Category Chain
Round the circle, one item per person. Repeat one and the category changes.
You name a category and it goes round the circle with one item each, and the moment somebody repeats or stalls you change the category on the spot. The changes come fast enough that the room never settles, which is exactly what makes it work as a warm-up.
Circle up. I'll name a category — you go round giving one thing in it each, no repeats. If you stall or repeat, I change the category immediately and we carry on from you. Nobody is out.
A room needs a quick mental warm-up in a circle with nothing to set up.
Props: None
Run this when…
If none of these is your room, pick another.Before anything requiring quick thinking
A group who need a short focusing activity
A five-minute slot with no props
How to run it
Written to be glanced at mid-room, not memorised.
- Circle up, seated or standing.
- Name a category and start it going round with one item each.
- No repeats and no long pauses.
- When somebody stalls or repeats, change the category instantly and carry on from that person.
- Speed it up as it goes.
- Finish on a category the room finds funny about itself.
Running it well
Only the host sees these. Participants never do.
- Change the category the instant somebody stalls, without any comment. The speed of the change is what keeps it light rather than making somebody the person who broke it.
- Keep the categories broad at first and narrow later. Starting with something specific means the first person stalls and it never gets going.
- Carrying on from the person who stalled rather than starting fresh is important — it means nobody is singled out and the rhythm survives.
Watch out for
Space, safety and the traps worth knowing before you start.
- Nobody moves and nothing is needed.
- Being on the spot is exposing. The instant category change and the no-one-is-out rule are what make it safe, so keep both.
Already seated
Nobody has to stand for this one.
Entirely seated in a circle or along a row.
On a video call
The cards work as they are. This is what changes about how you call it.
Call the next person by name in gallery order. The category change on a stall works exactly as written. Do not try to keep a rhythm; audio lag will beat you, and the activity does not need one.
Run it yourself
Free for thirty days, no card. Put it on the projector and step through it — nobody in the room needs a phone.
Start freeAlready have an account? Sign in
- Where
- Remote or in person
- Props
- None
- Big screen
- Required
- Teams
- Individual only