Scattergories Remote Play
A sponsored project as part of Hasbro's Bring Home the Fun campaign.
I created this project during the summer of 2020 as part of a studio sponsored by Hasbro Games. I worked in collaboration with Molly Schindler and Dover Horesh.
Project Brief
Redesign a popular Hasbro party game to be playable remotely. Work in teams of 3 to conduct research on existing games, and playtest your designs. Hasbro will publish the finished redesigns on their Bring Home the Fun webpage.
What is Scattergories?
Scattergories is a fast paced game where players compete to list unique items in a category.
Players race against a timer to list as many items as possible. Earn points by having unique answers from other players. Player with the most points wins.
Game Components
Scattergories comes with multiple physical components.
The design challenge was to make the game playable without everyone owning the game, and therefore the physical components.
Play Testing
My teammates and I played the game remotely, using many different styles of play.
Each of us owned a physical copy of the game, however we experimented by playing with and without the physical components.
Molly Schindler
Additional Research
To learn additional play styles, we watched videos of others playing, and researched other's home rules.
Dover Horesh
Each of us owned a physical copy of the game, however we experimented by playing with and without the physical components.
Me
Our Changes
After researching and playing the game in a variety of ways, we made some changes so the game could translate to remote play.
Types of players
We determined that in remote play, one player should be a "host".
Host players own a physical copy of the game, and will be the main facilitator of play. Host players may play the game alongside digital players.
Setting Up
Players should make their own answer sheets by numbering a piece of paper from 1 - 12 and folding it into three columns.
As the game proceeds, players can write in their answers on this sheet.
Host Player
The Host Player will need:
Digital Player
Digital Players will need:
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A physical copy of the game including the following pieces:
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Letter Die​
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Category Cards
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Answer sheets
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A writing utensil
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An audible timer (a phone timer works well)
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Access to a video chatting software
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A writing utensil
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A piece of paper
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Access to a video chatting software
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Category card PDF document
Set Up and Gameplay
A short guide
1. Choose a category
The host player shuffles the category cards and chooses one. Digital players navigate to the corresponding card on the PDF document.
2. Roll the Die
The host player rolls the letter die, determining the starting letter for the category.
3. Set a timer
The host player sets a timer for 3 minutes.
4. Write your answers
Each player works to write items that fit within the selected category and letter.
5. Tally your points
Each unique answer earns you a point. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
The Rules
A more in-depth guide.
