be free and explore.

In Prague, Avery and Jameson gallivant around the city trying to solve puzzles and riddles they’ve created for each other. Avery particularly delights in Jameson’s puzzle, as its answer is a marriage proposal. She cherishes the infinity ring Jameson gives her and the proposal poem he writes her. However, Jameson disappears the next night without explanation. When he does return, he’s covered in blood. Avery knows she could use her and Jameson’s code word to compel him to explain what happened, but she decides not to because she wants Jameson to trust her.

In “The Same Backward as Forward,” Hannah Rooney goes out drinking with her sister Kaylie Rooney one night. When they run into a group of entitled young men at the bar, Hannah is desperate to leave. She hates being seen in public and dislikes how their leader ogles her. She convinces Kaylie to leave, and they take a walk on the beach. Hannah reflects on her life: She’s almost done with nursing school, after which she plans to move her and Kaylie away from their family. Hannah hates the Rooneys and resents her mother Eden for running a drug and arms trade on the coast. Kaylie does Eden’s bidding, but Hannah refuses to participate in the family business.

A few days later, Hannah’s friend Jackson Currie informs her there was a fire on Hawthorne Island. Jackson lives at Rockaway Watch and can see the island from his property. He begs Hannah to come to his shack, where a half-dead boy washed up after the accident. He then informs Hannah that the boy, his brothers, and Kaylie were together on the island, and Kaylie didn’t survive.

Hannah is horrified to discover that the fire survivor is Tobias (Toby) Hawthorne, the pompous boy from the bar. She considers killing him but decides to show him mercy despite what he did to Kaylie. Over the following weeks, Hannah nurses Toby back to health. Because Toby has amnesia and is going by Harry, Hannah can imagine that he’s not Kaylie’s murderer, and they fall in love. They plan to run away together until Harry recovers his memory. Desperate to protect Hannah from himself, he insists they end their relationship and disappears in the night. He leaves Hannah a goodbye note, encouraging her to live life on her own terms.

In the months following, Hannah makes a new life for herself in Connecticut. She gets pregnant by a man named Ricky Grambs, but sees her daughter—Avery Kylie Grambs—as Toby’s daughter.

In “The Cowboy and the Goth,” Libby Grambs waits for the results of her pregnancy test while home alone one afternoon. In the meantime, she studies her engagement ring and reflects on the evolution of her relationship with her fiancé Nash Hawthorne.

When Libby and Nash met, she didn’t think he’d be interested in someone like her. While Nash was wealthy, friendly, and kind, Libby saw herself as too fragile and sensitive. However, the more time she spent with Nash, the more genuine his affection for her seemed. Libby particularly embraced Nash when she saw how kind he was to Avery during her hospitalization.

The narrative returns to the present, where Nash returns home and checks the pregnancy test with Libby. The test is positive, and they decide to name the baby Hannah if it’s a girl.

In “Five Times Xander Tackled Someone (& One Time He Didn’t),” Xander Hawthorne plays games with his brothers Jameson, Nash, and Grayson Hawthorne. One day, he tackles Nash. Another day he tackles Jameson, and another day he tackles Grayson. Each time he throws his body at his brothers, he shows them love. Then one day, Xander tackles his friend Rebecca’s adversary to protect Rebbeca. Not long later, Xander’s crush Max tackles Xander.

In “One Hawthorne Night,” Jameson, Nash, and Xander design an atonement night to punish Grayson for failing to come to Xander’s aid. Per the brothers’ signed agreement, Grayson must abide by the rules of the night to receive their forgiveness.

On atonement night, Grayson’s brothers force him to stand in the cold in his underwear until his friend Thea gives him a ride. Then Thea gives Grayson a makeover, and Avery dresses him in a silly outfit. Afterward, the girls take him to a karaoke bar, where Grayson’s brothers make him sing in front of the crowd. Grayson successfully completes the atonement night terms and goes to bed, certain that he’ll never let his brothers down again.

In “$3CR3T $@NT@,” Avery and Libby celebrate Christmas at the Hawthorne brothers’ mansion, Hawthorne House. On December 1, they begin an epic game of Secret Santa. The game is highly competitive and combines the rules of Assassin with those of Capture the Flag. The participants draw names, and whoever they draw becomes their target. They have to eliminate them from the game using water guns, tinsel bombs, or thoughtful gift-giving.

The companions spend the entire month chasing each other around the palatial house. Libby gets out when Jameson gives her a heartfelt framed photograph. Avery ultimately wins the game when she gives Grayson an engraved stone.

In “What Happens in the Tree House,” Jameson, Grayson, Xander, and Nash travel to London, England, to celebrate Nash’s upcoming marriage to Libby. They participate in a series of elaborate events for Nash’s bachelor party, including scaling an ice wall, climbing a giant arena, racing mopeds, and clubbing. At the end of the night, the brothers gather and toast Nash. Nash promises that their brotherhood won’t change just because he’s getting married.

In “Pain at the Right Gun,” Jameson wakes up in a dark passageway and realizes his late grandmother Alice Hawthorne is holding him hostage. He tries to break away, but she suffocates him. When he wakes up, he finds his prison filled with smoke and loses consciousness once more. When he wakes up a third time, he and Alice are sitting across from each other over a cup of tea. Alice tries to poison him, but Jameson suddenly remembers his vows to Avery and his love for his brothers. He has questions for Alice but decides to leave and reunite with his family.