Categories Game Rules for Letters, Answers and Scoring

Choose six categories and prepare paper answers

Give each player paper and a pen. Put one shared screen where everyone can read it. FunBox supports two to eight players, with optional names. Choose exactly six of its eighteen categories. To swap one, uncheck it first, then select its replacement.

For a first round, use the six starting categories shown in our example. Write them down the left side of the paper and leave room beside each for an answer. Add a new column for each later round. Everyone should copy the same category order, which makes checking much easier.

Agree on the number of rounds before starting. Three rounds is a suggested short session. Highest total wins after the last review; allow a shared win if tied. This finish rule is your group's choice, since the tool continues drawing rounds until you stop.

Draw a letter and start the shared countdown

Select 60, 90, 120 or 180 seconds. Try 120 seconds for a first game if players want more thinking time. Check that everyone has copied the categories before clicking Draw a letter & start. That button reveals the letter and starts the clock together.

The game uses twenty-two letters, excluding Q, U, X and Z. Each remaining letter has an equal chance of appearing. Letters stay out of the draw until the pool is exhausted; the next cycle also avoids repeating the immediately previous letter. Write one English answer per category and keep your sheet hidden until review.

Pause for an interruption and have everyone stop writing. Resume together. End round early is available if everyone agrees to finish. When time runs out, put pens down and check the answers, leaving the letter and categories visible.

For a fully manual game, the Random Letter Generator can supply a letter. Its All letters setting includes all twenty-six letters. Agree separately on difficult letters and repeats; it does not apply the Categories Game pool automatically.

Agree on names, plurals and reused answers

Settle the house rules before drawing a letter. For the worked example, accept real city names such as Boston. Require ordinary English words for the other categories, and treat Something in nature as naturally occurring things. A manufactured brick fails that category even if someone finds one outdoors.

Treat singular and plural forms as the same answer for duplicate checking. Bear and bears would both score zero in the animal category. Ignore capitalization. Accept a minor spelling error only when the group agrees the intended word is clear and begins with the correct letter.

Choose whether a player may reuse a word across categories. Bowl could fit Something in a home and Something round. Our example uses six different answers per player. For a simple rule against reuse, keep only the first occurrence in category order and reject the later entry. Announce that rule before anyone writes.

If someone challenges an answer, let the writer explain why it fits. Check a reference after the timer ends if needed. One suggested house rule is a majority vote among the other players, with an unresolved tie scoring zero. Agree on your method before play and use it consistently.

Compare answers within each category

Read one category at a time, with every player revealing their answer before moving on. Accept or reject the entries, then check for duplicates within that category. Award one point for each accepted answer nobody else wrote. Shared answers, blanks and rejected entries earn zero. Each player can earn at most six points per round.

Here is the complete letter categories game scoring example. Each cell gives the written answer and its points. Blank means no answer was written. All unmarked words are accepted under the house rules above.

Enter scores and correct the latest round

Enter 3 for Amy, 5 for Ben, 4 for Cara and 3 for Dev. Choose a whole-number score from zero to six for every player, including anyone with zero. Click Confirm scores once to add the round. The tool records each round's letter, categories and scores in Completed rounds.

Check the totals before clicking Draw the next letter. If Dev was accidentally given four, use Undo last scoring, change that entry to three and confirm again. Correction is available for the latest scoring before the next round begins. Keep the paper sheets until the game is finished.

If the next round gives Amy two points, Ben one, Cara three and Dev two, their running totals become 5, 6, 7 and 5. Enter each new round's points into the game, since it adds them to the existing totals. Names and progress clear when you leave or refresh this page.

For a paper and pen categories game with your own categories, open the Scoreboard in a separate tab and add points manually. Scores do not transfer between the tools. When you want an acting game afterward, our charades rules guide explains team turns.

Do two identical accepted answers earn points?

They earn zero in the same category. Both Bear entries in the table are valid animals beginning with B, but neither is unique. Three matching accepted answers would also all score zero.

Does the tool decide whether a word is valid?

Players decide. The page provides the letter, countdown and score record. It cannot read paper answers or check a dictionary automatically. Finish the group's review before confirming any points.