Citygories is an urban interpretation of the popular game of categories.
A random letter of the alphabet is picked, the round begins and the players
are called to spot and photograph elements seen in the city streets beginning
with this letter matching the game’s predefined categories. At the end of each round
the players gather up back to the starting point and the pictures taken are
rated. Scoring system favors uniqueness, ingenuity and interaction between
the players,the urban surroundings and citizens. The team/player with the
highest score after five rounds is the winner.

To photograph elements seen in the urban scenery whose words begin from the
competing letter for each category.

Each player needs a type of camera- any simple cell phone equipped with a
camera could do for the on-site version of the game. The photographs taken should
be able to be uploaded for the grading procedure so a suitable connection cable
or an external card should be available as soon as the round ends. For the online
version any portable device with a camera and an internet connection is suitable.

The game can be played in teams or individual players depending on the number of
people participating;the online version of Citygories is played in teams of five
players maximum .The categories as well as the game-play in both cases is the same;
“player A” starts silently repeating the alphabet and one of the opponents- “player B”
- stops “player A”.The letter “player A” was interrupted at is the competing letter for
the round- “player A” announces the competing letter for all players to hear. The urban
game board is set by a defined area of the city that will be covered during the game.
The timer is set at 5 minutes and the game begins.

The teams spread up in the streets tying to capture in photographs the corresponding
elements of each category. The competing categories are:
-name
-animal
-plant
-object
-street
-graffiti
-food
-colour
-vehicle
-drink
-profession
The scope of the game is for each team to collect pictures throughout the predefined
area.Each game lasts for 5 rounds /letters for the specific categories. The players
are only allowed to stay on the street and not in interior spaces (buildinds, shops etc).
They are not allowed to photograph items belonging to any of the players.

The teams gather up back to the starting point and use a mobile or a portable
device using any browser to go online the address http://citygoriesgame.com/.
The online version of the game requires for each player to follow a sign-up
procedure.Each player logs in and is able to upload the photographs taken on the
corresponding board. The team decides on which photograph is the most suitable
to keep for each category. The platform allows each player to have access to the
final teamboard for five minutes.The teams submit their photos and the next round
starts with a different letter.The players are not allowed to upload pictures taken
outside the time frame of the round.

After three rounds a game session is complete and all the players meet at the starting
point for the grading procedure. The point system favors uniqueness, ingenuity and
interaction between the players,the urban surroundings and citizens. A word can be
depicted in many ways within the urban surroundings; it could be seen in an object
itself, a sign, a billboard, a photo, street art or illustrations. Each unique photo
collects 10 points if its is found written in letters, 20 points if it is identified
in a picture/shape/logo/art , 30 points if it is found as an actual object or person
depending on the category. The points of each team are added up and the team with the
highest score is declared the winner. In case of a tide the additional photos taken
besides the submitted ones are graded so the teams should aim in variety also.

All valid image files are acceptable as long as they have been taken with a portable
device ( camera cell-phone, tablet, video camera) strictly at the duration of each
round for each letter. The words should generally be able to be found in a dictionary
or to be identified as acceptable brand names. In order to avoid arguments in case of
multilingual disagreements the most common pronunciation and the simplest writing of
the word is allowed depending on the language of the players. For the “name” category
both first and last names are acceptable with a bonus of 10 points if they both begin
with the competing letter. Players are not allowed to use the same word/photo twice
within a round.

Teams can dispute each others' answers when a word/photo does not seem appropriate
for the category.If the players cannot agree whether a term is acceptable or not,
they must vote, the offending participant included and the majority rules after
the vote.