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The categories game

Pick a letter, race through a list of categories, and only score for the answers nobody else wrote down. It's one of the oldest party word games there is, and it still works with nothing but paper and pens.

Updated October 21, 2026

What you need

2 or more players, each with paper and a pen.
A list of 8–12 categories, the same for everyone. Need some? Try our 100 category ideas.
A timer. Two or three minutes per round is standard.
A way to pick a random letter: shuffle the alphabet on scraps of paper, or let someone point at a page of a book with their eyes closed.

How to play

Everyone writes the same list of categories down the side of their page, such as "a fruit", "something in a kitchen" or "a reason to be late".
Pick a letter at random. Most groups skip Q, X and Z.
Start the timer. Everyone writes one answer per category that starts with that letter. You can skip categories you're stuck on.
When time's up, pens down.
Go through the list one category at a time. Each player reads their answer out loud.
Score the round, pick a new letter, and play again. Three to five rounds makes a good game.

Scoring

The rule that makes the game fun: an answer only scores if nobody else wrote it. If two players both wrote "banana" for "a fruit" with the letter B, neither gets the point. That's what pushes everyone past the obvious answer.

Answer	Points
Fits the category, starts with the letter, and nobody else has it	1
Same as another player's answer	0
Doesn't fit, wrong letter, or blank	0

Popular scoring variants

Alliteration bonus: an extra point for every extra word that also starts with the letter. "Big brown bear" scores 3.
Unique bonus: 2 points for an answer nobody else wrote, 1 point for an answer you share, 0 for blanks. Gentler on new players.
Group vote: if anyone objects to an answer, everyone else votes. A tie means it stands.

It goes by a lot of names

The game is played all over the world, usually under a local name. You might know it as:

Stop: the first player to fill every category shouts "Stop!" and everyone else has to put their pens down.
Basta, the same idea, common in Mexico.
Tutti Frutti, common in Argentina and Chile.
Petit Bac in France, and Stadt, Land, Fluss ("city, country, river") in Germany.
Name, Place, Animal, Thing, a favorite in India and the UK.

The categories change from place to place, but the core is always the same: one letter, lots of categories, and a race against the clock.

House rules worth trying

No repeats. An answer you used in an earlier round doesn't count again.
Shorter timer. Drop to 60 or 90 seconds once everyone gets fast.
Hard letters for bonus points. Allow Q, X or Z, but double the score that round.
Specific beats generic. The group can veto lazy answers like "salad" for "a food".

Playing on your phones instead

Last Second is our take on the categories game, built for phones. Instead of a long list, every round is one category, one letter and 20 seconds, so a whole game takes about ten minutes and nobody reads out a list of twelve answers.

	On paper	Last Second
Each round	8–12 categories, 2–3 minutes	1 category, 20 seconds
Matching answers	Found by reading aloud	Cancel out automatically
Wrong letter	Someone has to notice	Checked as you type
"That doesn't count!"	Argue it out	Flag it, majority decides
Setup	Paper, pens, a timer	Everyone's phone, one code
Video calls	Awkward	Works the same

It's free for 2–10 players, with no app and no account.

Tips for winning

Skip your first idea. Everyone else had it too.
Go specific. "Scorpion" beats "spider", "sourdough" beats "sandwich".
Fill in the easy categories first, then come back to the hard ones.
Watch the other players. If the whole group loves food, avoid the obvious food answers.