Scattergories Generator
Random letter + categories with a built-in timer.
Built and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Last checked
Run a game of Scattergories with a random letter and a fresh list of categories that stay hidden until you start the round and the timer begins. Set the letter pool, how many categories you want, the timer length, and which themed pack to draw from — then play with family, a classroom, or a party with no board or printouts needed.
Options. Choose your letter pool, category count, timer, and category pack.
Letter
?
Time
—
⏰ Time's up!
Options
How it works
- Options. Choose your letter pool, category count, timer, and category pack.
- Start. Click "New round" to draw a letter, reveal the categories, and start the timer.
- Replay. Start another round for a new letter and category set.
About the Scattergories Generator
What a round is made of
Each round draws one letter and a list of categories, then runs a timer. Players write an answer starting with that letter for every category before time runs out. The Category count sets how many categories appear and Timer seconds how long you have, so the difficulty is genuinely yours to set — twelve categories in sixty seconds is a very different game from six in three minutes.
The Letter pool option is the other difficulty lever. The easy pool drops the letters that reliably produce blank rows, while the hard pool includes everything. For a mixed group, the easy pool keeps everyone scoring.
Six category packs, and how they differ
The general pack is the largest by a wide margin and is what most groups want. The themed packs — kids, food, travel, entertainment, holiday — are narrower on purpose, which changes the game rather than merely re-skinning it: a food pack with the letter K is much harder than a general pack with the letter K, because you cannot escape into an easier category.
Categories within a round are drawn without repeating, so you will not get the same category twice on one sheet. Between rounds there is no such memory, so a category can return.
Scoring is yours
The tool draws the letter, the categories and the time. It does not score. That is deliberate — the interesting part of Scattergories is the argument about whether an answer counts, and no tool can settle whether "Kentucky" is a fair answer for "somewhere you would holiday".
The standard rule is that duplicate answers between players score nothing, which is what pushes people towards obscure answers rather than obvious ones. Agree that before you start, along with whether alliterative answers score double, because both of those arguments are more fun before the round than after it.
Setting up a table
- Your option choices are remembered between visits, so the group setup survives a page reload.
- Read the categories out before starting the timer if anyone is playing on paper without a screen.
- The timer is on screen only — there is no alarm if the tab is in the background.
- One device per table works better than one per player; everyone is looking at the same categories.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the categories hidden at first?
Just like the board game, you see the letter before the categories so no one gets a head start. Click Start to reveal them and begin the timer.
Can I avoid hard letters like Q, V, X, and Z?
Yes. Set the letter pool to Easy in the Options panel, or choose Hard to play with only those tough letters.
Where do the categories come from?
Several themed packs are bundled — general, kids, food, travel, entertainment, and holiday — with hundreds of categories. Pick a pack in Options.
Is the letter chosen fairly, and is my game private?
The letter is picked with the Web Crypto API for an unbiased draw, and the game runs entirely in your browser with nothing sent to a server.
Related randomizers
Further reading
- Name three, fast: hosting the 5 Second Rule on a phone
The 5 Second Rule is funny because the clock makes easy questions impossible. Here's how to run it cleanly — a fair prompt, a countdown that panics you at the right moment, and packs that fit a family table or a bolder crowd.
- Hosting hangman without anyone peeking at the word
Whoever draws the hangman word usually sees it on screen first, spoiling it for the group. Here's how a hidden-until-revealed word generator lets one host run the game off a shared screen without leaking the answer.
- A random letter for Scattergories that nobody can argue with
Picking a letter from your head is never really random — and someone always calls it. Here's how a random letter picker, with an easy mode that skips the impossible letters, keeps word games fair and moving.
- Scattergories without the arguments: fair letters, honest answers, and a timer that ends it
Scattergories lives or dies on three things: a letter nobody can call rigged, categories everyone can actually answer, and a clock that stops the round before the table starts negotiating. Here's how to run it cleanly with just a phone.