July 29, 2022
Ranking the Best 15 Snatch Game Performances on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'
Barry Levitt READ TIME: 6 MIN.
"RuPaul's Drag Race" loves to throw twist after twist into the competition, but if there's one thing we can always rely on, it's the Snatch Game. The challenge comes every season, be it regular "Drag Race," "All Stars," or any international spinoff. The challenge involves the competing drag queens playing a version of 70s gameshow "The Match Game," but they do a celebrity impersonation and answer comedic questions. Since its introduction in Season 2, it quickly became a fan favorite challenge and it is often said that the Snatch Game separates the serious competitors from the rest, and with this in mind, we want to dive into the very best Snatch Game performances.
To make things a little more exciting, we kept to just one performance per queen, and while there's definitely a few stars who deserve a couple spots on the list, these are 15 different queens. We've also stuck to just the American regular and "All Star" seasons. Let's get into the 15 best Snatch Game performances ever!
15. Eureka as Honey Boo Boo, Season 10
Eureka had a reputation for being loud scene stealer, and she brilliantly used those criticisms to craft her hilarious Honey Boo Boo character for Snatch Game. Making the character illiterate, and drawing pictures for all her answers was genius, and her back and forth with Ru and the other competitors were great.
14. Naomi Smalls as Wendy Williams, "All Stars" Season 4
The greatest Snatch Game redemption without question – Naomi Smalls completely bombed Season 8 as Tiffany New York Pollard, but her Wendy Williams on "All Stars" Season 4 was a sensation. She completely embodied the iconic TV talk show host, sounding and looking exactly like her. She clearly did her homework, including deep dive references like LL Cool J and even mimicking Wendy's famous fainting moment.
13. Gottmik as Paris Hilton, Season 13
Another unexpected delight, Gottmik blew the roof off Season 13's Snatch Game with a clever and hysterical impersonation of Paris Hilton that delivers some great jokes while peeling back the layers of the socialite's persona. The look and voice are uncanny, but what's impressive is the way Gottmik makes a traditionally unfunny person hilarious.
12. Shea Couleé as Flavor Flav, "All Stars" Season 5
Sometimes the most thrilling performances in Snatch Game are the ones you'd never see coming, and Flavor Flav definitely was definitely a surprise. What makes Shea Couleé's choice so exhilarating is the way she turned the character on his head, using the most ridiculous and exaggerated parts of him while adding in a feminist angle. Hilarious, surprising, and absolutely delightful.
11. Aquaria as Melania Trump, Season 10
The big surprise of Season 10's Snatch Game, Aquaria proved she was so much more than a fashion-forward queen with her impersonation of Melania Trump. Calling RuPaul Barack Obama, giving him a gift box that said "Help!" inside, and saying "any hole is a goal" was all brilliant. While there's some debate as to whether she should have won the challenge, we have no doubt it was the right decision, and a big part of Aquaria taking the crown.
10. Pearl as Big Ang, Season 7
Is this the most underrated Snatch Game performance ever? Short answer: yes. Pearl's Big Ang was a big breakthrough for the queen, who was receiving criticism for not being present in the competition. Her Big Ang is unbelievable, looking exactly like the real-life inspiration, and it's endlessly quotable. "I had a rough childhood okay, I wasn't watching f***ing Batman and Robin" was genius, and we can't believe she was only safe for her performance.
9. Raja as Madame, "All Stars" Season 7
"All Stars" Season 7 brought eight beloved champions back into the fold, so you just knew the Snatch Game was going to be out of this world. A big reason it was such a success with Raja's extremely surprising and freaking hilarious performance as Madame, a puppet performed by Wayland Flowers. Raja's physical transformation is perhaps the most impressive ever, even applying sticks to her arms to make her look just like a puppet. Hilarious, shocking, and a delightful surprise.
8. Jujubee as Eartha Kitt, "All Stars" Season 5
Jujubee has always been one of the funniest, most charismatic queens from the entire franchise, though she'd often struggle in actual challenges. Thankfully, her performance in "All Stars" Season 5's Snatch Game as Eartha Kitt quickly became legendary. Thanks to Jujubee, "I would sensually walk to the thermostat, and turn up the thermostat to a sensible 74" have become some of the funniest words in the English language.
7. Adore Delano as Anna Nicole Smith, Season 6
The Season 6 Snatch Game is widely considered to be the cream of the crop, with most of the queens putting in a solid performance. One of the most committed performances came from Adore Delano, who brought Anna Nicole Smith to the challenge. You don't even need to know who Anna Nicole is for it to be a hilarious performance, but if you do know her, it is even more monumental.
6. Chad Michaels as Cher, Season 4
From day one on Season 4, Chad Michaels made it clear that she's a fantastic celebrity impersonator whose specialty is the one and only Cher. There was high pressure on Chad to deliver in the Snatch Game, and you better believe she brought it! Chad's Cher was freakishly good, perfectly personifying Cher's movement, appearances, outfits, all while throwing in multiple wig changes.
5. Bob the Drag Queen as Uzo Aduba and Carol Channing, Season 8
There are some queens you just know are going to be great at Snatch Game, and Bob the Drag Queen is certainly one of them. She broke the mold by giving us not one, but two characters with Uzo Aduba and Carol Channing. Both were scary accurate and extremely funny, but her Carol Channing just writing "Corn" never fails to bust a gut.
4. Kennedy Davenport as Little Richard, Season 7
Kennedy Davenport's performance was genuinely groundbreaking. Until Season 7, it was considered taboo for someone to perform as a male character, but Kennedy's hysterical interpretation of Little Richard changed the game forever, and now it's commonplace to see men on the Snatch Game. She may have tied for the win, but for our money, Kenedy is the undisputed winner of Season 7's Snatch Game.
3. BenDeLaCreme as Maggie Smith, Season 6
It should have been no surprise that BenDeLaCreme would absolutely stomp the Snatch Game as she's a fantastic improviser and wonderful comedienne, but she had us worried when she said she's never done impersonations before. Thankfully that didn't stop her Maggie Smith from being iconic. She played Maggie mixed with her Downton Abbey character to brilliant effect, and "libations with citrus" and "Excuse me, we originated the language!" are some of the best lines ever.
2. Alaska as Mae West, "All Stars" Season 2
Alaska proved she was great at Snatch Game, doing a brilliant Lady Bunny impersonation in Season 5. "All Stars" Season 2 really launched her into the upper echelon of brilliant Snatch Game performances when she took on Old Hollywood icon Mae West. Alaska elevated an already brash and bold character to the next level, with hysterical quips that were suitably ridiculous, yet believable. After all, "Why don't you come over and f*** me in the a** sometime?" will always live in our minds rent-free.
1. Jinkx Monsoon as Judy Garland, "All Stars" Season 7
It took mere seconds for Jinkx Monsoon to secure the throne as the greatest Snatch Game performance of all time. Her response to what was over the rainbow was pitch-perfect, as was everything else she delivered. She looked like Judy, sounded exactly like Judy, and even sang like Judy (to RuPaul songs, a truly ingenious touch)! Plus, her call back to her Season 5 makeover partner Dave was the best single moment in Drag Race herstory. She took complete command of the best Snatch Game ever, and it was so good that everyone else broke character and ate up every second of it.