Nitty’s categories

Nitty’s categories (named after an autoincorrection of Nicky Collins) is a game for any number of players. It is a category game that can be played without all the tedious business of slapping thighs that angle-dangle requires.

The first player names a category and says “to my left/right, one”. Then, following in order the other players either call the next number in sequence going up, or challenge. As in angle-dangle, one can challenge the starter that there are not enough members of the category to go round the group; otherwise a challenge would be to the player before you.

The challenged player has then to list as many members of the category as the last number they said. Repeating a category member is tolerated (but obviously doesn’t count); saying a thing that is not in the category is an immediate loss.

The fine if the challenged player fails is the difference between the number of things the player came up with and the number they said they were going to; if the player succeeds, the challenger is fined the total number that they challenged on.

Usually fines are in pencils; if you choose “elements of the periodic table” as your category, more fool you. This game has been successfully played between pubs on long crawls.