Scattergories is a fun board game that is easy to play and works for solo personalities or team shows. And there are a ton of options to customize it.

How to Play Scattergories

Scattergories is a series of questions. The answers to each question begin with the same letter. It’s kind of a daily game of The Secret feature.

The host can change the Scattergories letter at the end of each round.

For example:

Each answer starts with the letter J. We’ll give you a clue, and you get a point for each correct answer.

    • The 53rd card.  Joker
    • ___________ to the center of the Earth.  Journey
    • School sweeper.  Janitor
    • The most famous member of NSync. Justin Timberlake
    • A toy that features a clown jumping out. Jack In The Box.

This can sound a little complicated, so explain it clearly, then demonstrate how to play in a practice round before starting the game.

Variations Of Play

There are four ways to play the game:

See also  Game: Who Said It Television Edition

One Contestant. They must answer 3 of 5 questions correctly to win. Each round goes quickly, so try to keep playing until there’s a winner. If there’s time, play two or three different games (with different contestants).

Two Contestants. Play two rounds. In case of a tie, keep playing until there is a winner. This is a little dangerous because Scattergories can be a hard game to play, and some listeners don’t respond quickly. Try to screen callers so they sound upbeat, fun, and smart!

Show Members Play: Each cast member plays a round or two. You can have each represent a caller if you want to award a prize, but it’s unnecessary.

Three Contestants: This is a bit more complicated but can work. Each contestant gets one question for each round (letter). The trickiest part of this version is keeping score so the listener knows what is happening.

Examples of Scattergories

Here are some examples of questions and games:

  • The letter “T.”
    • Carole King’s embroidered album. – Tapestry
    • Drink it with a grain of salt. – Tequila
    • One of Cyndi Lauper’s biggest hits in the 80s -Time After Time
    • Mark, the author of Huckleberry Finn. -Twain
    • The greatest quarterback the Patriots have ever had. -Tom Brady
  • The letter “N.”
    • Her dress is habit-forming. – Nun
    • Arranged by musicians, passed by students. – Notes
    • The favorite Star of Switzerland. – Neutral
    • Works in a hospital. -Nurse
    • Peter Pan’s Home. -Never-Never Land.
See also  Game: Who Sings It 80s Edition

Tips

Keep the game moving along. You may want to limit each round to 5 questions and 15 or 30 seconds.

The best resource for questions is to buy the board game. It’s not hard to make up your own, but part of the fun is using clever wording for the clues. It helps to have them ready to roll!

If you play it daily, you could ask your audience to contribute their ideas for Scattergories to play on the air. Set it up through an online form on your website. Then acknowledge the listener who contributed to them that day.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR