Scattergories

Timed list-writing party game — roll a letter, and race to name words in 12 categories that all start with that letter.

🌤indoor

What is Scattergories?

Scattergories is a timed list-writing party game published by Milton Bradley (Hasbro) in 1988. A 20-sided die is rolled to select a letter; players then have 2.5 minutes to write down a valid word starting with that letter for each of twelve category prompts on the card (an animal, a river, a piece of clothing, etc.). Only unique answers score. The commercial descendant of the traditional 'Categories' pencil-and-paper game.

Quick facts

Category

Puzzle Games

Type

Individual

Players

2–6

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇺🇸 United States

Estimated origin

1988, Milton Bradley (Hasbro) — commercialised the traditional 'Categories' pencil game

Olympic

No

Popularity

global

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified