Snatch Game is a comedy challenge recurring across theDrag Race television franchise and a fixture of thereality competition series.^[1] Sincethe second season of the original AmericanRuPaul's Drag Race series in 2010, the challenge has returned for every subsequent season. Typically arranged as a parody ofMatch Game (known asBlankety Blank in the UK,Blankety Blanks in Australia, andJogo dos Pontinhos in Brazil), the challenge is a test of the contestants' skills atcelebrity impersonation andimprovisational comedy.

The challenge similarly recurs on various spin-offs, includingAll Stars andSecret Celebrity Drag Race, as well as the international adaptations forThai,British,Canadian,^[2]Dutch,Australian-New Zealand,Spanish,Italian,French,Philippine,Belgian,Swedish,Mexican,Brazilian, andGerman audiences.

Usually occurring midway through eachDrag Race season, Snatch Game is widely considered among the most important and memorable challenges of the show and, in RuPaul's own words, separates "the basic bitches from the fierce-ass queens."^[3] Winners of the show are often amongst the top performers in the Snatch Game,^[a] though there are a few exceptions.^[b]

Thedrag queen contestants typically impersonate women, though several contestants choose male celebrities with sufficiently flamboyant public images to fit a drag aesthetic.^[4] Several contestants have chosen to impersonate other people directly associated with the show, such as other past or present contestants,Michelle Visage, orRuPaul.^[5] Queens cannot choosecopyrighted characters,^[6] although some celebrity portrayals have been closely based on a specific screen performance.^[4]

The challenge often relies on special celebrity guests to participate in game play, who frequently double as the episode's guest judges. Other seasons feature the show's regular production team—Michelle Visage,Ross Mathews,Carson Kressley,Rhys Nicholson, or members of thePit Crew—in lieu of outside guests.

Eight queens have won Snatch Game multiple times:BenDeLaCreme,Ginger Minj,Baga Chipz,Jinkx Monsoon,Trinity the Tuck,Jimbo,Hannah Conda, andGottmik. Two queens have been eliminated multiple times for their Snatch Game performances:Gia Gunn andOnyx Unleashed.

Legend:

Tatianna (left) won onseason 2 for her portrayal ofBritney Spears (right).

Stacy Layne Matthews (left) won onseason 3 for her portrayal ofMo'Nique (right).

Chad Michaels (left) won onseason 4 for his portrayal ofCher (right).

Jinkx Monsoon (left) won onseason 5 for her portrayal ofEdith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale (right).

BenDeLaCreme (left) won onseason 6 for her portrayal ofMaggie Smith (right).

Ginger Minj (left) won onseason 7 for her portrayal ofAdele (right).

Kennedy Davenport (left) also won on season 7 for her portrayal ofLittle Richard (right).

Bob the Drag Queen (left) won onseason 8 for her portrayals ofUzo Aduba (middle) andCarol Channing (right).

Alexis Michelle (left) won onseason 9 for her portrayal ofLiza Minnelli (right).

Aquaria (left) won onseason 10 for her portrayal ofMelania Trump (right).

Silky Nutmeg Ganache (left) won onseason 11 for her portrayal ofTs Madison (right).

Gigi Goode (left) won onseason 12 for her impersonation of Maria the Robot, a parody of the humanoid robotSophia (right).

Gottmik (left) won onseason 13 for her impersonation ofParis Hilton (right).

Loosey LaDuca (left) won onseason 15 for her portrayal ofJoan Rivers (right).

Plane Jane (left) won onseason 16 for her portrayal ofJelena Karleuša (right).

Alaska (left) won onseason 2 for her portrayal ofMae West (right).

Katya (left) also won on season 2 for her portrayal ofBjörk (right).

BenDeLaCreme (left) won onseason 3 for her portrayal ofPaul Lynde (right), becoming the first contestant to win the challenge twice.

Shangela (left) also won on season 3 for her portrayal ofJenifer Lewis (right).

Manila Luzon (left) won onseason 4 for her portrayal ofBarbra Streisand (right).

Trinity the Tuck (left) also won on season 4 for her portrayalCaitlyn Jenner (right).

Shea Couleé (left) won onseason 5 for her portrayal ofFlavor Flav (right).

Ginger Minj (left) won onseason 6 for her portrayal ofPhyllis Diller (right), becoming the second contestant to win the challenge twice.

Jinkx Monsoon (left) won onseason 7 for her portrayals ofNatasha Lyonne (middle) andJudy Garland (right), becoming the fourth contestant (tied with Trinity the Tuck) to win the challenge twice.

Trinity the Tuck (left) also won on season 7 for her portrayals ofLucifer (middle) andLeslie Jordan (right), becoming the fourth contestant (tied with Jinkx Monsoon) to win the challenge twice.

Jimbo (left) won onseason 8 for her portrayal ofShirley Temple (right), becoming the sixth contestant to win the challenge twice.

Gottmik (left) won onseason 9 for her portrayal ofPal (right), becoming the eighth contestant to win the challenge twice.

Nina West (left) also won on season 9 for her portrayal ofLiberace (right).

Kitty Scott-Claus (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofDiana, Princess of Wales (right).

Legend:

Jimbo (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofJoan Rivers (right).

Synthia Kiss (left) won onseason 2 for her portrayal ofRachel Zoe (right).

Gisèle Lullaby (left) won onseason 3 for her portrayal ofMarie Curie (right).

Melinda Verga (left) won onseason 4 for her portrayal ofManny Pacquiao (right).

Icesis Couture (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofDonatella Versace (right).

Ra'Jah O'Hara (left) also won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofBig Freedia (right).

Lemon (left) won onseason 2 for her portrayal ofSusan Boyle (right).

Killer Queen (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofIsabel Díaz Ayuso (right).

Sharonne (left) won onseason 2 for her portrayal ofVerónica Forqué (right).

Pink Chadora (left) won onseason 3 for her portrayal ofLola Flores (right).

Pupi Poisson (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofTamara Falcó (right).

La Grande Dame (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofAlexandra Rosenfeld (right).

Punani (left) won onseason 2 for her portrayal ofAmanda Lear (right).

Envy Peru (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofPatty Brard (right).

Keta Minaj (left) won onseason 2 for her portrayal ofSophie Anderson (right).

Cristian Peralta (left) won onseason 1 for portrayingVerónica Castro (right).

Captivating Katkat (left) won onseason 2 for portrayingJoy Belmonte (right).

Admira Thunderpussy (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofAnita Ekberg (right).

Anita Wigl'it (left) won onseason 1 for her portrayal ofElizabeth II (right).

Hannah Conda (left) won onseason 2 for her portrayal ofLiza Minnelli (right).

Ashley Madison (left) won onseason 3 for her portrayal ofJesus (right).

Baga Chipz (left) won onseries 1 for her portrayal ofMargaret Thatcher (right).

The Vivienne (left) also won on series 1 for her portrayal ofDonald Trump (right).

Bimini Bon-Boulash (left) won onseries 2 for her portrayal ofKatie Price (right).

Ella Vaday (left) won onseries 3 for her portrayal ofNigella Lawson (right).

Cheddar Gorgeous (left) won onseries 4 for her portrayal ofElizabeth I (right).

Baga Chipz (left) won onseries 1 for her portrayal ofKathy Bates (right), becoming the third contestant to win the challenge twice.

Blu Hydrangea (left) also won on series 1 for her portrayal ofMike Myers (right).

Hannah Conda (left) won onseries 2 for her portrayal ofShirley Temple (right), becoming the seventh queen to win the challenge twice.

Tia Kofi (left) also won on series 2 for her portrayal ofAnne Boleyn (right).

Cardi B andJennifer Coolidge are the most frequently impersonated celebrities, with Coolidge as the first celebrity to be simultaneously impersonated by two competing queens in the same Snatch Game followed only byLiberachi. Both queens who impersonatedMariah Carey and two of the five queens who impersonated Cardi B were eliminated, making them the only choices of impersonation subject to lead to multiple contestants' eliminations. Both of the queens to impersonateAriana Grande,Celine Dion,Ellen DeGeneres,Nancy Grace, andRue McClanahan, respectively, and two of the three queens to impersonateLady Gaga were up for elimination due to their performances, but only one queen was eliminated for each. Two of the four queens to impersonate Eartha Kitt, and two of the three queens to impersonateCher andRuPaul, respectively, landed in the bottom, but none of them were eliminated. Three of the four queens to impersonateLiza Minnelli won the Snatch Game, making her the first impersonation subject to earn multiple queens a win, whileJoan Rivers became the second followingseason 15 ofRuPaul's Drag Race.

Snatch Game is considered the signature challenge on the show.^[15] Kevin O'Keeffe fromInto discusses that the challenge isn't only about the celebrity impersonation and RuPaul looks for accuracy, humor, and the idea of the character. He also states that the challenge tests a lot of different skills, such as the queens' ability to put on a different look from their signature one, and also their ability to be "funny on a dime".^[16] RuPaul states each year, as the challenge is introduced, that the cardinal rule of the challenge is to make him laugh.^[5]

Writing forVulture,Bowen Yang andMatt Rogers state that "Snatch Game" is "the mother of all comedy challenges on a reality show" despite the varied results over the years.^[17] On a more critical reception of the challenge, Josh Lee, forPopBuzz, argues that while the annual challenge has given viewers some of the best moments fromRuPaul's Drag Race, it is starting to feel stale overall. He comments that recent celebrity impersonations in the challenge have been lackluster and the show should adapt and retire "Snatch Game" in future seasons of the series.^[18]

• Snatch Game

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