Party games
Petit Bac (Categories)
Hasbro1988
- players
- 2–12
- minutes
- 20
- years
- 12+
In the box
Paper and pencils
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Choose categories together (first name, city, animal, job, colour…) and everyone makes them the columns of a grid. Each round, a letter is drawn at random: everyone writes at the same time, in each category, a word starting with that letter. The round ends as soon as one player has filled everything in, or when the agreed time is up. A valid word nobody else found is worth 2 points, a word others found too 1 point, an empty box or a non-existent or misspelt word 0. After the agreed number of letters, the highest total wins.
Traditional rules, checked against reference sources · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
Categories chosen, 1 column per category, 1 letter per round
- The players choose the categories together: first name, city, animal, job, colour, fruit, whatever you like.
- Everyone takes a sheet of paper and a pencil, and draws a grid with the same columns, one per category. One more column is for the points.
- A letter is drawn at random each round: for example, one player runs through the alphabet in their head until another tells them to stop, or you pick a letter from slips of paper turned face down.
How to play
1 word per box, First to finish: stop, Or when time is up
- On "go", everyone fills in their grid at the same time, one word per box.
- The first to fill everything in says so: the others put their pencils down.
- You can also play against the clock, with a sand timer or a stopwatch: the round ends when time is up, or earlier if someone has filled everything in.
- Everyone reads out their answers, category by category, and the points are counted.
Scoring
Unique word: 2 points, Shared word: 1 point, Empty or wrong: 0
- Valid answer that nobody else gave: 2 points.
- Valid answer also given by another player: 1 point.
- Empty box, a word that does not exist, is misspelt or is rejected by the table: 0.
- In Marquoir, enter each player's total for every letter.
End of the game
Agreed letters, Or the whole alphabet, Highest total
- Play a number of letters agreed beforehand, or until you run out of alphabet. Marquoir suggests eight, which you can change when you start.
- The highest total wins. The rules provide no tie-break: tied players share the win.
House rules and pitfalls
To make the game harder, you can pick narrower categories, limited to one country or one kind of first name…
- To make the game harder, you can pick narrower categories, limited to one country or one kind of first name for example. Best to agree before you start on what each one accepts, to avoid disputes.
- The scoring on this sheet (2, 1, 0) is the one in the teaching sheet, in the English Wikipedia, and one of the two systems the French Wikipedia mentions. The other gives only one point per valid answer that nobody else found.
- The end-of-round point: the French Wikipedia also gives 1 point to the player who finished the round first, but neither the teaching sheet nor the English Wikipedia mentions it. Agree on it before playing; in Marquoir, add it to that player's total for the letter.
- For children, use fewer categories, or easier ones: town rather than capital. You can also play in pairs, with the older player holding the pencil.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
What is the idea?
A letter is drawn; everyone fills in a grid of categories (first name, city, animal, job…) with words starting with that letter, as fast as possible.
How do you end the round?
The first to fill all their boxes says so straight away: everyone puts their pencil down, even with empty boxes. If you play with a timer, the round also ends when time is up.
How do you score?
Two points for a valid answer nobody else found, one point for a valid answer shared with someone, zero for an empty box or a word that does not exist, is misspelt or is rejected.
What happens in a dispute?
The table decides: a doubtful or misspelt word can be rejected. The categories themselves, and what they accept, are decided before you start.
How do you win?
Points add up over an agreed number of letters; the highest total wins. The fastest is not always the best: finding unique answers pays more.