Your letter is … T! Quick, think of a fruit, a hobby, a city, aaaand … time’s up! Can you think quick on your feet and put down a word in every category, no matter the letter? Time to put your mind to the test! Let’s check out Categories Master!

What Is It?

A word game similar in style to Scattegories, and based off the classic game CATEGORIES (City, Country, River), popular in Europe. Players work under a time restraint and are tasked with thinking of 1-word answers in multiple categories, all starting with the same pre-determined letter. They’ll score points for every valid answer, and will score better for unique answers, and even better if they are the only player with a correct answer in a category. After a number of rounds (you decide how many before beginning), the player with the most points wins!

Who Is It For?

  • Fans of word games like Scattegories
  • Groups of all sizes / great for the family
  • Ages 10+
  • Casual gamers

Components + Quality

The game is just a pad with 50 tear-off pages; simple but gets the job done. The sheets are large (12×9″), which is nice for writing on, but does make it a bit difficult if you like to laminate writing game sheets, like I do. The pages also tear off very easily and nicely, which is great, of course.

The rules are very short, and honestly a bit vague. You could argue that there’s not much to the game, so that’s why the rules are simple, but it caused some unnecessary confusion. There’s no clarification about what constitutes a legal answer, and no rules for challenging answers, and I just felt like some clarity would have been helpful.

PROS

  • Flexible rules for answers, if you enjoy that
  • Varied categories for replayability
  • Quick rounds
  • Good for gamers of all kinds
  • Same answers do not get cancelled out like in many word games

CONS

  • Loosely defined rules can make it hard to determine what a valid answer is (i.e. there are categories like “actor” or “athlete” which are difficult without a first & last name, but the rules say to use “one word”)

Final Thoughts

I went into this one pretty excited, because I’m personally a big fan of these types of word games. I think what really got to me was just how vague the rules are for the categories that the game gives to you, it just made it a little more difficult for me while playing. I’m sure that won’t be the case with everyone though, so if you are a fan of this style of game, definitely check it out! It’s pretty simple overall, so it will be easy to get all your friends and family to play and enjoy!

My Final Ratings:
Overall Game – 5/10
Replay Value – 6/10
Difficulty – 3/10

Additional Information:
Designers – Janina and Jacky Bowlin
MSRP – $14.95
Website