Scattergories — real-time word game

Scattergories is a fast, real-time word game you play together in the same room. One person hosts on a big screen while everyone else joins from their own phone — there's no app to download and nothing to pay. Get a few friends together and you can be playing your first round in under a minute.

Each round, the host draws a random letter and starts the timer. Everyone then races to fill in every category — animal, country, food, a famous name and more — with a word that starts with that letter. The categories change from game to game, so no two rounds feel quite the same. The catch is that answers only score when they're unique: if two players write the same word, it cancels out, so the real trick is to think of an answer nobody else will.

When the timer runs out, the host reveals every answer on the big screen and the game tallies the scores automatically — no pen, paper or arguing over points. Play as many rounds as you like, with a fresh letter each time, and the running totals decide the winner. It works just as well for two players as it does for a big party.

Scattergories is completely free and runs entirely in your browser, with both Estonian and English supported. To join a game, open scattergories.it on your phone and enter the host's code, or simply scan the QR code shown on the host's screen. Gather everyone, pick a letter and start playing.