How to play Categories

Categories is the old pencil and paper game many families know as "name, place, animal, thing". Everyone gets the same letter and the same list of twelve categories: a fruit, a city, a movie star, something in a kitchen. Write one answer for each, all starting with the letter, before the clock runs out. Then compare lists. An answer only scores if nobody else wrote it.

A round

• Tap Roll the letter. The letters Q, U, V, X, Y and Z are never used.
• Write one answer for each category. A leading "The", "A" or "An" does not count, so "The Beatles" works for B.
• You have three minutes (two, four or no clock in Settings). When time is up, your list is handed in as it is. Tap Done to hand it in sooner.
• A game is three rounds, each with a new letter and twelve new categories. The most points wins.

Scoring

• A good answer that nobody else wrote is one point.
• If two players wrote the same answer, neither scores. Capital letters and spaces do not make answers different, and neither does the plural of an everyday word: "Cherries" and "cherry" are the same. Names and titles must match: "Aliens" is not "Alien".
• A blank line or an answer with another letter scores nothing. If you write the same answer on two lines of your list, only the first line can score.
• House rule, off unless you turn it on: Extra points gives a point for every word that starts with the letter, so "Peter Pan" is two.

Is my answer good?

We keep a list of answers for every category, from a few dozen to several hundred each and more than 20,000 in all, and an answer on our list counts by itself. An answer that is not on our list goes to the table: everyone votes, and the majority decides. If the vote is a tie, the vote of the player who wrote it does not count. Playing alone or only with the computer, you are the table, so be honest. In the Daily List only answers on our list count, so the score is fair for everyone.

Today's list

The Daily List is one round of twelve categories with the same letter for everyone today, three minutes on the clock. The categories show when you roll the letter, and the clock keeps running if you leave the page. See how your score compares with everyone else, and share it without giving away the letter.

Game night with friends

Choose Play with friends and send the link, or read out the four-letter table code. Everyone writes on their own phone, and nobody sees the other lists until all are in. To put the letter, the categories and the scores on a TV for the whole room, open the TV link from the table on the TV's web browser. Open seats are played by the computer.

Tips

• Skip the first answer that comes to mind. Everyone else thinks of it too.
• Fill the easy lines first, then come back to the hard ones.
• Stuck? Tap Hint for the first letters of an answer (not in the Daily List).

Questions

How strong are the computers? Easy players fill about half their list with the most common answers, Normal ones about three quarters, and Sharp ones almost all of it with answers few people think of.

Is there a timer I can turn off? Yes. Choose No clock in Settings and the round ends when everyone taps Done.

Do I need an account? No. Your game is saved in this browser, so you can close the page and come back.