Scattergories
Encyclopedia
Scattergories is a creative-thinking category-based party game
produced by Hasbro
through the Milton Bradley Company
and published in 1988. The objective of the 2-to-6-player game is to score points by uniquely naming objects within a set of categories, given an initial letter, within a time limit.
2. In 2008 Winning Moves Games USA
published Scattergories The Card Game. It is a fast-playing, portable game of Scattergories. (It is not a booster pack.) The game includes a deck of letter cards, a deck of category cards and 2 "I Know" cards. Players turn over the top card in the letter deck and category deck and the first person to shout out a correct answer takes a card. For example, if an "S" is turned over and "The Beach" is turned over...if someone slaps the "I Know" card and says "I Know! Sand." That player claims either card and turns over a new letter or subject card(depending on what they claimed.) The game ends when one entire deck is exhausted. The player with the most cards wins.
3. In January 2010 Puzzlewright Press published "Scattergories Word Search Puzzles" by Mark Danna, a former associate editor at Games magazine. Sanctioned by Hasbro, this book provides Scattergories players a way to play a solitaire version of the game with the following variations: write down two answers, not just one, for every category; instead of coming up with unique answers, try to match answers, which are hidden in a word search; score bonus points by matching answers hidden in the word search grid's leftover letters. There are no rounds. Players try to beat their most recent or their best score. Categories in the book are based on the ones in the board game but have modifications. There are 60 puzzle games in all.
4. In 2010 Winning Moves Games USA
published "Scattergories Categories" which is a twist on classic Scattergories play. Instead of finding answers that all start with one letter, Scattergories Categories focuses on one category per round and players race to find a unique answer starting with each letter in the category key word. As the game box shows, if the category word is "CAMPING TRIP" players have 2 minutes to find a word that starts with a C, then an A, then an M, and a P... and so on. Players get 1 point for each unique answer and the first player to 25 points wins. The game contains 250 word challenges on 125 cards for players 12 and up.
game show in 1993 hosted by Dick Clark
. It ran right after Scrabble
and featured Chuck Woolery
as a regular panelist.
Party game
Party games are games that some people play as forms of entertainment at social gatherings. Party games usually involve more than one player. There are a large number and styles of party games available and the one selected will depend on the atmosphere that is sought to be generated...
produced by Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
through the Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
and published in 1988. The objective of the 2-to-6-player game is to score points by uniquely naming objects within a set of categories, given an initial letter, within a time limit.
Gameplay
The game is played in sets of 3 rounds.- Each player takes a folder with an answering pad and 3 category cards. Each sheet in the answering pad has three columns of 12 blank lines. In addition, the category cards have 4 lists, each with 12 unique categories, for a total of 144 categories in the game. In new versions of the game, each card has 2 lists of 12 unique categories, for a total of 16 lists and 192 categories. All players must agree on the list to use.
- One player rolls a 20-sided letter die to determine the first letter used. The timer is set for up to three minutes.
- One player starts the timer. In the time allotted,a each player must attempt to think of and write down, in the first column on the pad, a word or term that fits each of the 12 categories and starts with the rolled letter. Any number of words in the answer is allowed, as long as the first word starts with the correct letter. For example, with a category of "vegetable" and a letter of "C", words such as "cucumberCucumberThe cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
", "carrotCarrotThe carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
" and "collard greensCollard greensCollard greens are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea , the same species as cabbage and broccoli. The plant is grown for its large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, Montenegro,...
" are acceptable, but "broccoliBroccoliBroccoli is a plant in the cabbage family, whose large flower head is used as a vegetable.-General:The word broccoli, from the Italian plural of , refers to "the flowering top of a cabbage"....
" is not (wrong initial letter), nor is "citrusCitrusCitrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
" (wrong category). AlliterationAlliterationIn language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of Three or more words or phrases. Alliteration has historically developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to...
is encouraged; chinese cabbageChinese cabbageChinese cabbage can refer to two distinct varieties of Chinese leaf vegetables used often in Chinese cuisine. These vegetables are both related to the Western cabbage, and are of the same species as the common turnip...
is worth 2 points. - When using alliterations though, remember to follow the category. You can use generic adjectives to score points. For example, if the category is food and the letter is G, a good answer would be 'green grapes' because green is the specific variety of grape. Germy grapes, giant grapes, or Georgia grapes would also work, even though they are generic ideas and not really names of foods. Writing a bad answer is still better than no answer though because there is always the possibility that the group playing will accept the answer.
- All players stop writing when the timer is finished. Following the list, each player, in turn, reads their answer for each category. Players score zero points for an answer that duplicates another answer in that round, and one point for an answer no other player has given. Acceptable answers using alliteration score one point for each word using the letter. (In the "Junior" version, players earn 2 points for an answer that begins with the chosen letter, and 1 point for an answer that does not begin with the chosen letter, but no points for a duplicate answer.)
- For example, in the "C-vegetable" example, if players A, B, and C answered "cucumber", "cucumber", and "cauliflower" , respectively, players A and B would score nothing, and C would score 1 point. Adjectives may not represent the letter to be used. For instance, "crunchy carrot" would only receive one point, for carrot. Similarly, "crunchy onion" is unacceptable.
- If for some reason a player thinks someone's answer does not fit the category (for instance, "knuckle" for the category "types of sandwich") a player may challenge that answer. When challenged, all players vote on the validity of that answer. If the vote is a tie, the vote of the player who is being challenged is thrown out.
- The die is rolled again (and re-rolled if the same letter as the previous round is duplicated), and the second round starts.
Game Variations
1. In 1989 Milton Bradly published a "refill" pack for Scattergories. It consists of 18 cards with 144 new categories and contains 6 new answer pads.2. In 2008 Winning Moves Games USA
Winning Moves
Winning Moves Games is a maker of classic card games and board games, puzzles, action games and adult party games.-History:Winning Moves Games was founded in 1995 by four game industry professionals: Tom Kremer , Philip Orbanes , Mike...
published Scattergories The Card Game. It is a fast-playing, portable game of Scattergories. (It is not a booster pack.) The game includes a deck of letter cards, a deck of category cards and 2 "I Know" cards. Players turn over the top card in the letter deck and category deck and the first person to shout out a correct answer takes a card. For example, if an "S" is turned over and "The Beach" is turned over...if someone slaps the "I Know" card and says "I Know! Sand." That player claims either card and turns over a new letter or subject card(depending on what they claimed.) The game ends when one entire deck is exhausted. The player with the most cards wins.
3. In January 2010 Puzzlewright Press published "Scattergories Word Search Puzzles" by Mark Danna, a former associate editor at Games magazine. Sanctioned by Hasbro, this book provides Scattergories players a way to play a solitaire version of the game with the following variations: write down two answers, not just one, for every category; instead of coming up with unique answers, try to match answers, which are hidden in a word search; score bonus points by matching answers hidden in the word search grid's leftover letters. There are no rounds. Players try to beat their most recent or their best score. Categories in the book are based on the ones in the board game but have modifications. There are 60 puzzle games in all.
4. In 2010 Winning Moves Games USA
Winning Moves
Winning Moves Games is a maker of classic card games and board games, puzzles, action games and adult party games.-History:Winning Moves Games was founded in 1995 by four game industry professionals: Tom Kremer , Philip Orbanes , Mike...
published "Scattergories Categories" which is a twist on classic Scattergories play. Instead of finding answers that all start with one letter, Scattergories Categories focuses on one category per round and players race to find a unique answer starting with each letter in the category key word. As the game box shows, if the category word is "CAMPING TRIP" players have 2 minutes to find a word that starts with a C, then an A, then an M, and a P... and so on. Players get 1 point for each unique answer and the first player to 25 points wins. The game contains 250 word challenges on 125 cards for players 12 and up.
Game show version
Scattergories became an NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
game show in 1993 hosted by Dick Clark
Dick Clark (entertainer)
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years...
. It ran right after Scrabble
Scrabble (game show)
Scrabble is an American television game show that was based on the Scrabble board game. The show was co-produced by Exposure Unlimited and Reg Grundy Productions. It ran from July 2, 1984 to March 23, 1990, and again from January 18 to June 11, 1993, both runs on NBC. A total of 1,335 episodes were...
and featured Chuck Woolery
Chuck Woolery
Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery is an American game show host. He has had long-running tenures hosting several different game shows. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975–81, the original incarnation of Love Connection from 1983–94, and Scrabble from 1984–90...
as a regular panelist.