Scattergories List Generator
Generate random Scattergories rounds with a letter and 12 categories. Includes a built-in timer and 100+ category options for endless game nights.
How To Run a Scattergories Round
Set the number of rounds and the round duration (the standard rules use 3 minutes per letter; 60 seconds is a popular short-format variation). Tap Generate and the tool produces one round per request, each with a random letter and a list of 12 categories. Read the categories aloud or display them on a screen, start the timer, and every player has the round duration to write down a word starting with that letter for as many categories as they can.
Scoring follows the classic rules: 1 point for each unique answer (no other player wrote the same thing), 0 points for any answer matching another player's. Alliterative answers ("Pretty Penny", "Smelly Sam") score 2 points if every word starts with the round letter. The tool keeps the letter and categories on screen for the duration so you can mark answers without flipping back and forth.
Categories, Difficulty and Custom Lists
The default pool draws from 100+ categories: animals, things in a kitchen, types of dance, films, song titles, sports, capital cities, school subjects, things you find in a pocket. The mix of concrete ("things in a kitchen") and abstract ("reasons to be late") is what makes the game work; pure trivia categories like "countries" alone get repetitive.
If standard categories feel stale, switch to Custom Categories mode and paste your own list, one per line. House-themed categories work well: "things our cat does", "songs from our wedding playlist". This is also how to tune difficulty: harder rounds use abstract categories, easier rounds use concrete ones. For a different word-list group game try the [Pub Quiz Generator](/pub-quiz-generator) or [Charades Generator](/charades-generator).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many categories per round?
Twelve, matching the official Scattergories card design. Each round uses one random letter from A-Z (some house rules skip awkward letters like V, X, Y and Z) and 12 fresh categories drawn at random from the database.
How long is a Scattergories round?
The standard published rule is 3 minutes per letter, set by the original 1988 Hasbro game. Many groups play shorter (1 or 2 minutes) because the writing pace is brisk. Set the round duration to whatever works; the built-in timer counts down on screen.
What if two players write the same answer?
Both players score 0 for that category. The point of the game is to think of answers other people will not. If everyone agrees an answer is valid, it counts; if there is dispute, vote with the host casting the deciding vote in a tie.
Can I use this for a kids' Scattergories game?
Yes, with two adjustments: switch to Custom Categories and write concrete topics ("animals", "foods", "toys", "colours"), and shorten rounds to 90 seconds since younger players write more slowly. For under-eights, trim the list to 8 simpler categories rather than the standard 12.
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