Fun
Scattergories List Generator
A Scattergories list generator saves you from digging out the physical game box or scribbling categories on scratch paper before a round can start. Pick one of 16 pre-set lists, each with 12 varied categories spanning people, places, things, and pop culture, and you have a full round ready in seconds. It works the same way the real game does: everyone answers every category with a word that starts with the same letter, and whoever comes up with the most valid, uncopied answers wins the round. No box, no dice, no lost category cards — just a list you can read straight off the screen. The letter itself can be handled two ways. Leave "Include Letter" on and a random A-to-Z letter gets picked automatically, the same way the game's letter die decides it in the physical version. Or type your own letter into the custom field if you want to make a round harder on purpose — X and Q rounds are notoriously brutal — or if you're replaying a specific letter a group already agreed on ahead of time. Cycle through all 16 lists across a game night and you won't repeat a single category, which makes this just as useful for a quick two-minute round at the office as it is for a full evening of back-to-back games with a big group.
How to use
- Choose your options above
- Click Generate
- Copy your result
Detailed instructions
- Set the list number from 1 to 16, or leave it on 1 to start from the beginning.
- Leave Include Letter turned on if you want a random A-to-Z letter added automatically.
- Type a single letter into the custom field if you want to control the letter yourself instead of leaving it to chance.
- Click generate to get your 12 categories and letter header, ready to read aloud.
- Set a timer of a few minutes and have everyone write down an answer for each category starting with that letter.
- Move to the next list number for the following round so no categories repeat.
Use Cases
- •A game night host pulling up list 4 with a random letter for a group of six friends who left the physical game at home
- •A remote team building manager running a quick Scattergories round over video call during a virtual happy hour
- •A teacher using a Scattergories list as a vocabulary warm-up, picking easier categories and skipping the random letter
- •A family setting a house rule of typing in a custom letter to make round two harder after list 1 went too fast
- •A party planner cycling through all 16 lists across a long game night so no group repeats the same categories twice
Tips
- →Give players 2 to 3 minutes per round — long enough to think, short enough to keep the energy up.
- →Skip the letter for warm-up rounds where you just want to brainstorm categories without the added challenge.
- →Use a custom letter like Q, X, or Z occasionally to create a genuinely tough bonus round.
- →Score answers by giving extra points for any response nobody else in the group wrote down.
- →Work through the 16 lists in order across multiple game nights so a group never sees the same categories twice.
- →Read each category out loud before starting the timer so there's no confusion about what counts as a valid answer.
FAQ
how many different lists are there
There are 16 pre-set lists, matching the number of category lists found in the physical Scattergories game. Each list has 12 distinct categories covering things like names, places, foods, movies, and everyday objects, so you can play a full night without repeating categories.
can I pick my own letter instead of a random one
Yes. Type a single letter into the custom letter field and the generator will use it instead of picking one at random. Leave the field blank and turn Include Letter on if you'd rather let chance decide, just like rolling the letter die in the original game.
Do I have to include the letter at all?
No — turn the Include Letter toggle off and you'll get just the 12 categories with no letter header. This is useful if you're using the categories for something other than a timed Scattergories round, like a writing warm-up or a trivia night segment.
What happens if I type something that isn't a single letter into the custom field?
The generator checks that the custom entry is exactly one letter. If it isn't — say you paste in a word or leave stray spaces — it falls back to picking a random letter instead, so the round is never left without one.
is this the same as the real board game
The category lists are original but follow the same format and spirit as the classic game: 12 categories, one shared letter, and a race to fill in valid answers. It works great as a substitute when you don't have the physical set on hand, or as a quick warm-up before playing the real thing.
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