Scattergories lists

16 Scattergories lists to play or print

Each list has 12 categories, one per line on the answer sheet. Lists 1 to 8 are classic mixes that work with almost any letter. Lists 9 to 12 are written for adults, list 13 is for Christmas, and lists 14 to 16 each stick to one theme. All 16 are our own lists, so nobody at the table knows them by heart from the box.

How to play Scattergories with these lists

Scattergories is the categories board game that has been in shops since 1988: a letter, a list of 12 categories and a timer. You don't need the box. Each player needs a sheet of paper numbered 1 to 12 and a pen, and one phone runs the letter and the clock.

1. Pick a listChoose one of the 16 lists, or let the card deal 12 categories from all of them. Everyone plays the same categories.
2. Roll the letterPress Roll a letter. Every answer this round has to start with that letter.
3. Write for three minutesStart the timer and fill in one answer per category. Write quietly, because a good answer said out loud is a gift to everyone else.
4. Pens downWhen the timer runs out, stop writing. Anything added after that doesn't count.
5. Read out and scoreGo round the table category by category. Every valid answer that nobody else wrote scores a point. Matching answers score nothing.
6. Play three roundsUse a new letter and a new list each round. After three rounds, the highest total wins.

House rules and variants

The rules above are how the board game is played. These variants are optional, so agree on them before the first letter.

• Variant: double points on hard letters. Switch on Q, U, V, X, Y and Z, and every valid answer on those letters scores 2.
• Variant: the funniest answer wins. After each category, the table votes for the funniest answer and it gets a bonus point, even if someone else wrote something similar. Works best with lists 9 to 11.
• Variant: speed round. Halve the time to 90 seconds and play only 6 categories. Good for a big group or late in the evening.
• Variant: teams. Play in pairs with one sheet per pair. The whispering is half the fun, and it helps players who are new to the game.
• Variant: penalty round for adults. Every blank line costs a sip of your drink or a forfeit the table chooses. Water counts, and anyone can pass.

Just need a letter for lists you wrote yourself? The random letter generator rolls a letter and runs a two minute timer with its own set of 120 categories.

Printing the lists and making your own

Press Print the lists at the top of the page and your browser prints all 16 lists, ready to cut out or hand round. Each player still needs their own answer sheet: a page numbered 1 to 12, three columns wide if you play three rounds.

What makes a good Scattergories category

• Many possible answers. "Things in a kitchen" works with almost any letter. "Planets" doesn't.
• Not too wide. "Nouns" is too easy and nobody scores, because everyone writes the same thing.
• A little room for creativity. "Things you hide before your parents visit" gets laughs when the answers are read out, and that is the point.
• Mix easy and hard. A good list has a few easy lines, a few tricky ones and one or two that need imagination.

Keep the night going