Categories

001

What is the game?

Categories — known as İsim Şehir in Turkey, and as Scattergories or Stadt Land Fluss elsewhere — is one of the most widespread pen-and-paper word games. Everyone splits a sheet into columns (name, city, animal, plant, object) and each round writes one word per column starting with the drawn letter. When time is up the answers are read out and scored.

All the tension is in the scoring: a correct answer is not enough, you want an answer nobody else wrote. That is why players reach for stranger and stranger words as the game goes on.

002

How to play

• Agree on the columns. The classic five are enough: name, city, animal, plant, object. With a big group, add a column or two to make the rounds last longer.
• Draw the letter. One player runs through the alphabet silently, another says stop; that letter is the round. Used letters are not repeated.
• Write at the same time. The first player to fill every column calls it and everyone puts the pen down. If you prefer a clock, 60-90 seconds per round works well.
• Read and score. Go column by column; each player reads their answer and points are awarded from the table below.

003

Scoring

The common scoring uses three values. If your group uses a different scale it makes no difference, as long as the ratios hold.

• A round is worth at most columns × 10 points: 50 per round with five columns.
• The table decides whether an answer counts. A simple majority settles a doubtful word — the argument is part of the game.
• A spelling mistake does not invalidate an answer as long as the word is recognisable.

004

Setting it up in PointSim

Each round is one letter and each player ends it with a single total — exactly the shape free number entry is for. Pick “people” as the contestant type, add the players by name and leave the direction on “high score wins”.

At the end of a round type each player’s total for that round (35, 25, 40) straight in. The standings settle the moment the round closes, and a round you entered wrong can be undone with one tap.

You do not need a score limit: play until the letters run out and open the podium after the last round. Leave the tie-break on “last round” so that between two level players the one who did better on the final letter comes out ahead.

005

Long session: add elimination

If the game drags on at a crowded table, switch on PointSim’s elimination setting. With one elimination per round the lowest scorer drops off the board after every letter and the last three play the final.

The alternative is a score threshold: after a set number of rounds, anyone below the threshold is out. Either rule narrows the board on its own — you never have to remove anyone by hand.

006

Variations

• Hard letter round: pick one of the awkward letters and double every point in that round.
• Theme round: swap the columns for one round — films, songs, brands, professions. Nothing changes on the PointSim side; you still enter one total per round.
• Teams: pair players up and add each pair as a single contestant. The 40-contestant limit covers a crowd of 80.