Question 1

What is Name Place Animal Thing?

Accepted Answer

Name Place Animal Thing is the classic schoolyard game (also called Atlas, Tutti Frutti, or Categories) played online. You spin a wheel to get a random letter, then name a place, animal, food or other category that starts with that letter. Race Rusty the Squirrel to a target score (500, 1000 or 1500 points). Hosted on Curious Forest for Years 2–6.

Question 2

How do you play Name Place Animal Thing?

Accepted Answer

Pick a category — Place, Animal, Food, Profession, Invention, Nature, Maths Words or Body Parts. Spin the wheel for a random letter. Type or speak any answer in that category starting with the letter. Score points based on letter values (rarer letters score more). First to the target score wins. A hint button gives you the first two letters of a valid answer for half points.

Question 3

Is Name Place Animal Thing free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The game is free forever — no ads, no subscription, no third-party trackers. Just a forest name (no email, no parent details required).

Question 4

What ages is Name Place Animal Thing for?

Accepted Answer

Years 2 through 6 of UK / Cambridge Primary (roughly ages 6 to 11). Younger kids can play with adult help; older kids can race the harder modes.

Question 5

Can you use voice input in Name Place Animal Thing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. There's a microphone button next to the answer box. Kids speak their answer, and the Web Speech API turns it into text. Works on TV browsers (Android TV, recent Tizen) where typing is awkward. If the voice mishears the word, the game offers spell-check suggestions automatically.

Question 6

How is Name Place Animal Thing different from other letter games?

Accepted Answer

Eight category groves (Place, Animal, Food, Profession, Invention, Nature, Maths Words, Body Parts), 2,000+ accepted places via the Atlas Chained dictionary, 270+ kid-friendly fun facts shown for each answer (especially useful for Professions since kids often don't know what jobs exist), voice input, a 200-point cap so no single word can win the round outright, and Rusty's computer opponent picks randomly from a curated child-friendly pool so kids actually have a chance to win.

Question 7

What is Tutti Frutti, Atlas or the Categories game online?

Accepted Answer

Tutti Frutti (Australia), Atlas (India), Stadt Land Fluss (Germany), Petit Bac (France) and Categories (US) are all regional names for the same classic schoolyard game. Curious Forest's Name Place Animal Thing is a free online version of this game with a spinning wheel, computer opponent, voice input and Cambridge Primary aligned content for Years 2–6.

Name Place Animal Thing 🎡

🧒 You

🐿️ Rusty the Squirrel

🧒 You

🐿️ Rusty the Squirrel

🏆