Playing category games with young children can be lots of fun and can develop vocabulary, memory and many other skills.
Here are over 100 ideas for categories for kids’ games. I have grouped them into similar topics so you can pick a category as broad or specific as you’d like.
You may want to choose a general category like “food” or “things you can eat”, or something more specific like “vegetables”, “orange vegetables” or even “root vegetables”.
Pick simpler categories for young children or challenge older children with tougher ones and train them to see ‘categories within categories’.
Use this list for some quick ideas when playing category games or to spark some of your own ideas. There really is no limit to the variations you can come up with.
There’s a handy printable of educational game ideas in the Free Activity Pack below, so don’t forget to sign up for that too!
People
- Members of the family (mom, dad, aunt, cousin, etc.)
- Names (female/male)
- Famous people
- Actors and actresses
- Role models
- Famous artists, composers or sculptors
- Famous paintings, Compositions or sculptures
- People who wear uniforms
- People who help others (nurse, teacher, etc.)
- Jobs that people do; Occupations
- Royal titles (princess, duke, king, etc.)
- Holidays and special occasions
- Religions of the world; Religious occasions
- Nationalities
- Devices that people use
- Things we do for fun
- Feelings and emotions
The Body
- Parts of the body
- Clothing; Accessories
- Things you wear in Winter
- Summer clothes
- Types of shoes
- Types of hats
- Organs of the body
- Things you can do with your body
Food
- Things you can eat
- Fruits (red fruits, round fruits, fruits that have seeds, etc.)
- Vegetables (root vegetables, orange/white vegetables, etc. )
- Things you can add to a salad
- Healthy foods
- Desserts; Sweet treats
- Hot drinks; Cold drinks
- Favourite foods
- Foods from different countries
- Sour/sweet foods
- Foods you can fry
- Baked foods
- Food you can make with potatoes (mashed potato, potato salad, potato soup, etc.)
- Foods that can be kept in a fridge
- Things you can find in a school lunch box
- Foods you can make with eggs
Homes
- Things you find in a house
- Furniture
- Types of homes
- Cutlery and crockery
- Daily chores
- Kitchen tools and gadgets
- Things you’ll find in a pantry/bedroom/living room
- Things you’ll find in a garden/garden shed
- Things you’ll find in a toolbox
- Things made of glass/wood in a home
Nature
- Things in nature
- Trees
- Flowers
- Plants
- Names of rivers or mountains
- Planets; Things you’ll find in outer space
- Elements of the periodic table
- Types of weather
- Things you’ll find in the desert/jungle
Animals
- Birds; Birds of prey
- Pets
- Wild animals; Jungle animals
- Insects; Creepy crawlies
- Farm animals; On the farm
- African animals
- Mammals; Reptiles
- Dinosaurs
- Sea creatures
- Nocturnal animals
- Dog breeds
- Animals that live on land
- Animals in the zoo
- Animals that live in rivers and lakes
- Animals that aren’t real (monsters, dragons, etc.); Mythical creatures
- Animals that are extinct
- Animals who have patterns on their bodies (tiger, zebra, tortoise, etc.)
- Carnivores; Omnivores; Herbivores
- Animals that lay eggs
- Sounds that animals make
Colours and Shapes
- Names of colours
- Things that are green/blue, etc.
- Primary and secondary colours
- Colours in nature
- Things that change colour
- Things that are transparent
- Names of shapes
- Things around us that are round
- Shapes you can find in a room
- Things that are flat
- Things that are three-dimensional
Vehicles
- Things that go
- Things that fly; At the airport
- Vehicles you’ll find on a farm
- Vehicles you’ll find on the roads
- Things that go on water
- Car brands
- Vehicles that transport things (goods or people)
- Vehicles that people use for work
- Vehicles that kids can ride (scooter, tricycle, balance bike, etc.)
Places
- Countries
- Cities
- Capital cities
- Oceans and rivers
- Famous places; Tourist attractions
- Things you’ll find in a school; Things you learn at school
- Things you’ll find in a hospital
- Names of restaurants
- Places of worship
Sports and Games
- Sports that people compete in
- Water sports
- Land sports
- Games people play
- Famous sportspeople
- Sports tournaments
- Sports equipment
Play
- Fun kids’ games to play
- Board games and card games
- Outdoor games
- Favourite toys
- Soft toys; Toys for babies
- Tools for writing and drawing (pencil, chalk, marker, etc.)
- Things you’ll find on a playground
- Things to do on holiday
Books, Music and Movies
- Books
- Movies
- Songs
- Rhymes
- Authors and illustrators
- Musical instruments
- Famous singers
- Fairy tales
- Storybook characters
- Creatures from fairy tales (beast, fairy, wizard, etc.)
Language
- Nouns; Names of things
- Adjectives; Describing words
- Verbs; Action words
- Numbers and letters
- Rhyming words: Words that rhyme with “cat”
- Pairs of opposites
- Preposition words; Position words (above, next to, inside, etc.)
- Funny words
- Long words
- Words with more than three syllables
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of fun category game topics and ideas for kids!
Here are more fun word games and vocabulary games to play. Looking for some active games? Here’s a list of the top classic games for kids.
