Categories
Pick sets of items, like classic cars or bands, and get to it.
Written by DP | Updated
Categories is one of the most organically started drinking games that there is.
Picture this, you're sitting around your dorm room or college apartment, having a couple of Busch Lights, when someone starts talking about the best scary movies. You chime in with one, same with your buddy, and before you know it, you've rattled off 6-7 of them and you're feeling pretty good.
Then, that one person has to go and not answer. Or worse, they go off topic and start talking about comedies or something. That's essentially Categories in a nutshell, albeit a bit more informal.
Categories in other Drinking Games
Categories is almost a given in any Punishment Cup based game. This includes:
It's also in the Waterfall card game, which is quite similar, despite the lack of the cup in the middle of the cards.
Then there are other, lesser known games where categories appear. Drunk Jenga is one place. Asshole is another place where it comes up, but more as part of a President's Rule from owning the Presidency for 3+ consecutive terms.
How do you play the Categories Drinking Game?
You play the Categories drinking game by coming up with a playing order, choosing someone to start, and then that person determines the first category for people to start picking answers for. The easiest way to play is to have everyone sit in a circle. If you can't do that, just go around the table or go around the room that you're hanging out in, it's not hard.
The trick is in finding categories with the right amount of answers. When we say the right amount, we mean 7-12 good answers. Here are the three category types you want to avoid.
- Categories that go on forever. A category like years is worthless, as rote math gets old. You're just counting away.
- Categories that have a finite end. Letters, for example. There are 26, and we all know them. Unless you think someone doesn't. Then that would be fun.
- Categories that are super obscure. Varieties of tree frog, or something else that's foolish knowledge.
Category Examples
- Animals
- Beer Brands
- Breakfast Foods (Bacon, eggs, sausage, etc.)
- Cars Brands
- Colleges
- Condom Brands
- Countries
- Drinking Games (how meta)
- Gold Glove Winners
- Hair Metal Bands
- Movies
- North American Ski Mountains
- Oscar Winners
- Songs
- Sports
- Streaming Channels
- Super Bowl Winners
- States
- Types of Parties
- Wu-Tang Clan Members