Categories

Set up

For the circle version, nothing. For the written version, give each player paper and a pen and agree on five categories.

How to play: the circle version

1. Sit in a circle. One player names a category, such as fruit.
2. Going around the circle, each player names something in that category. No repeats and no long pauses.
3. A player who repeats an answer, says something that does not fit, or hesitates for more than about three seconds is out for the round.
4. The last player left chooses the next category.

To add rhythm, set a slow beat (slap knees twice, clap twice) and require each answer to land on the claps.

How to play: the written version

1. Everyone writes the same five categories down the side of their page.
2. Someone picks a letter at random.
3. Start a two-minute timer. Each player writes one answer per category beginning with that letter.
4. When time is up, read the answers aloud category by category.
5. Score one point for an answer nobody else wrote and nothing for a shared answer. The group settles disputes by vote.
6. Play five letters. The highest total wins.

Ways to change it

• Theme the list: for Thanksgiving, use things on the table, things you are thankful for, family sayings.
• Team play: pairs share a page. Good for mixing ages.
• No letter: for young children, drop the letter and just fill the categories.
• Alphabet run: one category, and the answers must go through the alphabet in order, one letter per player.

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

Categories fits a dinner table, a car or a classroom, and scales from two players to thirty. The circle version is quick and needs nothing; the written version suits competitive groups and takes longer. It favors confident spellers and fast talkers, so pair younger children with an adult.