MASH categories

The 4 classic MASH categories

Every MASH game starts with these. The acronym is the first category, Mansion Apartment Shack House, but you need at least three more to build a full story.

Common additions: Career (doctor, YouTuber, astronaut, professional dog walker), Location (your hometown, Paris, Antarctica, in a van down by the river), Pet (dog, cat, llama, pet rock).

MASH categories by age

For kids (ages 7-11)

Keep it light and a little weird:

• Superpower - flying, invisibility, super speed, talking to animals
• Best friend - your actual best friend, a sibling, a cartoon character, your teacher
• Food you eat every day - pizza, ice cream, broccoli, chicken nuggets
• Pet name - Fluffy, Sir Barksalot, Mr. Whiskers, Sparkle
• Color of your house - rainbow, invisible, glow-in-the-dark, polka dot
• What you will be famous for - video games, singing, inventing something, the world's biggest bubble

For tweens and teens (ages 12-17)

Add some drama:

• Social media followers - 100, 10K, 1 million, account deleted
• First date location - movie theater, fancy restaurant, awkward family dinner, escape room
• College / future school - state school, a fancy private college, community college, Hogwarts
• Side hustle - babysitting empire, TikTok star, tutoring, professional gamer
• Age when you get married - 22, 30, 45, never
• Honeymoon destination - Hawaii, Disney World, camping in the backyard, space

For adults (nostalgia night)

Lean into real life:

• Retirement age - 45, 65, 80, what's retirement?
• How you will meet your spouse - dating app, grocery store, work, they rear-ended your car
• Mortgage status - paid off, underwater, renting forever, living with parents
• Work-from-home days - 0, 3, fully remote, what job?
• Midlife crisis purchase - sports car, boat, questionable tattoo, alpaca farm
• Number of streaming subscriptions - 2, 7, 15, still using someone else's password

Themed MASH category sets

The celebrity edition

• Celebrity spouse - a current heartthrob, an unexpected pick, a retired sitcom star, a weather reporter
• Celebrity best friend - a pop star, a talk-show host, a pro athlete, a chaotic comedian
• Celebrity neighbor - your favorite actor, a reality-TV villain, a quiet novelist, a drummer who practices at 2am
• Award you will win - Oscar, Grammy, Nobel Prize, World's Okayest Employee mug

The travel edition

• Country you will live in - France, Japan, Australia, your home country
• Vacation style - luxury resort, backpacking, staycation, cruise ship
• Languages you will speak - Spanish, Mandarin, emoji only, pig latin
• Airline status - first class for life, middle seat forever, private jet, road trips only

The career deep dive

• Salary - minimum wage, comfortable, millionaire, paid in exposure
• Commute - walking distance, 2-hour nightmare, work from bed, helicopter
• Boss personality - best mentor ever, micromanager, absent, you ARE the boss
• Work bestie - instant BFF, it's just a job, drama llama, no coworkers

The home life edition

• House style - modern, Victorian, treehouse, houseboat
• Backyard feature - pool, garden, trampoline, parking lot
• Kitchen situation - chef's kitchen, microwave only, takeout every night, personal chef
• Chore division - 50/50, you do everything, a robot does it, hire someone

The wild card categories

• Theme song when you enter a room - epic orchestra, sad trombone, a pop hit, silence
• Unusual talent you will develop - juggling, speaking backwards, competitive eating, predicting rain
• Ghost that haunts your house - friendly, mischievous, none, you become the ghost
• Conspiracy theory you will believe - aliens, Bigfoot, birds aren't real, none, you're normal

Quick-start sets

Need to play right now? The buttons in the builder load these. Here they are as lists if you are writing on paper.

Classic set

1. Where you will live (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House)
2. Who you will marry (a celebrity crush, someone in your class, your worst enemy, a total wildcard)
3. Number of kids (0, 2, 5, 17)
4. Car (Ferrari, minivan, shopping cart, horse)
5. Career (doctor, YouTuber, astronaut, professional dog walker)
6. Where you will live (city) (your hometown, Paris, Antarctica, in a van down by the river)
7. Pet (dog, cat, llama, pet rock)

Kids set

1. Where you will live (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House)
2. Best friend (your actual best friend, a sibling, a cartoon character, your teacher)
3. Superpower (flying, invisibility, super speed, talking to animals)
4. Food you eat every day (pizza, ice cream, broccoli, chicken nuggets)
5. Color of your house (rainbow, invisible, glow-in-the-dark, polka dot)
6. What you will be famous for (video games, singing, inventing something, the world's biggest bubble)
7. Pet (dog, cat, llama, pet rock)

Teens set

1. Where you will live (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House)
2. Who you will marry (a celebrity crush, someone in your class, your worst enemy, a total wildcard)
3. Social media followers (100, 10K, 1 million, account deleted)
4. First date location (movie theater, fancy restaurant, awkward family dinner, escape room)
5. College / future school (state school, a fancy private college, community college, Hogwarts)
6. Side hustle (babysitting empire, TikTok star, tutoring, professional gamer)
7. Honeymoon destination (Hawaii, Disney World, camping in the backyard, space)

Adults set

1. Where you will live (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House)
2. How you will meet your spouse (dating app, grocery store, work, they rear-ended your car)
3. Retirement age (45, 65, 80, what's retirement?)
4. Mortgage status (paid off, underwater, renting forever, living with parents)
5. Midlife crisis purchase (sports car, boat, questionable tattoo, alpaca farm)
6. Number of streaming subscriptions (2, 7, 15, still using someone else's password)
7. Car (Ferrari, minivan, shopping cart, horse)

Modern set

1. Where you will live (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House)
2. How you will meet your spouse (dating app, grocery store, work, they rear-ended your car)
3. Combined income (struggling, comfortable, wealthy, we don't talk about money)
4. Work situation (office, remote, hybrid, unemployed)
5. Vacation frequency (never, once a year, quarterly, permanent vacation)
6. Pet situation (dog, cat, exotic animal, landlord says no)
7. Weekend activity (Netflix, hiking, brunch, side hustle)

Silly set

1. Where you will live (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House)
2. Unusual pet (dragon, invisible horse, swarm of bees, sentient houseplant)
3. Weird hobby (competitive napping, collecting belly button lint, yelling at clouds, professional hide-and-seek)
4. Unexpected skill (burping the alphabet, predicting elevator arrivals, finding parking spots, remembering every dream)
5. Random claim to fame (viral video, world record for something weird, "that's my cousin" about a celebrity, winning a hot-dog contest)
6. Unusual fear (butterflies, the letter Q, people who chew quietly, escalators)
7. Secret identity (vigilante, alien, time traveler, actually a cat)

Tips for creating great MASH categories

• Balance is everything. Each category should have a mix of good options, bad options, and wildcard options. If every choice is great, there's no suspense.
• Know your audience. Playing with kids? Keep it silly and age-appropriate. Playing with college roommates? Go for inside jokes and real-life references.
• Add one "chaos" option. Every category benefits from one answer that makes everyone groan or laugh - the shopping cart car, the 17 kids, the "paid in exposure" salary.
• Use specific names and details. "Fancy restaurant" is fine, but a specific memorable place is funnier and more personal.
• Update for the times. Classic MASH used careers like "doctor" and "lawyer." Modern MASH can include influencer, content creator, or remote worker.