Stop game categories: easy, hard and themed ideas
Categories make or break a game of Stop (also known as Categories or Tutti Frutti). Play the same ones every time and it gets predictable; switch them up and every round feels new. Here are more than 90 ideas sorted by difficulty and theme, ready for a paper sheet or an online room.
How to choose categories for a game
A good round mixes categories everyone can fill in with a few that make people think. A rule of thumb that works: six to eight categories per round, half of them easy and the rest medium or hard. If you're playing with kids or first-timers, keep them all easy; if your group is experienced, add two or three hard ones so the same person doesn't win every time.
It also helps to think about who's playing. A group of sports fans will love Athlete; a family game with grandparents and grandkids works better with something like Thing in the kitchen. And if someone in the group lives in another country, avoid categories that are too local or accept answers from their region.
Classic categories
The ones that show up on almost every sheet. Great for warming up and for playing with any group.
- Name
- Last name
- Country
- City
- Animal
- Food
- Color
- Fruit or vegetable
- Object
- Brand
- Job or profession
- Sport
Easy categories for kids
Designed for elementary school kids or anyone just learning the game. These are topics they know well and that have lots of possible answers.
- Toy
- Candy or snack
- Body part
- Piece of clothing
- Thing at school
- Thing in the kitchen
- Farm animal
- Cartoon character
- Superhero
- Way to get around
- School supply
- Something at the beach
Hard categories
For groups who already know the classics by heart. With these, just filling in the box is an achievement, and it's common to score 20 points for being the only person who did.
- River
- World capital
- Historical figure
- Chemical element
- Musical instrument
- Disease or illness
- Language
- Word in Spanish
- Verb
- Adjective
- Author
- Painter
- Mythological god or goddess
- Mountain or volcano
Categories for adults
Grown-up topics that tend to spark laughs and debates at a party or after dinner.
- Alcoholic drink
- Cocktail
- Excuse for being late
- Reason to call in sick
- Something you buy at a pharmacy
- Boring chore
- Honeymoon destination
- Something embarrassing
- Last-minute gift
- Piece of furniture
- Household appliance
- Show to binge-watch
Themed categories
Movies and TV
- Movie
- TV show
- Actor or actress
- Movie director
- Animated movie
- Movie villain
- Fictional character
- Horror movie
- Movie franchise
- Sitcom
Music
- Singer
- Band
- Song
- Music genre
- Percussion instrument
- Rock band
- Rapper
- Album
- Music festival
- Broadway musical
Sports
- Sports team
- Athlete
- Soccer club
- Stadium or arena
- Coach
- Olympic sport
- Basketball player
- Position on a team
- Sports equipment
- Famous race or tournament
USA
- US state
- US city
- President
- National park
- American food
- American brand
- Famous landmark
- Holiday
- College or university
- Slang word
- Road trip stop
- Native animal
How to use these categories in tutti.frutti
When you create a private room you can pick categories one by one, load a quick pack (Classic, Argentine culture or Random, which draws new categories every round) or type your own categories with any name you like. That means you can copy any idea from this page and set up a themed game in seconds.
Random rooms, on the other hand, always use the eight classic categories, because two strangers have no way to agree on them before starting.
If an answer is questionable, the game has a challenge system and an AI judge that decides whether the word belongs to the category. You can read the details in the Stop game rules.
Pick your favorite categories, create a room and share the link with your group.
Play nowKeep reading
- Printable Stop game sheets, including a blank one to write your own categories.
- The Stop game in the classroom: categories by subject for teachers.