City Country River online, with a friend

The pen-and-paper word game, made for sending

City Country River is the classic categories game: a letter is drawn, and you race to write a city, a country, a river, an animal and more that all start with it. Germans know it as Stadt Land Fluss, the French as Petit Bac, Turkish players as İsim Şehir Hayvan, and in Mexico it is Basta. In English it is close to Scattergories or Name Place Animal Thing.

On BeatMe you send a friend the link. Once you have both joined, each of you plays your own round whenever you like: press start, the letter appears and the clock runs. You both get exactly the same letter and categories. Then you check each other’s unusual answers, and the points decide.

Tips for City Country River

• Start with the easy ones. Fill in the categories you are sure about first, then come back for the hard ones.
• Be original. The obvious answer is often the one your friend writes too, and a shared answer is only worth 5 points.
• Never leave a gap. An answer in a category your friend left empty is worth 20 points, the best score in the game.
• Use the whole world. Any city, river or country counts, not just famous ones, and spelling mistakes of one letter are forgiven.

Fair for both players

The letter stays on our server until you press start, so nobody can look it up in advance, and the clock is measured by the server, not by your phone. You can only see your friend’s answers once you have both handed in. Each round is played in the language the challenge was sent in, so you both write in the same language.