¡Basta! (Name, Place, Animal, Thing): rules, scoring and how to play online

One game, many names

This game goes by a lot of names. In the UK and much of the world it is Name, Place, Animal, Thing; in Latin America it is Basta, Stop or Tutti Frutti; in Israel it is Eretz Ir; and many people know a boxed cousin of it as Scattergories. Whatever you call it, the idea is the same: everyone plays at once, on one shared letter, across several categories. It is a race, not a turn-based game.

Rules on paper

1. Everyone draws a table: columns are categories (name, place, animal, plant, food, thing, job), rows are rounds.
2. Pick the letter at random: one player silently runs through the alphabet and another says “stop”. Drop awkward letters like Q, X and Z up front.
3. Everyone fills in the row at the same time with words that start with that letter.
4. The first to fill every box shouts “Stop!” or “Basta!”. Agree in advance whether the others get a few seconds to finish or pens go down at once.
5. Scoring: a unique word is 10 points, a word someone else also wrote is 5, an empty box or wrong letter is 0.
6. After several rounds, add up the scores; the highest total wins.

On paper, scoring takes longest: everyone reads their words aloud, you hunt for matches, and you argue over whether “New York” counts for N (it does) and whether a fish is really an “animal” (the table decides).

How it works online in ¡Basta!

¡Basta! on playparty.live is the same game without paper or refereeing. Each round opens with a random letter and five categories drawn from seven: name, animal, city or country, food, thing, profession, plant. You get 75 seconds to put a word in all five boxes. The first player to fill them all hits ¡BASTA!, and everyone else has just 10 seconds left.

• The server scores it: a word with the right letter that nobody else wrote is 10; a shared word is 5; empty or wrong letter is 0.
• Letters come from a bag and never repeat; awkward letters are left out.
• Categories rotate every round, so memorised answers run out fast.
• A match runs two to five rounds — the host picks in the lobby.
• Players: 2 to 8, joining by link with no install or sign-up. Short on people? Add bots: they write imperfectly, sometimes skip a category and call ¡BASTA! on you.

A sample round

The letter is B; the categories are city, animal, food, profession and plant. Anna writes Boston, bear, bagel, baker, bamboo. Ben writes Berlin, bear, burger, builder, basil. Cara writes Bristol, beaver, burrito, banker — and hits ¡BASTA! before finding a plant. Anna and Ben both wrote “bear”, so that is 5 each; every other word is unique for 10. Round score: Anna 45, Ben 45, Cara 40 — the empty box cost her the lead, but her ¡BASTA! stopped the others from upgrading their answers.

Strategy: how to score more

• Skip the obvious. “Paris” for P will be on half the sheets and earn 5. “Perth” or “Porto” earns 10.
• Start with the hard category. Plants and jobs are tougher than names. Do them first while your head is fresh.
• Watch the clock. Sometimes it pays to hit ¡BASTA! with simple words rather than let rivals finish their unique ones.
• Fill first, polish later. An empty box is 0; any word with the right letter is at least 5.
• Practise tough letters. E and G trip people up — a couple of go-to answers per category saves the round.

Category ideas for the paper version

On paper you pick the categories yourselves — the best way to tailor the game. For families with kids: colour, toy, cartoon, fairy-tale character. For grown-ups: car brand, movie, restaurant dish, excuse for being late. For travellers: river, capital city, landmark. For a language class: verb, adjective, thing in the classroom. Keep it to five to seven categories, or rounds drag on. With young kids, drop the timer and pair each child with an adult; more ideas in our birthday party games.

Where it shines: parties, classrooms, calls

The game fits any setting. At the table, everyone plays on their own phone and nobody hunts for a pen. On a video call ¡Basta! is one of the best picks: everyone sees their own boxes and scoring is instant — more in our video call games. Teachers use it as a vocabulary warm-up, and a two-round match fits into a five-minute break. At work it brings out the quiet people: the winner is the inventive one, not the loud one.

Similar word games

If your group loves coming up with words against the clock, try the team explain-the-word game, where you describe instead of write while your team guesses. For people who would rather draw, there is Pictioner: one player draws a word and the others guess.

FAQ

How many players do you need?

Two to eight. It works with just two, and with bots you can even practise alone.

Can I choose my own categories?

Online, the categories come from the standard seven and change every round. Custom themes like “brands” or “cartoon characters” are easy to add on paper.

Which alphabet does it use?

The letter and the bots’ word lists follow the interface language of whoever created the room: English, Spanish, Russian or Hebrew.

Is it free?

Yes. ¡Basta! is free, with no sign-up and nothing to install.