Scattergories

How to Play

Setup

1. Form teams of 3–5 people. Aim for roughly equal team sizes. If the group is small, players can play solo.
2. Materials: one sheet of paper (or score sheet) and a pen per team, a visible timer (phone or projected), and a way to display the chosen category and letter (whiteboard or slide). For remote play, use breakout rooms and a shared doc for each team.
3. Prepare a list of broad categories (e.g., jobs, foods, animals, cities, movie titles, fruits, sports equipment). Have at least one category per round plus a few spares.
4. Decide on round length (standard: 60 seconds). Plan for 3–5 rounds total (15–20 minutes). Assign a facilitator to announce categories, letters, and manage time.
5. Explain scoring: teams earn 1 point for each answer that no other team has. If multiple teams write the same answer, it scores 0 points for everyone.

How to Play

1. Announce the round’s category and randomly select a starting letter (draw from a hat, spin a wheel, or use a random letter generator). Display both clearly.
2. Start the 60-second timer. Teams brainstorm and write as many valid items as they can that fit the category and begin with the letter.
3. When time is up, call “pens down.” Teams stop writing immediately.
4. Sharing: go team by team, reading answers aloud. After each item is read, other teams cross it off if they also have it. Facilitator settles disputes quickly.
5. Scoring: teams count only the answers that no other team listed. Record round totals on a visible scoreboard.
6. Repeat for 3–5 rounds with new categories and letters. Optionally rotate the team scribe each round to involve everyone.
7. Add up all points to declare the winner. Celebrate clever and unusual answers.

Rules

1. Answers must clearly fit the announced category and begin with the chosen letter. For multi-word answers, the first significant word must start with the letter. Ignore leading articles (a, an, the).
2. Proper nouns are allowed if relevant to the category (e.g., cities, people). Brand names are allowed only if the category makes sense (facilitator’s discretion).
3. No duplicates within the same team’s list. Plurals or simple variants (pear/pears) count as one. Very close variants (pepper/bell pepper) are at facilitator’s discretion.
4. Spelling must be correct enough to identify the intended word. No made-up or overly obscure terms.
5. Time is strict. Writing after “pens down” invalidates that item.
6. Tie-breaks and disputes are resolved by facilitator or quick group vote.

Tips

• Mix easy and specific categories to balance challenge and inclusivity.
• Use a visible timer and upbeat music to add energy.
• Encourage specificity: unusual, precise answers are more likely to be unique.
• Do a short practice example so everyone understands scoring.
• For remote play: use breakout rooms, a shared sheet per team, and reveal answers via round-robin on mic.

Variations

• Double Word Bonus: Give 2 points for two-word answers where both words start with the letter (e.g., "pepperoni pizza").
• Lightning Round: 30 seconds per round to amp up energy.
• Cooperative Mode: Combine all teams and try to reach a target number of unique answers as a group.
• Tricky Letters: If using letters like Q, X, or Z, extend the timer to 90 seconds or allow the letter to appear anywhere in the word for that round.
• Solo Showdown: Everyone plays individually if the group is small.