Improv Games Collection

IMPROV GAMES

Foreign Movie Players: 4 Emcee: 1 How this game works: Movie genre/title is taken from the audience. 2 Players act out a scene without speaking while the other 2 provide the dialogue. The two acting out the scene must attempt to lip sync to the speaking players.

Evil Twin Players: 4 Emcee: 1 How this game works: The Emcee gets a relationship from the audience. 2 Players begin to act out a scene. The other 2 players are the evil twins of the other 2 actors. The evil twins can tag out their counterpart at any time and they must do something evil. Then they switch back and the “good” twin must justify, correct, or repair the damage done and continue the scene.

What Did You Say? Players: 2 Emcee: 1 How this game works: The emcee gets an occupation or relationship from the audience. The 2 players begin a scene. At any time during the scene, either player can respond to the other with, “What did you say?” or any variation of the phrase. The other player then has to rhyme with the last thing they said. 

Example: Player 1: I like to catch bugs. Player 2: What did you say? Player 1 Let’s go do some drugs.

Novel Players: 5 Emcee: 1 How this game works: The audience gives the MC a name and an object to form the title of the story. The MC then starts at chapter 1 and points at one of the players and that player begins the story. Every time the MC points at a player they add on to what the previous player said, forming a story. Every so often the MC can advance to a different chapter until an ending happens. Epilogue optional. The MC can point at two players if s/he chooses. The players then have to attempt to synchronize with each other until the MC points to someone else.

LineSnatchers(Clap) Players: 6 How this game works: On stage there are 3 groups of 2 players each. From the audience, the first group is given a word, the second group is given a place, and the third group is given an objective. Predetermined objectives are optional and may improve the fluidity of the scenes. The first group starts their scene and are allowed to continue for a few minutes. Then someone from the second group claps and steals the last line that someone from the first group said. They continue for a few minutes until someone for the third group claps and steals a line from the second group. After the third group goes on for a few minutes, it becomes a free for all. Every time someone hears a line they want to use they can clap to steal it. When a group’s line is stolen they become silent, still acting out their scene until they clap again.

Impossiproblem Players: 3 Emcee: 1 How this game works: 1 player leaves the room. Then, from the audience, the other players get a person(an occupation or actual person) that the absent player is, a place, a problem that absent player has to fix, and a physical handicap that the player has. When the player returns, he has no knowledge of previous information. The other two players must guide the first player through the scene without revealing any compromising details. At the end the first player must guess who they are, where they are, what the problem was, and what their disability was.

Spelling Bee Players: 3 Emcee: 1 How this game works: The 3 players stand side-by-side. Words are given by the audience, starting simple and becoming more complex as the game goes on. The players must spell the word, person by person, one letter at a time. Then they must use it in a sentence.

Two Line Improv Players: 3 Emcee: 1 Two players are each given two lines from the audience with the help of the emcee. Those are the only things that those two players can say for the duration of the scene. However, they can change their say it in any way they choose. The third player can say whatever they want. Then the emcee gets a place from the audience. This game goes on as long as the emcee deems necessary.

Moving Bodies Players: 2 Audience Participators: 2 Emcee: 1 The emcee gathers two people from the audience to play this game. The two players are not allowed to move any part of their body by themselves. They have to rely on the volunteers from the audience to move them around. Taps on the back of the leg indicate a step forward, taps on the front are a step backward, and taps on the back of the knee are a crouching movement. The players can speak normally and must run the scene normally as though they are the ones moving their bodies. A place or action is taken from the audience for this game.

Musical Bartender; or Bartender Players: 3 Emcee: 1 Before the start of this game, have each audience member write down a problem on a piece of paper. One player is designated to be the bartender. The other two players must draw a problem from the pile. After both of them have their problems drawn, one of them walks up to the bartender, orders a drink, and laments over their problem in song. Then, the bartender must attempt to solve their problem, also in song. Next the second person goes up to the bartender and does the same thing as the first person. Once again the bartender must solve their problem in song, but this time the problem has to be solved in a way that involves the problem before it.

Angel of Death Players: 5 Emcee: 1 Each player is assigned a death by the audience. Then the emcee gets an everyday activity from the audience. The players then die out one by one as the scene plays on. But, the players are not allowed to die by the death that was chosen for them. This game ends once everyone is dead.

Catch-Phrase Players: 5 Emcee: 1 The emcee gets the names of household objects and appliances from the audience. Then the players, who are standing side by side in a line formation, come up with catchphrases for that object in order. If a player fails to come up with a catchphrase, or if they don’t get a response from the audience, they get a strike. Players are out after three strikes. The first person in line moves to the back after every round.

Chain Murder Mystery Players: 4 Emcee: 1 How this game works: Player 1 stays while Players 2, 3, and 4 exit the stage. The emcee gathers from the audience a 1. Person 2. Place 3. Thing and we assign those three things to the Player 1. Player 1 then calls for Player 2 without using language, only sound. Using only gibberish and physical movements, Player 1 has three minutes to relay the person, place, and thing to Player 2. After 3:00, Player 2 must kill Player 1 with whatever they believe the ‘thing’ is. If Player 2 is certain they know all 3 objects before time runs out, they may kill Player 1 early. Player 2 then calls for player 3 and must relay the person, place, and thing within 1:30, also only using gibberish and physical body movements. After 1:30 is up, or Player 3 believes they know all 3 things, they kill Player 2 and call for Player 4. The process is repeated again, only with a time restraint of 0:45. Once time is up, the emcee begins asking Player 4 the thing, place, and person, in that order. If Player 4 guesses all 3 correctly, the game is over. If Player 4 is incorrect in any of their guesses, the emcee moves to Player 3 and asks for their guesses. The emcee continues that process until all 3 objects are revealed, or they get to Player 1 who will then reveal to the other 3 players what the person, place, and thing were.

Oracle

Players: 3 Emcee: 1

The players are the oracle. One player sits on the ground, the second player sits in a chair right behind the first player and the last player stands behind the second player. The emcee gathers non-yes-or-no questions from the audience for the oracle to answer. The oracle answers one word at a time, starting with the first player. Then the oracle continues for as long as they like. Afterward, the emcee gathers more questions from the audience. This game can last as long as the emcee sees fit.

Survivor

Players: 5 Emcee: 1

The emcee asks the audience for a natural disaster for the scene. For the first run, there is a time limit of one-minute. After the first run-through, the emcee has the audience vote someone off by clapping for the individual players. The player with the most applause is out. Then four people have to run through the scene as if there were five with no time limit. The scene ends at the same part every time. Afterward another player is voted off. The five person scene is then acted out with three, then two and finally one.

Deleted Scenes

Players: All Emcee: 1

The emcee plays this game along with the players. At the start of the game the emcee asks for the audience to call out movie titles. Everyone in turn acts out scenes/spoofs that are their interpretations of the movie. When it starts to slow down, the emcee gets another movie from the audience. This game can last as long as the emcee sees fit.

World’s Worst

Players: Everyone Emcee: 1

The emcee plays this game along with everyone. At the start of the game, the emcee asks the audience for occupations. After one is chosen, the condiments act out those occupations badly. The occupation is then changed every time the game starts to slow down. This game can last as long as the emcee sees fit.

Don’t Laugh


The emcee plays this game as well. A location is asked for by the emcee. Two condiments start acting out a scene in that location. Anytime a condiment that is not a part of that scene laughs, they have to go in and take the place of the person that made them laugh and start a new scene. This game can last as long as the emcee sees fit.

Storyteller


In this game, the emcee acts as the storyteller. They tell a story that is missing a bunch of words in an ad-lib style. The storyteller must rely on the audience to fill in the blanks. The other condiments act out the story as it is told.

State Trooper

Players: 2 Emcee: 1

One player leaves the stage. The emcee is the State Trooper and the audience is asked for a place the players were going, why, and the reason for being pulled over. After interrogating the first person, who is the driver, the State Trooper then calls out the second person who takes the driver’s place in the car. While the Trooper is interrogating player two, player one must pantomime to help player two answer the State Trooper’s questions. They have to do this without the State Trooper noticing. The State Trooper can give player one orders to make it more difficult for them to communicate their answers. If the players’ stories match up, they are free to go, but if they don’t, they get arrested.

That’s Offensive

Players: 2 Emcees: 1

The emcee gets a relationship/occupation from the audience. Players improv a scene around the relationship/occupation. At any point, the emcee can say “That’s offensive!” after a player’s line and the offending player must apologize for whatever they had just said and explain why it was offensive. This game can last as long as the emcee sees fit.

Emotional Car Ride

Players: 4 Emcees: 1

Each player is given a personality trait or quality of some sort from the audience(such as Barbie Doll, Rock Star, OCD, etc.,). The first player gets into the car as the driver. Eventually they pick up player 2 who attempts to hitchhike. They drive for a little bit before picking up player 3. Repeat for player 4. After a little while, player 4 gets out for whatever reason. The rest get out one by one in reverse order until player 1 is left alone. Once alone, he finally reaches his destination and gets out.

Two-Headed Mutant

Players: 2 Emcee: 1

The emcee gets a historical event from the audience. Then the two players act as an expert on this subject while the emcee is interviewing them over the subject. Each of the mutant players can only say one word at a time in alternation. The game lasts until the emcee sees fit or they run out of questions.

Dating Game

Players: 4 Emcee: 1

One player leaves the room. While that player is gone, the other three (The bachelors) are given personality traits from the audience (Such as Obsessed with whales, Druggy, Emo, etc.,). The first player comes back and begins asking the bachelors question. After three or four rounds they have to guess the personality traits of the bachelors. If they get any wrong, they can go through more rounds, guessing after each. After a personality trait is guessed correctly, that person is out. This game ends after 5 rounds or when all traits are guessed.

Interpreter

Players: 2 Emcee: 1

One player will speak gibberish, the other will translate. The emcee gets a situation to talk about (Surviving an earthquake, A trip to mars, bank robbery, etc,.) The gibberish speaker speaks one line at a time, while the translator translates. This game ends when the emcee sees fit.

One Syllable Improv

Players: All Emcee: 1

The emcee gets a relationship or situation from the audience. The players line up on stage. Two players start a scene. They are only allowed to use one syllable words. When someone slips and says a multi-syllable word, they are replaced by whoever’s next in line. The emcee calls out the players that slip. This game lasts as long as the emcee sees fit.

Photo Album

Players: As many that can fit behind the blanket. Emcees: 2

The two emcees get an event from the audience that they have attended.(Gameshow, Some sort of convention, cruise, etc,.) Then they hold up a blanket and the other condiments pose behind it. After giving a little bit of backstory the emcees reveal the photo and then they have to explain it to the audience. This process is repeated three times. Then the game ends.

Musical Storytelling

Players: 4-5 Emcee: 1

The players all line up next to each other. The emcee gets a genre of music from the audience for each player. Then the emcee gets a classic fairytale or story(such as The Three Little Pigs, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, etc,.). Then the emcee points at one player, who starts the story. The emcee can switch the storyteller by pointing at the next person. The players have to sing the story in the style of music that they were given. Once they reach the conclusion of the story the game ends.

Intertwined Storytelling

Players: 4-5 Emcee: 1

The players all line up side by side. The emcee gets a location and a thing from the audience. Then the first player begins telling their story from their point of view, using the location and thing as the centerpiece of their story. Whenever the emcee wants, they can point to a different player and they have to start a different story using the same location and thing (the exact same place and thing), but as a different character. After everyone has at least started to tell their story, the emcee can switch to anyone at any time and they must continue their story. Eventually, all of the stories must intertwine in one way or another. The game ends once a conclusion is reached or whenever the emcee sees fit.

Example: Player 1 starts telling their story as a surfer dude who has lost his wallet in Hawaii. Emcee points at player 2. Then player 2 starts their story as a tourist who finds a wallet on a beach in Hawaii. Next the emcee points to player 3, who’s a pickpocket that stole a surfer dude’s wallet and ditched it before being caught. And so on.

Two-Headed Monster

Players: 4 Emcee: 1

The emcee gets an occupation or activity from the audience along with an obstacle to go with that occupation or activity. In this game, there are two groups of two. In the groups one person will act as the legs and piggy back the other person around. The other person is the arms. Each group must alternate lines with their partner, while playing the scene. Only one person in a group may talk at a time and once they’ve finished a line, they must wait until after their partner finishes a line before speaking again. They must physicalize everything they do. This game ends whenever the emcee sees fit.

Liar

Players: 2 Emcee: 1

The emcee gets a relationship and a place from the audience. Once the players start a scene, the emcee can shout “Liar!” after a player’s line. The targeted player must change what they had just said. Both players can be called a liar and there is no limit to how many times “Liar” can be called. The game ends once the emcee sees fit.

Technical Difficulties

Players: 3 Emcee: 1

A topic is picked by the audience to be the subject of a talk show. One player is the host, another is the guest. Player three is the janitor and is in the background cleaning. They begin talking about the subject. Suddenly, the emcee (or the host, whichever is more convenient) will announce, “Due to technical difficulties, closed captioning is not available. Luckily our janitor knows sign language and will interpret for us.” The janitor stands off to the side as the conversation between the host and guest continue. s/he will then physicalize the conversation as it is happening. This game ends once the host or emcee sees fit.

Lounge Singer Players: 1 Emcee: 1 Ask for an unlikely place to find a lounge singer. One player improvises a solo song, Frank Sinatra style. You`ll get something like "Welcome to the pediatrician`s Office". Great opener!

(Borrowed from improveencyclopedia.org)

Actor`s Nightmare Players: 2 Emcee: 1 One player gets their lines on paper (like a script). The other player should justify whatever the scripted player says. Notes You can use existing plays for this, but also lines from comics. Whoever gets the script should not forget to play/act - only her lines are defined, not what she does, or how she does the lines.


Backwards Interview Players: 2 Emcee: 1 Description To play this improv game, ask for a topic for a TV interview. Then 2 players do the interview backwards. That means that the first sentence uttered is the last one in the interview, perhaps something like: Thanks for that enlightening explanation. (to the guest) To all of you viewers at home, thank you for watching, and see you next week. And then players work their way backwards. Various gimmicks can be played. For example, in your responses, you can pimp players. Examples would be: "Thank you for that very energetic answer to the question", pimping the other player to do something very energetic.


Beatnik Poet Players: All Emcee: 1 Description Tell the audience we are going to improvise a bad poetry night at pseudo- intellectual coffee house. Ask for 2 unrelated objects or concepts. All players perform a poem that has both suggestions. If they miss out a suggestion or if they don`t rhyme, the audience yells Die! and the player commits suicide on stage.


Card Status Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description Excellent Status improv game.

Ask an audience member to pick 4 cards out of a deck, and attach a card to each player`s forehead, so that players can see each other`s card, but not their own. Use a rubber band or a piece of string for that. The idea is to improvise a scene, in which the status order of the characters is defined by the cards. Evidently, players don`t know their own status, so the other players will have to endow them. Notes Set up a location where status is important. Examples would be a Royal Palace or a highly organized bureaucracy (the White House ?)


Deaf Replay Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description 2 players play a scene while 2 others watch the scene, with their ears covered. When the scene is over, the 2 others re-play the scene. Obviously they`ll do the same movements, but the dialogue will be different.


Death in a Minute Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description 2 or 3 players play a 1 minute scene, in which one player must die. Notes Tell players to take risks. Why not just drop dead after 5 seconds and leave it up to the other player to justify the death.


Double Blind Freeze Players: All Emcee: 1 Description This is an extension of the Blind Freeze improv game: 2 players in scene, the others line up with their backs to the scene. Whenever the audience yells Freeze! the 2 players at the end of the line replace the 2 players on scene, and start a new scene, from the positions the original players were in.


Emotional Family Players: ~4 Emcee: 1 Description Usually played with 4 players, but can be done with more or less players. As a suggestion ask for a family activity, then start a normal scene. As soon as all characters and their relationships have been established, freeze the scene, pick a player, and ask for an emotion for that player. The scene then continues, and the player is overcome with that emotion. Repeat till all players got an emotion. The scene has to keep evolving after each emotion assignment, and of course players shall try justifying the emotions.


Fortune Cookie Players: 2-3 Emcee: Description Open a fortune cookie, read it aloud. Then improvise a scene based on the fortune. Variations Give every player a fortune cookie; each player then need to show that fortune in his or her character.


Handicapped Fairy Tale Players: 2-4 Emcee: 1 Description Very silly but very effective. Ask the audience for a fairy tale. Then give every player one or more characters in the story. Ask for a handicap or peculiar state of mind for each character and improvise the fairy tale.


Helping Hands Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description Scene played by 4 players, playing 2 characters. Each character consists of one player, who does the voice, holding his hands behind his back. Another player stands behind player 1, and provides the `hands`. The story should be a give and take between voices and hands. Also known as Arm Game. . n Variations Have 2 players provide the arms, one each.


Hesitation Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description In this game a scene is played, in which at any time, any player may `hesitate`, and ask the audience for help. Anything provided by the audience must be justified and incorporated. Examples:  

James, hand me that .... (signs the audience for a word) -- Lollypop. Ah, I was sailing the 7 seas in my .... Newspaper. Yes, Newspaper, finest vessel ever built by ..... (martians)


Last Line Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description Get a line (any line) from the audience. Players play a scene that concludes with the given line. Variations Ask for a first line as well. Also known as First Line Last Line. .


No P Players: All Emcee: 1 Description Players play a scene (perhaps based on an audience suggestion) but they cannot use the letter `P` (or any other letter). When a player uses a `P`, the audience screams `Die` and the player is replaced by another on. The scene continues, and the new player needs to take over the character of the player he replaces.


Rhymes Players: All Emcee: 1 Description Scene played in verses. The idea is that the first player offers a line, and the second player rhymes to that. Then the second player offers another line, with which the first player needs to make a rhyme. Players that hesitate or forget to rhyme `die` and are replaced by other players. The idea is to keep the story going, so players that can`t find a good rhyme that would advance the story better die than screw up the story.


Timeline Players: As Needed Emcee: 1 Description A scene is played, number of players unlimited. The scene starts in prehistoric times, and evolves through the ages, till it ends in the future. The idea is to stick to one and the same story line, but as time progresses, characters may take on characteristics or use attributes appropriate to the `time`. Of course, every characteristic and attribute needs to be justified and take the scene forward.


Touch to Talk Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description In this handle players play a scene in which they can only use speech when they touch each other. Notes  

Fun when played in locations when people don`t usually touch each other, like a confession chair, a sauna. Don`t go for the easy option of just touching your partner`s forearm or shoulder - there are so many ways to touch each other. Try hugging, fighting, baptizing, tickling.


Walkout Players: 3 Emcee: 1 Description You need at least 3 players for this one. Give each player a word. Start playing a scene with 2 players. As soon as a player hears her word, she has to leave the scene. As soon as she hear her word again, she needs to walk into the scene again. Walkouts and re-entrances need to be justified. Also known as Exit Game. Tim’s suggestion We have the audience write down words on slips of paper. Each player draws a slip at the beginning of the game. So each player only knows their word.


Without Sound Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description A scene in played, in which no talk of no sounds are allowed.

Tim’s suggestion: We get a situation that would normally involve a lot of sound/speaking. Something like visiting the doctor, having a tooth pulled, rock paper scissors tournament, etc,. (Borrowed from improveencyclopedia.org)

Alphabet Game Players: All Emcee: 1 Description This is a scene consisting of 26 lines of dialog. The first line starts with a given letter (say `R`). The reply to that line must start with a `S`, and so on, until the whole alphabet has been covered. After `Z` comes À`. Players that hesitate, or use the wrong letter `Die`, and are replaced by another player. The replacement needs to take over the character of the player she replaces.


Day in the Life Players: 2-4 Emcee: 1 Description The MC picks a member of the audience and interviews this person about their average (work) day. Questions asked may include `What is your job?", "Where do you live, with who?", "What are your hobbies?", "How do you get to work?", "Who are your colleagues?", and more. The players then improvise a day in the life of this audience member, based on the elements provided by the interview.


Story Story Die(Novel w/ Elimination) Players: All Emcee: 1 Description Players form a line on the stage. A title for a story, and a story genre is obtained from the audience. The MC starts the game by pointing to a player, who needs to start telling the story. At any point in time the MC can switch to another player, who needs to continue the story flawlessly, even if the switch happened in the middle of a sentence or even in the middle of a word. Players that hesitate, or whose sentences are not grammatically correct or don`t make sense, are boo-ed out of the game, by the audience yelling `Die`. The last player left ends the story.


The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Advice Players: 3 Emcee: 1 Description 3 players, form a line (or sit down). The audience provides questions or problems for which they need advice. The 3 players provide good, bad, and really bad advice. Have the MC choose who provide what advice, so everyone can have a stab at really bad advice. If the `bad advice` is really bad, then the Ugly advice should be even worse. You can play this as a Die game - if a bad advice is not followed by an even worse advice, replace the last player by another one


Animalistics Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description Ask the audience for animals. Players play a scene, in which the characters are based on these animals. Notes Players do not `become` the animals, they only take over characteristics of the animals. Characteristics may be physical, vocal or Status based. For example, `chicken` might inspire a player to a cowardly character, moving about jerkily. Also known as Totems. - this can be played as an exercise: write totem names on slips of paper. Give every player a totem before they play a scene. You can extend the animal name; make it more specific. Play with things like Bald Eagle rather than Eagle; or Silver Moon, Sitting Bull, etc.

Tim’s Suggestion: Also get a place, event, or type of social gathering from the audience.


Animals Players: At Least 4(must be even) Emcee: 1 Description Make sure you have an even number of players. Give everyone an animal, but make sure that there are 2 of each, and that nobody knows which other player is which animal. Then give a number of activities, which the animals perform. Try      

Eating. Eating when you`re really hungry Drinking. Drinking when you`re really thirsty Lovemaking Grooming Fighting Sleeping

At the end, ask the players to find the other animal of their kind. Ask the others if they found out who was which animal. Variations Let 2 players be humans.


Funeral Service Players: At least 3 Emcee: 1 Description This improv game handle can be used both as a Long Form format and as an exercise. The stage is set up as a funeral, or a viewing the night before the funeral. One player is the deceased, bang in the middle and very visible in or on e.g. a table or a couple of chairs representing the casket. Audience suggests an odd or peculiar way to die, and then the death is played. Perhaps characters present during the funeral service were there at the time of death. After death, the dead gets back into her coffin and we return to the service. Then, taking turns, guests at the funeral service step up and present, in a monologue, their experience with the deceased. After each monologue what was described is played, like a flashback.


Object Narrative Players: All Emcee: 1 Description Place one chair on stage. The group sits or stands to the sides so they can see what is going on. Someone chooses an object from the room and places it on the chair. (Or get an object from the audience in a show) That object is your suggestion. One at a time, three members (or however many you decide) do a short monologue off that object. One person starts and when they are done, they leave the object on the chair for the next person. Whoever is inspired jumps up next adding their part of the story/situation from another character`s point of view. and the third person completes the cycle. This exercise is extremely character based. The first character sets the story in motion and then the other two people find a way to be another interesting character that will accept and heighten the first initiation. The challenge is to not be totally predictable with the follow up character choices (avoid immediately choosing to be the spouse when you could be that person`s mailman...or manicurist instead). At the same time you still want to support the story line and justify what the previous characters have already established. The characters don`t have to know each other, but they must have connections (if only through the object).


Old Job New Job Players: 2 Emcee: 1 Description Improvise a scene with 2 players, and give them a job (or let the audience provide the job). Then tell them what job they had in a previous life. The idea is that somehow in the scene characters reflect their previous jobs in their actual life. The idea is not to `play` the old job, but to show character traits of someone with the old job while performing the new job (are we making sense here?)


Supermen Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description A great Pimping game. 4 players. First player gets from the audience a silly little problem, like My Shoelaces are Untied, and a simple object, say a kitchen cabinet. First player starts a scene in which the Problem arises, and her character is unable to fix the problem. Hence she calls in (explicitly) the help of Kitchen Cabinet Man. This is a SuperHero, like Superman, Spiderman, you know that kind of cartoon-character hero types. Our Superman comes in with lots of brou-haha (high Status ) only to make the problem worse (and a status switch to low status). So our hero calls in the help of yet another Superman. Use whatever you can think of first. Say Toothpaste Man. Again this hero comes in high status, screws up even more, does a status switch and calls in yet another hero, who finally fixes the problem. The game is really pimping folks into playing outrageous superheroes. The status switch from high to low after screwing up is pretty important too here.


Voices From Heaven Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description Excellent game for building characters and group-storytelling. 4 players, ask the audience who they are, what their occupation would be. These 4 characters have died together, and they are going to tell us how that came about. Players line up. The game is played in 3 rounds. In every round, each player offers some information about how they happened to die. At the end of the thirds round, they should all be dead.


Hat Continuation Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description Start a scene, and identify each of the characters by means of a hat. The MC will interrupt (freeze) the game from time to time, and switch the players` hats. After the switch each player becomes the character that previously wore his or her hat. The story needs to continue and should make sense.


Zoom-In Zoom-Out Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description A scene is played; at any time the MC or host calls "zoom-out" - at that point, the scene continues, but is played with finger puppets (as if the audience is watching the scene from fart away, and all characters are finger-sized). This continues until the host calls "zoom-in", after which the scene continues in "normal" size. Alter between zoom-in and zoom-out ad libitum.


Asides Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 An improvised scene is played, which any player can stop at any time by yelling freeze. At that point, the player steps out of the scene, and tells the audience what his character is really thinking, after which the scene continues. The other characters of course are not supposed to know what players are thinking, but the players do, and should use this. Notes Players can use this to reveal their hidden motives. Other players can play into this, or purposely ignore this knowledge. Gimmick: characters may actually have other things on their minds than what`s going on in the scene. E.g. a driver stopped by a cop may be thinking about the groceries his wife told him to get at the supermarket. Variations The thoughts of the players can also be provided by players off-stage. Also known as Alter Ego. Also known as Consciences.


Balladeer Players: All Emcee: 1 Description In this musical improv handle, one player is the balladeer, who starts singing a ballad about an audience suggestion. The other players actually play what the balladeer sings about, in slow motion. This is actually group story-building, as the players are inspired by what the balladeer sings (obviously) but also, their actions can/should inspire the balladeer.


Blues Jam Players: 1-3 Emcee: 1 Description Ask the audience for 5 things that give them the blues. Then improvise a blues jam about those elements


Boris Players: 2 Emcee: 1 Description 2 players play an improvised interrogation scene. One is the interrogator, the other is a suspect. The interrogator randomly throws unconnected elements to the suspect, who needs to incorporate these and get himself into (even more) trouble. And then we have Boris, who is a nasty, huge, but invisible thug assisting the interrogator. Every time the interrogator does not like the suspect`s answers (and also when the suspect does not incriminate himself enough), the interrogator calls on Boris to torture the suspect, prodding him to confess or incriminate him even further. Notes     

we do not establish the crime beforehand the suspect mimes being tortured by Boris the investigator can tell Boris what to do (break his leg), but it is more fun to leave the choice of torture up to the suspect if the torture does not go far enough to the investigator`s taste, he can always call in Boris` evil twin brother, Igor (also invisible) as a gag, the suspect can also incriminate Boris (who can turn out to be a witness/accomplice to the crime).


Bucket Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description Before the show ask the audience to write simple sentences on slips of paper. Those go in a big bucket. A scene is improvised, and at random moments the players don`t just invent a line of dialog, but use a line off a piece of paper drawn from the bucket. Anything said is accepted, heightened and integrated.


CD Shop Players: At least 3 Emcee: 1 Description This is a variation on Greatest Hits , for those over 30 (those under 30 never bought CDs in a physical shop, we fear). Setting is a CD shop, one player is the sales person, the other is a client. Audience suggestion is someone to buy a present for, or an occasion to buy a present. Say "graduating medical school". The buyer is looking for an appropriate CD to buy for this person/occasion. The seller presents several CDs, each CD gets an explicit style/artist, and the seller offers to demo an appropriate song. E.g. for the graduation, "How about a Lady Gaga album? Her new album is called "Doctor Love" and it has this great song "Measles". One or more other players (and preferably a musician) then perform the song. After 3-4 songs the buyer agrees to buy the album and scene ends.


Commercial Players: As Needed Emcee: 1 Description Ask for a product (existing or non-existing). Then play a commercial for that product.


Confessions Players: All or As Needed Emcee: 1 Description Not exactly theater but fun when played well. The MC gets a bunch of `confessions` from the audience. These can be really lame, like e.g. Ì vote democratic`, Ì used to be a man`, Ì sold a kidney`, whatever. Then players line up. One player steps forward, and gets a confession from the host. Player utters the confession in a character, and immediately another player jumps in and offers a witty reply. Do this as long as players have ideas for replies. Then replace the first player by a new one, give her a new confession and repeat ad libitum.


Continuing Styles Players: 2 Emcee: 1 Description A `neutral` improvised scene is started. This scene gets interrupted several times by the MC, and then continued in a film/ literature/ drama/ TV-program style provided by the audience. The platform and the story need to continue flawlessly.


Ding Players: 2 Emcee: 1 Description A scene is played. Whenever the MC ring a bell (or yells `Ding`), the player that is doing something/saying something needs to say/do something else. Notes Doing `something else` is quite often interpreted as doing/saying the opposite of what you did before. One can be more creative, e.g. repeat what was said in a different emotion. If you use this as an exercise on Spontaneity the trainer can `Ding` quite often (very frustrating for the players, but they will come up with stuff they never would have thought of before). Disadvantage of this is that the story/characters tend to get lost. Use sparingly for performance.


Famous Last Words Players: All Emcee: 1 Description MC asks the audience for famous (living or dead) people, or characters in movies, cartoons or songs. Players line up and invent `famous last words` for the subjects given by the audience.


Famous Person Endowment Players: 3-4 Emcee: 1 Description 1 player gets a number of famous persons; one for each other player in the scene. Then a scene is played with all players, and player 1 endows the others with the personalities given by the audience.


Fortune Teller Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description One player covers his ears while the others get `predictions` from the audience; one prediction per other player. First player then plays a fortune teller who must be endowed by the others to predict the given predictions.


Goon River Players: 3-4 Emcee: 1 Description This is an improv format that consists of monologues. The story is not played, but told. The players (typically 3 or 4) line up in front of the audience, Based on a single audience suggestion they all tell the same story, each as their own character in that story. The play usually starts with every character introducing him or herself. The order in which characters speak is not really important, as long as they all speak. After the introductions, things start to happen. Every character reflects on what is happening from their own perspective, and each character adds elements to the story. Keep going (and make sure that every character keeps contributing) and reincorporating as long as things stay interesting.


Greatest Hits Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description This game was made famous by the TV show "Whose line is it anyways". Typically played with 4 players. 2 of these are the hosts of a tv commercial, trying to sell a CD compilation of 'greatest hits'. Audience suggestion is the theme of the CD. E.g. a profession: "accountants". The CD to be sold is then "Songs for Accountants". The hosts discuss the CD, why viewers should buy it, and select 3-4 tracks. Each track gets a title and a style, e.g. (for accountants) "The IRS blue" - which in this case also implies the style. The other players then improvise that song, in that style. For examples, do a search on youtube for WLIIA Greatest Hits.


Ground Control Players: 4 (2 with audience participation) Emcee: 1 Description 4 players. 2 players will be Ground Controllers, the other 2 provide the dialog in the scene. Each player has one ground controller assigned to them. The Ground Controllers use flashlights (preferably with cones attached like they use at airports) to direct the movement of the players. The players cannot move unless directed by the ground controller. Variations Use audience members to play the Ground Controllers. Notes Prop needed: Flashlight with affixed cone like they use on the runway at airports. Players need to be ready to justify why they are moving about on stage and not simply just walk back and forth. Movement of the flashlight left or right will more the players left or right on stage. Consider flashlight movement up and down can move the player up and down stage or cause them to "climb" or crawl.


Hall of Justice Players: 5+ Emcee: 1 Description Fun game for 5+ players, involving superheroes and villains. Get 4 suggestions from he audience, e.g. hammer, coffee, influenza and briefcase. This will give us 2 superheroes: Hammerman and his sidekick coffeewoman. We will also have 2 villains: influenzaman and his aide briefcasegirl. The other players play the villain`s victims. Villains and heroes should try and use as many attributes of their suggestion as they justifiably can.


He Said She Said Players: 2 or 4 Emcee: 1 Description Excellent game to show how Endowment works. 2 players; each player will state the action the other player must perform, followed by his own line. Example:   



1: "I want a divorce" 2: "She said, while grabbing a knife from the kitchen table." At this point player 1 needs to take a knife. Player 2 continues with his own line. "Sure Honey" 1: "He said, while turning to the sports page of the paper". Now, it`s quite clear that player 2 should be paying more attention to the paper than to his wife. Player 1 continues with her own line. "You`re not listening to me" and so on.

Players refer to each other as `he` and `she`, and endow each other with the next action to take. This can be quite funny, if you endow your partner to do crazy or not-so-nice things to you (or to themselves, but that`s would not be Mr. Nice Guy ). Variations Can be done with 4 players: 2 provide the lines, and the 2 others provide the `directions` - each director provides the action for one of the 2 talkers. Can also be one with 3 players: one provides directions and both other players do their own dialogue.


Human Props Players: All Emcee: 1 Excellent exercise for building environments and object work. Ask one player to start doing an activity that somehow defines (broadly) a location. E.g. when someone starts typing she might be in a (home) office. The other players then become the other objects in the environment. Notes Tell the first player she can start using the props built by other players in the environment (if she recognizes them). Tell players to go for the obvious: in just about any room you could be a plant, a door or a table, after all. When done, ask the first player to name any òbject` built in the environment. Variations You can use this as a handle for a performance. When a player is asked to sit down, and there are no chairs on the scene, another player can become the chair for the first player to sit on. Other examples are ticking clocks in haunted houses, cabinets and closets, you name it.


Irish Drinking Song Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description 4 players sing a song about a subject, given by the audience, on an Irish-sounding tune, one line at a time. 4 lines makes 1 verse; after the first verse, a second verse is started by player number 2; and so forth. After 4 verses every player has both started and ended a verse and the song is over. Played quite often in Whose Line is it Anyway. You`ll find plenty of examples on YouTube.com. Variations Invent your own choreography and have the players dance as they sing.


Jeopardy Players: All Emcee: 1 Description This games is not unlike World’s Worst : have the players close/cover their ears. Then ask the audience for questions and answers. Examples would be:  

What is the color of an American school bus? Yellow. What is dyslexia? Not being able to make words out of letters.

Write down the answers, not the question. Then give the players an answer and let them come up with questions that might be answered correctly by that answer. It`s kind of like `what would the worst/sillies/funniest question be that could have this answer?


Little Voice Players: All Emcee: 1 Description One player plays an improvised scene. The other player(s) play the voice(s) of objects in the environment in which the first player plays. Anything can have a voice. Examples:  

a player walks in a forest and an ant starts talking to him a player is in the bathroom and his toothbrush starts talking

Variations You can script the text of the little voice, and have the player justify anything that is said. See Actor`s Nightmare. See Evil Stick of Gum for a different variation of the same improv game. Notes Make sure players immediately make clear what exactly is doing the talking. Either the voice makes this clear, or the other player:  

Oh my god, a talking duck with a machine gun! Bet you`ve never seen a talking couch, have you?


Marriage Counsel Endowment Players: 3 Emcee: 1 Description One player is sent out of the room while the host gets 2 relationship problems from the audience. 2 other players play a couple with these problems, and player one is the therapist. Players need to get the therapist to figure out what the relationship problems are.


More or Less Players: 5 or more Emcee: 1 Description This is a nice improv show format. Any number of players from 5 upwards. Every player takes turns presenting a scene. First player starts, asks audience suggestions if needed, and directs the scene to the extent needed. After a couple of minutes the director asks the audience: more or less. Audience yells their preference, and if “More” sounds loudest, scene is continued. If audience yells “Less”, then the scene is not continued and another player presents another scene.


Narrator Players: 2-4 Emcee: 1(The emcee is the Typist.) Description This improv format is like Typewriter without the typewriter: players improvise a scene, which a narrator describes and comments upon. Also known as Attenborough. - after the way sir Richard Attenborough did his famous nature programmes.


Pillars Players: 2-3 Emcee: 1 Description Put one member of the audience on stage (the pillar). A scene is played, but each player can at any point stop his sentence and ask the Pillar to provide the next word.


Poet Translator Players: 1(Poet) Emcee: 1(Translator) Description A simple translation game. The setup is a foreign language poet, who performs some of his work in Gibberish . The translator translates. Nice is number of lines, metrum, and rhymes are kept.


Press Conference Players: 3-8 Emcee: 1 Description This is a verbal improv game, played with 3 to 8 players. One player leaves the room, while the audience provides the name of a famous or historical person. The àbsent` player will give a press conference, but he does not know who he is. The other players are journalists, whose questions should provide indications to who the mystery guest might be. Game ends when our player guesses who he is. Notes The `journalists` should really play journalist characters. They can take photographs, or have a fight about who gets to ask the next question. Variations Instead of a famous or historical person, choose an expert. The game is over when the èxpert` figures out what he or she is expert in.


Protest Song Players: As Needed Emcee: 1 Description Ask the audience for something that pisses them off. Then improvise a song about it, like the 70s screw-the-government type characters. Typically done as a Verse-Chorus type song.


Scene Replay Players: 2 or more(Depending on variation) Emcee: 1 Description Ask 2 players to play a short scene. One could limit the scene to 8 lines of dialog per player. Then ask the players to replay the scene, based on some audience suggestions for:      

a particular emotion. Also known as Emotion Replay. an era. Also known as Through the Ages. Also known as Historical Replay. a different location a film / TV / literature style. Also known as Style Replay. in Gibberish backwards. Also known as Backwards Scene.

Variations You can time the scene to 1 minute, and then replay in 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 7 seconds and 3 seconds. This variation is Also known as Countdown. and Also known as Half Life. . Other variations:  

have the scene replayed by 2 other players insist that the dialog remains exactly the same


Something Old Something New Players: 5 Emcee: 1 Description An excellent group improv game to train listening skills. Taken from the old wedding adage, "Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something blue." 5 players, one player - the bride, leaves the room. The remaining 4 players each get one of the following from the audience:    

Something old Something new Something borrowed Something blue

The idea is that player number 5, the Bride, needs to guess each of the 4 players items. Game ends when all 4 items have been guessed. The players need to provide hints to the bride, but they cannot explicitly tell the bride what they are or what they have. Similar in essence to The Party. Notes Works best if players help the bride by providing hints as to the other characters items. The players can chose to "be" the item or simply have the item and try and present it to the bride only dropping hints. One example; Something old = Abacus, Something new = IPhone (new at time of writing), Something borrowed = Chainsaw, Something blue = Blue Whale. Very important that the 4 players (not the bride) pay attention to the other players items and are available to drop hints to help it along.


Sounds Like a Song Players: 2 Emcee: 1 Description Play a scene (or series of scenes). At any time, anyone can stop the scene and say `Sounds like a song`, after which the player(s) sing a song based on the last line that was spoken, or last action that was done.


Sportz Center Players: 3 Emcee: 1 Description 3 players, and an everyday activity (brushing your teeth, washing your car). In this game, the everyday activity is performed as if it were done at the olympics or at a world championship. One player is the athlete, and the two others are in a TV studio - one is the interviewer who interviews the athlete`s trainer, as the athlete performs the task. Usually, something goes wrong and the athlete fails miserably. Gimmicks may include:    

Interviewing the athlete on the field after the win (or the disaster) Asking for a replay of a particularly dramatic moment Asking for a replay with a different camera (different angle)


Stunt Double Players: 3 Emcee: 1 Description A scene is played by 2 players. Every time a player needs to do something difficult/unpleasant, another player jumps in as a stunt double. When done, the stunt double freezes the scene and the original player continues the scene. Tim’s Suggestion: The stunt double should exaggerate as largely as possible. (Borrowed from improveencyclopedia.org)

Sybil Players: 1 Emcee: 1(Preferably same as the player) Description This is basically a one-person Long Form. In this format the player plays all characters. The play typically starts with a character monologue and then goes into scenes alternated with more monologues. One could summarize the `rules` as:  

you play all the characters and their dialogue in the scenes Monologues are either internal (to the character) or to the audience, addresses as a group (a minister preaching to a church, a person introducing himself at a job interview).

Origin The format is attributed to Andy Eninger. The name is based on a book with the same title, about Sybil Dorsett, a survivor of child abuse who was diagnosed with the first multiple personality disorder. She allegedly played host to 16 separate personalities.


The Gerbil Players: 2 Emcee: 1 Description Invent a silly dramatic story, and explain it to the audience. Classic example is the following: "After fixing the roof, Roger decided to clean the house, including the cage of Mary`s gerbil. He put the animal in a frying pan, from which it escaped to the roof, where it got stuck in some fresh tar. Roger put it back in its cage, where it got smothered by the fresh woodchips. Roger tried to use a solvent to clean the creature, but the solvent fumes cause the creature to die of a cardiac arrest. At that point Mary walks in". This is when the scene starts: Roger needs to explain what happens, but as soon as the audience starts laughing Roger is replaced by another player who gets a new shot. The idea is to try and play the scene without getting the audience to laugh. Notes Don`t stick to the gerbil story - you can invent any silly story for this game.


The Party Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description One player plays a character that is having a party. The other players will be the guests, and the audience provides us with who the guests might be. Of course the host does not know who the guests are. His task is to guess who the guests might be, based on hints the guests offer. The games is over as soon as the host has guessed all guests. Variations Use quirks instead of characters - Also known as Party Quirks.


Trivial Pursuit Players: All Emcee: 1 Description MC asks the audience to pick Trivial Pursuit cards. Players line up, and the MC reads questions from the cards picked by the audience. Players invent the funniest answer to these questions. Notes The MC needs to screen the questions; a question like Ìn what year electricity was invented` should be avoided. As there are 6 questions on a card, go for the question that is vaguest and offers most options. Variations Read the answer, and let the players come up with the question. See also Reverse Trivial Pursuit.


TV News Players: 3 Emcee: 1(Can also be a player) 3 players, who play characters in a TV newscast. One will be the lead anchor, another will do the weather, and the third is a reporter at a location. Then, a newscast is played. Variations Ask for an audience suggestion for a central theme in the newscast.


Typewriter Players: As Needed Emcee: 1(Typist) Description This is a nice handle to structure scenes. One of the players is the Narrator. He has a (mimed) typewriter and starts the scene by reading aloud as he types. As soon as the Narrator has given a few elements, the players take over and start playing the scene. At any point, the Narrator can take over again, perhaps switch to another location, introduce new character, and provide tilts or flashbacks. Variations When a scene goes bad, the Narrator can mime ripping a couple of pages of his story apart, and restart the scene (or the story).


Zapping Players: 4 Emcee: 1 Description 4 players, each chooses a TV format(or gets on from the audience), like the News, a documentary, a Pokemon show, you name it. The audience provides a central theme, and the MC will `zap` through the channels. Miraculously, all broadcasts cover the same theme.


Improv Games Collection

Recommend Documents