Press New round to roll a letter and deal 12 categories, then start the three-minute timer and write your answers.
LetterC
Tap a category to swap it for another.
3:00
More options
Letters in play: 20 of 26
Tap a letter to take it out of the game or put it back. The hard letters are out to begin with. Your choice is kept in this browser.
Category Game Generator
Name
Answer sheet: one row for every category, one column for every round
Category
Round 1: letter C
Round 2: letter
Round 3: letter
1 A word a referee or commentator says
2 Something you eat with your hands
3 A language
4 Something in a sports bag
5 A word you would shout
6 A bad habit
7 Something that is harder than it looks
8 An animal you would not want in your tent
9 An app or website
10 A job you do outdoors
11 Something you see on a street
12 A place with no phone signal
Points
One answer per category, starting with the round's letter. When the time is up, read the answers out: an answer nobody else wrote scores 1 point, and an answer that two players share scores nothing.
How this list was compiled: Every category was written for this site. None was copied from the lists printed in any boxed game or from another website. Each one was written to have answers under most of the 20 letters the tool rolls. Difficulty is our judgment: easy has many answers under every letter, medium is narrower, hard is narrow or asks for an invented answer that the group votes on. The letter set and the scoring rules described on the page follow Wikipedia's article on the boxed game, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scattergories, checked 2026-09-18. Licence: own work
How it works
This category game generator rolls a letter, deals a list of 12 categories and runs the timer. Everyone writes one answer per category that starts with that letter. All 516 categories are original and listed below by topic. It works for Scattergories-style games at the table or on a video call, and it prints an answer sheet with the list on it for each player.
Read the full guide
Play a round in five steps
Read the 12 categories aloud. A tap on a category swaps it for another, and New letter rolls only the letter, so a bad letter never costs you a good list. New round, or the space bar, changes both. Then give every player a pen and paper, or open More options and press Print answer sheet, which prints the list and letter now on screen. Press Start the 3 minute timer. Everyone writes one answer per category, each beginning with the letter. Three minutes is the traditional upper limit. For a fast group, tap 2 min first. When time is up the list stays on screen for scoring, and New round deals the next one. Three rounds make a game.
Score it and settle the arguments
Go down the list and read the answers aloud. An answer nobody else wrote scores one point. When two or more players wrote the same thing, they all cross it out. An answer may run to several words as long as the first word starts with the letter. If someone doubts an answer, the whole table votes, and on a tie the vote of the player who wrote it is set aside. One variation rewards names with a point for each word that starts with the letter, so Peter Pan is worth two under P.
Tune the letters and the list
The tool is a letter roller and a category list generator in one. Open Letters in play to switch any letter off or on. Your choice is kept in this browser, and no letter comes back until every letter in play has had a turn. Lists mix easy categories such as A fruit with narrow ones. A few ask for an invented answer, such as A made-up name for a planet, which the table judges by vote. If a category does not suit the room, tap it for another before you start the timer.
Rare answers win. Under B, half the table writes banana for A fruit, so blackcurrant scores.
With players under ten, pair each child with an adult, let the pair whisper, and swap any category that looks hard by a tap on it.
Print one answer sheet per player. It has three answer columns, so keep the list and press New letter for rounds two and three.
Questions and answers
How many players do you need?
Two is enough. The boxed versions of the game are sold for two to six players, but with pen and paper there is no real upper limit. Above eight players, duplicate answers become so common that scores stay low, so play in pairs: partners whisper, share one sheet and score as one.
Is this the same as playing Scattergories online?
No. This is an independent tool with its own 516 categories. It is not the official game or app and it is not affiliated with the makers. It follows the same idea as the boxed game: a letter, 12 categories and a timer. It also starts with the same 20 letters as the 20-sided die in the box.
Why are some letters missing?
The roller starts with 20 letters: A to P, then R, S, T and W. Q, U, V, X, Y and Z are left out because too few categories have fair answers for them. If your group wants the challenge anyway, open Letters in play and switch them on one at a time, or press Play all 26.
What counts as a valid answer?
The first word must start with the letter. After that, it is whatever the table accepts. Many groups ignore A, An and The at the start of a title, so The Hobbit counts under H, but that is a house rule, so agree on it before the first round. An adjective added only to fit the letter, such as Big dog under B, is usually voted down.
Can we play a categories game online with friends in other places?
Yes. Start a video call, press Share round and send the link, which opens with the same letter and the same 12 categories you see. Count down together and let the host keep time. Everyone keeps their own sheet, and nothing anyone writes is typed into the page.