An aux battle category is the theme a round is built around - mood, decade, genre, lyrics, aesthetic. The category narrows what counts as a good pick, which is what turns "play a song" into an actual game worth voting on.
Below are all 15 categories we use for aux battles, with real prompts from each. Free to copy into a group chat, or hit play and let the game deal them out for you.
Atmosphere and emotion. Prompts built around a feeling, like main character energy, 3 AM in a rainy city, or songs that hit harder at night.
Songs chosen for their titles, not their sound. Best one-word title, a title that is a full sentence, the funniest song name you know.
Anything goes. Chaotic, oddly specific, and unpredictable prompts for when you want the round to go sideways.
For music nerds. Tight constraints and deep cuts that punish anyone reaching for the obvious pick.
Pure energy. The songs that go off (party starters, hype anthems, and tracks that make the whole room move).
Battle by genre. Best hip-hop track, the ultimate rock anthem, a country song that converts the haters.
Time travel by sound. The best of the 80s, 90s, 2000s and beyond, one era per round.
Songs tied to the screen and the zeitgeist (TV themes, movie moments, memes, and viral tracks).
It is all about the words. Best opening line, the sharpest bar, a lyric that reads like poetry.
Music from everywhere. Best non-English song, a track from a country you have never visited, global bangers.
Led by the sound of a single instrument (the best guitar solo, filthiest bassline, a song carried by piano).
Battle by artist. Their best deep cut, most underrated track, the song that proves they are the greatest.
Seasonal energy. Summer anthems, the perfect Christmas song, a track that sounds exactly like autumn.
Vibe over everything. Songs that match a look, a color, a scene (the sound of a specific aesthetic).
Deliciously specific. The best song to cook to, a track that tastes like your favorite meal, late-night snack energy.
A room of music nerds wants Hard Mode and Lyrics. A room of people who mostly listen to the radio wants Bangers and Decade. Picking a category nobody can play is the fastest way to kill a game.
Running five Genre rounds in a row rewards whoever happens to like that genre. Rotating keeps the leaderboard honest, because nobody is strong across Mood, Title Game and World.
Wildcard and Hard Mode land better once people are warmed up. Open with something everyone can answer, then escalate.
Choosing a category by committee takes longer than the round does. Rotate who picks, or spin for it.
The best custom categories come from inside the friend group - a running joke, a shared trip, someone's terrible ex. "Song that would play over Dan's villain origin story" beats any category on this page, because only your room can judge it.
A category works if you can imagine three different people answering it three different ways and all three being defensible. If there is one obvious right answer, it is a trivia question, not an aux battle category.
You can add your own categories to any room, or use the prompt generator wheel to mix ours with yours and play off a single phone.
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