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Categories is a word game in which players think of words that begin with specified letters and belong to specified semantic categories. For instance, given the letters in "Sargon" and the category "U.S. states", one can list: A word game or word puzzle can be of several different types: Letter arrangement games, where the goal is to form words out of given letters: Anagrams -- both a simple game of rearranging letters and a linguistic recreation of making anagrams that seem to illuminate something about the original word...
Bronze head of Sargon (?), from Nineveh, stolen from National Museum of Iraq in 2003 Sargon of Akkad, or Sargon the Great (Akkadian Sharru-kin, the true king, reigned 2334 BC - 2279 BC, short chronology), founder of the Dynasty of Akkad. ...
Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to 1956) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President • Vice President Federal republic George...
A typical game consists of choosing five initial letters and five categories. These become the rows and columns of a 5×5 grid which the players attempt to fill within five minutes. If there are only two players, the one who fills more of the 25 combinations is the winner. If there are more than two players, the scoring usually discounts any entries written by more than one player. State nickname: Palmetto State Official languages English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Governor Mark Sanford (R) Senators Lindsey Graham (R) Jim DeMint (R) Area - Total - % water Ranked 40th 82,965 km² 6 Population - Total (2000) - Density Ranked 26th 4,012,012 51. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 29th 137,732 km² 385 km 420 km 2. ...
State nickname: The Ocean State, Little Rhody Official languages None Capital Providence Largest city Providence Governor Donald Carcieri (R) Senators Jack Reed (D) Lincoln Chafee (R) Area - Total - % water Ranked 50th 4,005 km² 32. ...
State nickname: Peach State / Empire State of the South Official languages English Capital Atlanta Largest city Atlanta Governor Sonny Perdue (R) Senators Saxby Chambliss (R) Johnny Isakson (R) Area - Total - % water Ranked 24th 154,077 km² 2. ...
State nickname: Beaver State Official languages None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) Senators Ron Wyden (D) Gordon Smith (R) Area - Total - % water Ranked 9th 255,026 km² 2. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 19th 183 272 km² 340 km 545 km 2. ...
Categories is related to the commercial games Scattergories and Facts in Five. Scattergories is a crowd-pleasing, fast-thinking categories game. ...
Categories is also a party game in which players have to think of instances of a specific category. The players sit in a circle either on the floor or at a large table and collectively establish a rhythm of six beats: slap slap (on the thighs), clap clap (with the hands), snap snap (by clicking their fingers). Trivial Pursuit is a popular party game. ...
The players must speak in turn clockwise around the circle on the snap beats, using the slap and clap beats to gather their thoughts. On a player's turn, he or she must name a new instance of the category or be eliminated. Eliminated players sit out, creating an ever-shrinking circle, until only one player remains.
Typically a category is not chosen in advance, but is specified by the third player to speak after the first player has said "Categories" and the second player has said "such as...". A demonstration game between five players will illustrate:
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "Categories"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 2: "such as..."
- slap slap clap clap - Player 3: "Diseases" (everyone now knows the category)
- slap slap clap clap - Player 4: "Cancer"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 5: "Chickenpox"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "Measles"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 2: "Athlete's foot"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 3: "Mistletoe" (this is not a disease; Player 3 is eliminated)
- slap slap clap clap snap snap (Player 4 is laughing so hard at Player 3 she misses the beat and is eliminated)
- slap slap clap clap - Player 5: "Tuberculosis"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "Schizophrenia"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 2: "AIDS"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 5: "Ebola"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "Emphysema"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 2: "Herpes"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 5: "Hiccups" (getting desperate, but the other players accept it)
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "HIV" (this is considered a repetition of AIDS; Player 1 is eliminated)
- slap slap clap clap - Player 2: "Malaria"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 5: "Leukemia" (considered a repetition of Cancer; Player 5 is eliminated; Player 2 wins)
A common variation is to play each category only until the first elimination. After an elimination there is a short pause, after which the player who was due to speak next restarts the game by saying "Categories". In this variation, no category may be chosen twice. The advantage of this variation is that there is sometimes contention over whether a player should be eliminated, and the pause allows for calm discussion of whether, for example, hiccups is really a disease. The disadvantage is that players are less often required to speak several times in the same category. A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ...
When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ...
Chickenpox, also spelled chicken pox, is the commonly known name for varicella disease, frequently but not exclusively contracted in childhood. ...
Athletes foot is a fungal infection of the skin, usually between the toes, caused by parasitic fungi. ...
Families Santalaceae (Viscaceae) Loranthaceae Mistletoe is the common name for various parasitic plants of the families Santalaceae (in the section of the family formerly separated as Viscaceae) and Loranthaceae. ...
Tuberculosis (commonly shortened to TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ...
The Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS. AIDS, or Aids, is an acronym for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or acquired immune deficiency syndrome and is defined as a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the...
Species Ivory Coast ebolavirus Reston ebolavirus Sudan ebolavirus Zaire ebolavirus Ebola hemorrhagic fever (alternatively Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever, EHF, or just Ebola) is a very rare, but severe, mostly fatal infectious disease occurring in humans and other primates, caused by the Ebola virus, which is possibly carried by fruit bats. ...
Genera Subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae Simplexvirus Varicellovirus Mardivirus Iltovirus Subfamily Betaherpesvirinae Cytomegalovirus Muromegalovirus Roseolovirus Subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae Lymphocryptovirus Rhadinovirus Unassigned Ictalurivirus The Herpesviridae is a family of DNA viruses that cause diseases in humans and animals. ...
A hiccup or hiccough (generally pronounced hiccup independent of the spelling) is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm; typically this repeats several times a minute. ...
Human immunodeficiency virus, commonly known by the acronym HIV, is a retrovirus that primarily infects vital components of the human immune system such as CD4+ T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. ...
Red blood cell infected with Malaria (Italian: bad air; formerly called ague or marsh fever in English) is an infectious disease which in humans causes about 350-500 million infections and approximately 30. ...
Leukemia (leukaemia in Commonwealth English) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal proliferation of white blood cells (leukocytes). ...
Categories is also known as Clap Trap. In this version each round of the game starts with a "General Hover" [everyone holds their hands out and wiggles their fingers] before the slapping, clapping, and clicking rhythm is established. Then Player 1 chooses the category and the direction of play as follows, speaking as before [slap slap, clap clap] only [slap slap clap clap] on the [slap slap clap clap] clicks!
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "Give me..."
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "to my right..." [or left...]
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "names of..."
- slap slap clap clap - Player 1: "flowers!"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 2: "Daffodils!"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 3: "Roses!"
- slap slap clap clap - Player 4: "Pansies!"
- and so on.
The round stops when a player cannot think of anything appropriate to say or cannot get it out in time. This player then pays a forfeit and starts the next round, choosing a new topic and a new direction as before. If adults are playing, the usual forfeit is to take a sip of their (normally alcoholic) drink. Forfeiting is the act of voluntarily admitting defeat in a competition or contest, thereby surrendering victory to the opposition. ...
The game is funniest if the categories are really simple.
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