How to Play Name Place Animal Thing: Rules & Scoring (10-5-0)
How do you play Name, Place, Animal, Thing? Each round a letter is picked, and everyone writes one answer starting with that letter in the Name, City, Animal, Plant and Object columns at the same time. One player calls "STOP" and the answers are compared: an answer nobody else wrote scores 10, an answer someone else also wrote scores 5, and a blank or an answer that does not start with the letter scores 0. This article first covers the classic paper rules, then explains how online Categories differs from the paper game.
What is Name, Place, Animal, Thing?
Name, Place, Animal, Thing is a word game that needs nothing but paper and a pen. The same idea has its own name in every country: in Turkey it is İsim Şehir, in Germany Stadt Land Fluss, in France petit bac, in Argentina and Uruguay tutti frutti, in Mexico basta; in English-speaking countries it is called "name, place, animal, thing". The columns and small rules change from table to table, but the essence is always the same: everyone gets the same letter, writes at the same time, and works against a short clock.
The classic paper rules
Setup
Each player needs just a sheet of paper and a pen. Divide the sheet into columns: Letter, Name, City, Animal, Plant, Object and Points. Each round gets a new row; when the round ends, write that row's points in the rightmost column. If you want a ready-made template, see our printable table and category ideas article.
Choosing the letter
The best-known method: one player silently counts through the alphabet, another player says "stop", and the letter counted at that moment becomes the round's letter. Many tables agree before the game starts to skip hard letters nobody could write an answer for, so rounds are not wasted on letters with no answers.
Writing and STOP
Once the letter is known, everyone starts writing at the same time, filling every column with an answer that starts with that letter. The first player to fill their columns calls "STOP", and everyone puts their pen down. Then the answers are read out in turn; if an answer is doubtful, any objection is settled by discussion at the table.
Scoring: 10, 5, 0
- 10 points: an answer nobody else wrote in that column.
- 5 points: the same answer written by at least one other player. Everyone who wrote it gets 5.
- 0 points: a blank answer, or one that does not start with the round's letter.
Round points are added up, and whoever has the highest total at the end wins. Small differences can appear from table to table, but this is the most common scoring, and the online version uses the same 10-5-0 values.
A sample round
Let's total up a three-player round box by box, including the +5 STOP bonus from the online version.
A sample round — letter S, three players, “You” called STOP first:
| Category | You (STOP) | Rival 1 | Rival 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Sarah 5 | Sarah 5 | Sally 10 |
| City | Sydney 5 | Sacramento 10 | Sydney 5 |
| Animal | Sandpiper 5 | — (blank) 0 | Sandpiper 5 |
| Plant | Strawberry 5 | Strawberry 5 | Strawberry 5 |
| Object | — (blank) 0 | Saddle 10 | Alarm clock (invalid) 0 |
| STOP bonus | +5 | — | — |
| Total | 25 | 30 | 25 |
Two lessons come out of the table. First: the "You" column called STOP first and reached 25 points with the bonus, but "Rival 1" won the round with 30, because they had two unique answers. The STOP bonus does not win a round; unique answers earn points, and a shared answer drops a box from 10 to 5. Second: a blank box and an answer that does not start with the letter both give the same 0. The empty Object box in the "You" column and the invalid Object answer from "Rival 2" are worth the same: zero points. And remember: whether two players or five write the same answer, each of them gets 5.
Online Categories: what is different?
The core of the rules stays the same; the differences are the clock, the referee, and the scoring being built into the game itself. The table below puts the two side by side.
| Topic | On paper | Online Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Letter selection | The alphabet is counted, and someone says "stop" | A letter reel draws at random; the same letter does not repeat within a match |
| Time | Usually no fixed time: until someone finishes | Writing time is 45, 60 or 90 seconds (default 60) |
| STOP | The first to finish calls it and everyone stops | Anyone with at least one answer can press it; the first STOP cuts the remaining time to 10 seconds at most |
| Answer checking | Objections and debate at the table | A listed answer passes at once, one that does not start with the letter scores 0, and an answer not on the list is voted on by the table within 14 seconds |
| Points | 10 / 5 / 0 | 10 / 5 / 0, plus a +5 bonus for the first STOP caller if at least 3 of their answers scored |
| Rounds | As many as you like | 3, 5 or 8 rounds (default 5) |
| Players | As many as fit at the table | 2 to 6 players; in a room opened as a guest, up to 4 |
In the online version the columns are fixed: Name, City, Animal, Plant and Object. You cannot add your own column. If your friends are not around, you can add bots to the room: an easy bot fills about half of its boxes and never calls STOP, while a hard bot fills nearly all of them and usually calls STOP once its sheet is full.
The 10-second figure is a cap: if STOP is pressed in the last 10 seconds of a round, the time does not get longer; it stays as it is. If you change the room option "STOP Rule" to "Until time runs out", nobody can cut anybody off; STOP only locks your own sheet, and the round ends when the clock runs out or when everyone calls STOP. The language of the answers is set by the "Word Language" option; the default is the interface language.
How a round flows
In the online version every round follows the same cycle. First the letter reel spins and shows the round's letter.
- Letter reel (about three seconds): the letter is drawn. Only letters for which the word list can supply at least two answers in at least three categories can come up.
- Writing: you fill the five boxes at the same time. You see how many boxes your rivals have filled from the dots on the player cards, but not what they wrote. The STOP button opens once you have written at least one answer.
- Voting (only when needed): for answers that are not on the list but start with the right letter, the other players give 👍 or 👎 within 14 seconds. A tie goes to the answer, and you cannot vote on your own answer. If there is no answer to vote on, this stage is skipped.
- Score table: each box shows +10, +5, ✗ (invalid or rejected) or — (blank); the column of whoever pressed STOP first gets a ✋ badge. The table stays on screen for eight and a half seconds, then the next round starts.
Who wins?
The points from all rounds are added up, and the player with the highest total wins. A perfect round is 55 points: five unique answers plus the STOP bonus. If several players share the top score, they all count as winners; a draw happens only when everyone at the table has the same total, while in a two-player match every tie is a draw. With the default five rounds and 60 seconds of writing time, a match lasts about 7 minutes at most.
Ready to play?
That is all the rules; all that is left is drawing the first letter. Open a Categories room and start with a short three-round match. If you are curious which answers pass instantly from the list, see the answers guide, and if you want to know how to raise your score, read the tactics article.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people can play Name Place Animal Thing?
Online Categories is played by 2 to 6 players, and bots can also take a seat at the table. In a room you open as a guest there are at most 4 seats; for the 5th and 6th seats, the room must be opened by a registered account. On paper, as many people can play as fit around the table.
How long does a Name Place Animal Thing match last?
With the default 5 rounds and 60 seconds of writing time, a match lasts about 7 minutes at most; if someone calls STOP early, it is shorter still. In the room options you can set the rounds to 3, 5 or 8, and the writing time to 45, 60 or 90 seconds.
Who can press STOP in Categories, and what happens when they do?
Anyone who has written at least one answer can press STOP. The first STOP cuts the round's remaining time down to 10 seconds at most; if less than 10 seconds remain, it does not get longer. The player who presses first earns a +5 bonus if at least 3 of their answers scored. If everyone presses STOP, the round ends at once; if the room option is "Until time runs out", STOP only locks the sheet of the player who pressed it.
If a vote ends in a tie, does the answer pass?
Yes, a tie goes to the answer: if the yes votes equal or outnumber the no votes, the answer passes and scores like an answer on the list. Voting lasts at most 14 seconds. If an answer receives no votes at all, the decision follows the rule that the answer must be at least two letters long and start with the round's letter.
How do bots vote in a table vote?
Bots vote yes on any word that starts with the round's letter and is at least two letters long; in other words, they do not check whether it is on the list. Because bots only write words from the list themselves, in practice the vote is opened for answers from human players that are not on the list.
Which languages can Name Place Animal Thing be played in?
The language of the answers is set by the room option "Word Language": you can choose Turkish, English, Spanish, French, Russian or Korean. The default is the interface language, and the word language can be chosen independently of the interface language.