Category Clues hire · a big-screen game
Hire Category Clues.
One team-mate sees the word on screen and has to describe it; their partner has to guess it. Six words a round, a clock ticking down on the big screen, and one rule that ruins everyone: you cannot say the word, or anything that rhymes with it.
The rule that ruins everyone: you cannot say the word, or anything that rhymes with it.
How a round plays
How a round of Category Clues works.
A pyramid of categories to choose from, a bonus round for a brave team, and a room that laughs harder at the describing than the guessing.
Pick a category
Choose from the pyramid of six categories on the board, the office, British weather, famous duos and more.
1Describe, don’t say
One player describes each word without saying it, their partner guesses. Passing is allowed; panicking is inevitable.
2
Beat the clock
Six words against a live sixty-second timer on the big screen, with a point for every one guessed.
3
In among the tables, every round Bonus round
A team that fancies its chances can gamble on a bonus round for double points.
4Running the room from the floor
On the big screen
The real screens, not a mock-up.
Every screen on this page is my own software running live, captured at the size a projector throws. It is one of nine big-screen games in the same app, run from a phone in my hand at the microphone, with the sound, the strikes and the scores built in.
Three ways to play
Three ways to play Category Clues.
Every game I run can be played three ways, and I pick the way that suits the room, the timings and the layout on the night: as a show at the front, table against table, or with every single guest playing on their own phone. Mix them across an evening and nobody spends the night watching.
As a show
Two colleagues, one clock, the room watching
One team-mate sees the word on the big screen and describes it; their partner guesses. Six words, sixty seconds, no saying the word. The room laughs harder at the describing than the guessing, and a bonus round for double points tempts the confident pairs.
Best for: awards nights and away daysAt the tables
Every table, one describer
Each table picks a describer who faces away from the screen, and the whole table guesses as one. Every table plays the same six words at once against the same clock, so the room is a wall of frantic describing. Points by table, bonus round for the brave.
Best for: conference dinners and team daysOn the app
Everyone guesses on their phone
On phones one person at the front describes and the whole room types its guess; the fastest correct answers score through the Play Along engine. Three hundred people trying to guess spreadsheet
from the thing Dave loves
is a room worth being in.
Built for the room
Same game. Two very different rooms.
I customise every game for the audience in front of me: the questions, the answers, and the way I present them. The same format is a completely different show for a room of graduates in their twenties and a room of chief executives, and it should be. I write for the people who will actually be there, then I speak into the listening on the night: I read what the room is giving back and change gear to match it.
Chaos, kindly managed
- Words I would use
- Apps, snacks, celebrities, and a category of things from their own induction week.
- How I host it
- Short clocks and quick swaps so a lot of pairs get a turn. Passing is allowed, panicking is inevitable, and I point it out.
- What lands
- Two people who met an hour ago finishing each other’s sentences under a clock.
Industry terms and a straight face
- Words I would use
- Product names, industry jargon, competitors, and a category of words from the company’s own strategy.
- How I host it
- I pair people who do not usually work together. A chief executive describing
procurement
to the head of marketing is a bonding exercise nobody signed up for. - What lands
- The mixing. It puts two senior people on the same side against a clock, and it sticks.
1Written for your people
Send me the year’s stories, the in-jokes, the departments and the industry. The rounds are built from them, so the answers land in a way no off-the-shelf pack ever can.
2Speaking into the listening
The words on the screen are half of it. How I present them is the rest, and I pitch the pace, the teasing and the tone to the room that has turned up, not the one on the brief.
3If a different crowd turns up
Eight hundred events across festivals, awards, conferences and dinners means I have hosted every kind of room. If the mood is not what anyone expected, I change the style on the spot, and often the questions too.
In the running order
Where Category Clues fits in the night.
Where it sits in the night
Early, as the icebreaker with a laugh in it, or as the energiser after lunch at a conference.
How long
A minute a turn plus the bonus round. Eight pairs is a lively fifteen minutes.
Pairs well with
Run it back to back with a scavenger hunt and the new-found teams keep working together.
“Two people who barely know each other, working as a team under a clock. It mixes departments faster than any icebreaker I have ever seen.”
All fourteen games
Fourteen games. One host. One screen.
Five rounds the whole room plays on their phones, and nine big-screen games with teams at the board. All of it is my own software, run from one screen, so I can switch format the moment the room needs a lift. Tap any game to see exactly how it plays.
Common Ground
Vote with the room, score for matching it
How it plays →On your phone
Who’s Bluffing?
Three stories, one true, the room decides
How it plays →On your phone
The Final Few
A knockout quiz down to the last few standing
How it plays →On your phone
Side Bets
Play money on what happens next on stage
How it plays →On your phone
The Cut
Everyone answers, the lowest scores are cut
How it plays →Big screen
Family Fortunes
Two teams, one survey board, three strikes
How it plays →Big screen
Quiz Show
Categories, buzzers and picture rounds
How it plays →Big screen
Play Your Cards Right
Higher or lower on a row of giant cards
How it plays →Big screen
What the Blank
Fill the gap, match the room’s funniest answers
How it plays →Big screen
Guess the Phrase
A hidden phrase, one letter at a time
How it plays →Big screenThis pageCategory Clues
Describe it without saying it, against the clock
You are hereBig screen
Scavenger Hunt
The whole room up, hunting and mixing
How it plays →Big screen
The Generation Game
The conveyor belt of prizes to remember
How it plays →Big screen
Bongo Bingo
Rave bingo with dance breaks and forfeits
How it plays →Every one of these can be played as a show, at the tables or on the app, and every one is written around your company before the night. Not sure which mix suits your event? Tell me the room and I will suggest a running order.
What’s included
Everything that comes with Category Clues.
- Six categories, six words each, editable
- Words written around your company
- A live clock on the big screen
- Bonus round for double points
- Any two team-mates a turn
- Hosted live, with the room kept in it
It is the game that turns two colleagues into a team in sixty seconds, and it is very funny to watch, which keeps the rest of the room hooked between turns. Run it back to back with a scavenger hunt and you have an away day that actually gets people talking.
What clients say
Kevin recently hosted a company corporate event and proved to be the consummate professional throughout the evening. He has the unique ability to read a room and keep everyone happy.
Kevin hosted our staff conference event this year which was fantastic. He brought an energy and enthusiasm with him and played a really important part in getting people engaged in the day.
Thank you Kevin for hosting our Christmas party in December 2025. The team had an amazing time. We really liked the intertwining of awards and the game. Everyone had a brilliant time and Kevin was fantastic.
Good to know
Category Clues hire FAQs.
How many play at once?
Two team-mates play each turn, one describing, one guessing, while the room watches the clock.
Can the words be about our company?
Yes, product names, department in-jokes and industry terms all make great describe-it words.
Is it hard?
The fun is in the pressure, not the difficulty, the words are approachable; the clock is what makes it.
What is the bonus round?
An optional gamble for double points, for a team that fancies its chances.
Can it be played at the tables or on phones rather than as a show?
Yes. Every game I run can be played three ways: as a show with teams at the front, table against table, or with every guest on their own phone through Play Along. I pick the mix that suits your room and the running order, and I often use all three in one night.
What does it cost?
Fees are quoted individually for the date, the venue and the length of the show. Send the numbers and the running order and I will send a quote.
More live entertainment.
Enquiries
Want Category Clues at your event?
Tell me about your event and I will tailor Category Clues to your guests. Hosted right across the UK.
