Scattergories > Reviews (14)

We go through fits and starts as a family for playing board games. However, the game I’m reviewing today has to be our favourite, which is plainly evident from the box, which has become rather battered.

We have had Scattergories for some years now, and I think I paid about £20 for it. I have seen it more recently in toy stores, so I know it is still available.

Scattergories is a word game with a twist. This is a great game to play either as a family, or after a few drinks, when hilarious results can be produced. I shall do my best to explain it all to you…..

The game can be played with two to six players.

CONTENTS
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6 answer pads
6 folders
Category cards
Timer – a circular shaped plastic timer, with a red button and a start/stop switch. There are three yellow lines on the timer.
Pencils
Multi faceted die with letters of alphabet, excluding J, Q, U, X, Y and Z.

OBJECT OF THE GAME
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To score the most points before the timer stops.

INSTRUCTIONS
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Firstly choose which category card you are going to answer questions from. There are 12 different lists to choose from. Lists will include items such as a boys name, things that are sticky, bad habits, and mountains.

Give each player the category card, a pencil, and an answer pad, which can be inserted into the red folder provided, to make handling easier.

The time then needs to be set by pressing the stop button and twisting the red button as far as it will go (to the furthermost yellow line). The timer will not start yet, until the botton is pressed.

Choose a player to roll the die. The uppermost letter on the die is the one that you must use to answer all the questions on your card. The timer can now be pressed to start the game.

Now you have to fill in your answer sheets and each answer must begin with the letter rolled. The answers must match the category sheet, so if you have a category list as follows:

1. Things that are sticky
2. Famous landmarks
3. Cars
4. Herbs and spices
5. Bad Habits
6. Cosmetics/Toiletries
7. Celebrities
8. Cooking Utensils
9. Reptiles/Amphibians
10. Mountains
11. Leisure Activities
12. Things that fasten

and the letter rolled was S, your answers for each question must all begin with an S.

It is amazing how difficult it is to think of an answer when you know that you are up against the clock. The trick here is to think of an answer that is not the most obvious for each question, the reason for this I will explain later.

The timer is a disadvantage of this game as it makes an infuriating buzzing/clicking noise until it eventually pings to signal the end of the round. When this happens, pens must immediately be put down.

The next stage is to read through your answers. Say for example that for sticky, I had syrup and no one else had thought of that I would get a point. However, if another player has guessed the same word, you get nothing. Now of course some of the answers may be disputed by the rest of the team. For instance I could think semolina was sticky but everyone else might not.

In this case, it has to be put to the vote.

Double points can be scored can be used for using two words for an answer that begin with the same letter, for example in the actresses category if I gave Susan Sarandon as my answer, two points would be awarded to me, unless another player had thought of the same answer!

There are a few rules of play, but when the children were smaller, we used to bend them a little, although now we don’t!!

The first letter of the word MUST be the same of that on the die.

A or An are not allowed to form part of your answer.

The same word may not be used twice in the same list, for example Daisy could not be used as a flower and a girls name.

When a proper name is used as an answer, it can be either the first or second name but the key letter must be used first. For example in the singers category, the answer would be written Craig David or David Craig – get my drift?!

For some of the categories, the question is misleading. One of the categories is athletes, which could be taken to mean the name of an athlete or a type of athlete. However, there is no clue to this in the rules, so we take either answer.

Creative answers can be used, for example knuckle could be used in the sandwich category, but if other players challenge the answer it has to go to a vote, including the player who has given the answer. In the event of a tie, the answering player’s vote is ignored.

For a more challenging game, the timer can be set for a shorter time, by turning it to one of the closer yellow lines, although this is not advisable when playing with young children.

After playing three rounds, add up your scores and whoever has the most points, is declared the winner.

If you like word games, then this is a game for you. Of course, if we want to be really cynical, it is possible to not even go out and buy the game, instead make up a kit yourself.

And of course the great thing in this day and age, is thayt if you do run out of answer pads, you can just scan a sheet into the computer and print out some more!

This is a great game and I’m sure you will be able to imagine a group of adults playing this after a few drinks, and the hilarious consequences and rather rude answers. I thoroughly recommend it (the game, not the getting drunk before playing!)