List of improv games

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An improv game is a collection of rules to be followed while performing improvisational comedy. Scenes are developed on the spot with no scripting or prior knowledge of what the scene will entail. Often, audience suggestions are incorporated into the games. There are two generally accepted forms of improv, longform and shortform, which have different games associated with them. During a performance, an improv troupe will tend to perform either a longform game or shortform games exclusively.

Despite being called games, many of these rulesets involve no competition. Consequently, some performers refer to them as improv structures rather than games. The games typically vary somewhat from one troupe to another, and most troupes make a point of having at least one game which is uniquely their own in at least some aspect. Many games are known by several names.

[edit] Shortform Games

In shortform improv, multiple short (usually 1-10 minutes) games scenes are played during a performance. Each of these shortform games have absolutely nothing to do with each other and are completely independent of the rest of the show. The games tend to fall into a few categories. Gag games tend to be made up of short one-liners and punchlines; the method in which they are told and the topic of the jokes is determined by the rules (ex. 185, World's Worst, Gripe Concerto, Do Rap Rap). Guessing games are centered around one or more of the performers not knowing certain pieces of information (ex. location of scene); the other performers must convey this information following the rules of the game. Scene games involve the performers acting out a short story or scene on the spot following the rules of the game.

The following are games for use in Shortform Improv:

  • 185 - Players create jokes in the form of “185 OBJECTS walk into a bar…” which are made up completely on-the-spot, and are generally built off of bad puns. Some troupes pair this game with "world's worst," playing both at the same time off of the same suggestion.[1]
  • 3 Things - Three activities are given as suggestions and spiced up (for example, skydiving from a car wearing KleenexTM instead of a parachute), then two players have three minutes to get the guesser to do the actions, using only mime and gibberish. It may also be played at '5 things' or 'n things,' and is very similar to Chain (Link) Murder Mystery, but more general.[1]
  • 30 Second Change - Start a scene. Every thirty seconds, one of three things must happen: someone new must enter the scene, someone must exit the scene, or the location of the scene must change.
  • 60 Second Alphabet - Two players do a scene in which each line starts with the next consecutive letter of the alphabet. For example, “Alan, how are you?” “Better than a monkey in a banana tree.” The game can begin on any letter, frequently a letter suggested by the audience. The scene continues either until the starting letter is reached again and the entre alphabet has been used, or until a logical ending for the scene is reached, depending on the troupe.[1]
  • Actor's Nightmare - One or more performers read (or recite) lines from a play. If there are several scripted performers, they may be reading from different plays. One performer is not on script, and improvises responses and explanations for the others' lines. Also called Scripts or Pick A Line.
  • Alternate Reality
  • Amish Rake Fight - Scene begins. Any time a modern piece of technology is used, a crazed amish man storms the stage and beats the user with his rake, forcing said user to find a simpler solution to their problem.
  • Arms Expert - A group of 3 people stand up in front of an audience. One of which is a game show host, customer, whatever, another is the expert, and the last one is the arms of the expert. The expert stands infront of the arms provider and wraps his/her arms behind the person who is the arms. The expert and the person who performs their arms act as if they are a single person who gesticulates while speaking. Can be performed sitting or standing, and can be performed with more than one 'expert.'
  • Arms Scene Debate- Ask for an audience member, and two improvisers. Then they should debate about a topic by the audiences choice. The arms of the audience member will switch between improvisers, as they each Debate. They do this by the improvisers putting their arms behind their back while the audience member puts his/her arms through his/her armpits.
  • Bartender- A musical game which benefits greatly from having an accompanist playing a piano or some such instrument. One improviser is the Bartender, who other improvisers come to for advice. Each improviser receives a problem, a particular state of mind, condition etc. from the audicence, for example being in love or being color blind, and they then sing a short song about their problem to the Bartender, who then sings back his advice.
  • Bean Sketch - Players take a predone diologue (What are you doing?/Making Beans/Can I have some?/Sure/These beans taste funny (faints)/Is there a doctor in the house?/(doctor) I'm a doctor... this man is dead) and then perform it, adapting it as per the will of another player acting as the director.
  • Blind Date - Two people go on a blind date, and there is a waiter. The daters do not know who they are, and the waiter does not know where they are. They drop hints to each other while trying to figure out who or where they are.[1]
  • Blind Freeze - A scene is performed by two people, with the rest of the crew standing behind them facing away. One of them yells “Freeze!” and turns around, then has to take the position of one of the scene-players and start a new scene.[1]
  • Blind Lines - The audience, before the show, writes down lines on pieces of paper. In this game, a scene is performed, and periodically, players read the audience’s lines, and justify them in the scene. Also known as "Whose line is it anyway?" "Random Scraps" and "Paper Slips."[1]
  • Bus Stop - Two actors sit on a bench, waiting for a bus (which never comes). The actor on the left's character does everything in his power to get the person on the right to leave (usually by intimidating/scaring/disgusting/etc). Once the actor on the right leaves the bench, the actor on the left slides over to the right and a new actor arrives on the left. The new arrival in turn tries to get the actor on the right (still in the same character) to leave, and the game continues in this cycle.
  • Chain (Link) Murder Mystery - A murder has occurred in an unusual location. The murderer has a strange occupation and used a strange murder weapon. The game then proceeds like “Telephone” where one person tries to explain (using only mime and gibberish) the location, occupation, and weapon to the next, who explains to the next, and so on. One variant requires the person who knows the three items to get the other person to be/do/use them, and to commit the murder rather than being the victim. Another variant allows less times with each successive repetition. (For example, three minutes, then two minutes, and the final version being only one minute.) Also known as "Chain Death Murder."[1]
  • The Clap - Three scenes of two performers each take place, one at a time. Whenever one of the waiting performers likes a line in the active scene, he claps. That scene freezes, and now his scene resumes, and must start off with the last line said in the previous scene.[1]
  • Click
  • Corn On The Cob
  • Countdown - An ordinary two-person scene takes place, subject only to a time limit. Then, two other performers must re-enact the scene in half the time. This continues until the entire scene must be run through in absurdly short (or even negative!) time intervals.[1]
  • Dating Game - Three bachelors with unusual personalities (provided by the audience) are asked questions by a bachelorette (who does not know their identities). The bachelorette must figure out, asking two questions to each bachelor, who or what they are.[1]
  • Day in the Life - An audience member recounts his day (what he did, who he ate lunch with, which classes he attended, etc.), and his day is then acted out by a group of players.[1]
  • Debate - Two performers debate a subject given as a suggestion from the audience. Two other performers act out the things said by the debaters. Sometimes a similar game is performed as a poetry slam, where two people act out the improvised poetry on the other two performers.[1]
  • Ding - Two performers have a conversation. A third person holds a bell (usually a reception bell), and "dings" it at his will (alternately he/she just says "ding"). When the bell rings, the performer who has just said a line must say a different one, but one that still makes sense in the pretext of the conversation. Sometimes the "dinger" will consecutively ring the bell more than once. Also known as "new choice" and "should've said."[1]
  • The Director - Three performers repeatedly act out a scene from a movie yet-to-be-filmed. Their performances must follow the whims of a director, who will interrupt scene repeatedly and tell the actors what changes to make.[1]
  • Don't Laugh - Two players act out an inherently tragic scene and the first to say something to make the audience laugh is substituted out.
  • Dubbed in Opera
  • DVD Remote - Performers act out a scene based on some suggestion from the audience. An additional person can issue arbitrary commands found on a DVD remote (either real commands, or absurd ones, such as “reverse,” “fast forward,” “skip to chapter 4,” or “switch to French Language” or “Play in Kung Fu Movie Style”) at any time. Also known as Forward/Reverse or The VCR Game. Many troupes end the scene by rewinding it to the beginning.[1]
  • Emotional Quadrants- Players improvise a scene on a floor divided into four quadrants, each of which are marked with a particular emotion, love, hate etc. As the players move around they must portray the emotion they are standing on.[1]
  • Enter Exit on a Word - Three performers are each assigned a word and as the scene progresses, when a player says another's assigned word that player must leave. When the word is said again, the player must reenter the scene. When a player exits or enters, he or she must justify the movement.
  • First line Last line - Players are given the first and last lines of a scene and have to make up the difference.
  • Follow the Leaver - Start off with an arbitrary scene. Every time somebody leaves the scene, the “action” follows the person who leaves, and the next scene shows where he went off to.[1]
  • Freeze (And Justify) - Two people perform a scene until one of the other players yells “Freeze!” at which point the two freeze. The new person tags out one of the other two, takes the same position, and starts a completely new scene. This is one of the most popular and well known improv games.[1]
  • Good, Bad, and Worst Advice - Three people field questions from the audience: one giving good advice, one giving bad advice, and one giving the worst advice possible. Occasionally, the doctors play relative terms in place of superlatives, with the "good" doctor giving terrible advice in a challenge to the other two to top it.[1]
  • Gripe Concerto - Multiple people stand up in front of the conductor. Each person is given (from the audience) something or someone that they absolutely hate. As the conductor points to people, they complain about their designated object.[1]
  • Happy, Sad, Mad - The stage is divided into three zones: happy, sad, and mad. Whenever a performer is standing in a particular zone, he must experience the emotion associated with that zone.[1]
  • He Said She Said
  • Head in a Bucket (Bucket of Death) - Three performers on stage, a bucket full of water on one stage that's "off-scene" but still visible to the audience. While two of the performers act out a scene, the third member has their head in the bucket of water, holding their breath. When they can't hold their breath much longer, they raise their hand, to be replaced with one of the other two performers. Performers must justify their scene exits and (wet) entrances. The pace of bucketee swapping quickens until the scene ends.
  • Helping Hands - Two players receive a relationship and a location, usually involving food. Two other players then play as the first two's arms, leaving the first two players to dictate the actions of their hands in a way that is justified in the scene and usually results in a humorous mess on stage. Similar to Arms Expert.
  • Hesitation - Every once in a while, people in a scene will pretend to be unable to think of a word. Two audience volunteers provide words when the players in the scene ask for them. The players have to justify any of the words that the audience members give. Sometimes specific volunteers are not used, and the whole audience is asked to provide suggestions.[1]
  • History of a Thing (Variation) - Multiple players take the stage with one player acting as a arbitrator. A topic is selected from the audience, which the first player begins to speak about. At any time, any other player can yell "Objection!" and state the nature of the objection. If the arbitrator finds the objection fitting or humorous, he/she tells the players to switch and the objecting player starts to speak. Whichever player is speaking when a set time limit expires wins.
  • (Deaf) Interpreter - An anchorman and two field reporters talk about news stories. Unfortunately, the regular deaf interpreter is at home sick, so they had to bring in some random guy off the street to fake his way through it. Similar games involve a foreigner being interviwed, and needing an interpreter for his language.[1]
  • Interrogation - One performer is a famous person who’s committed some dastardly deed, and is now being grilled by two policemen in the investigation room. The criminal has no idea who he is supposed to be (or in some variations, against whom he committed the crime, or who was his accomplice) or what he is supposed to have done. Also known as Crime of the Century The interrogators ask pointed questions which lead the criminal to being able to guess the nature of the crime. The scene ends when the performer is able to confess correctly to the chosen crime.[1]
  • Jeopardy
  • Line Story - Two players are given one line each that makes up the entirety of what they can say durring the scene. The third player must then perform the scene saying whatever is necessary to fill in the gaps between his or her comrads.
  • Modern-day fairy tale - A group of players recreate a fairy tale with a modern twist.
  • Movie in a Minute - A group of 4 or 5 people (most often 4) pick a movie and must act it out in a one minute period.
  • Newscasters - It's a typical evening news setup: two anchormen, the sports reporter, and the weatherman. Except that they each have some bizarre trait or personality that manifests itself during the newscast.[1]
  • Nightmare - Similar to "Day in the Life." After listening to the story of an audience member's day, a single performer portrays the audience member while the rest of the cast portray nightmarish and bizzare versions of the events, people, and places of the person's day. Common dream themes such as arriving naked for an exam or teeth falling out are par for the course, as well as characters which have little to do with the actual day.
  • Number of Words - Each performer is given a number and all of the lines they say in the scene must contain that exact number of words, no more and no less.[1]
  • Old Job / New Job - One player is assigned an old job from which he or she has been released, and then they are assigned a new job which is usually much different from the old job. The player must try to fit his or her behavior from the old job into the new job's standards.
  • One Word At A Time Several games require performers to each speak only one word at a time.
    • 2 Person Story - Two people tell a story that’s never been heard before while alternating every other word. Each story begins with “Once upon a time…” and ends with a moral.[1]
    • Sphynx - Several people (usually 3-5) respond to questions from the audience and impart the 'wisdom of the ancient sphynx' in their answers. Each person is able to speak only one word at a time, with the following performers speaking in sequence until the answer ends.
    • Dr. Know-It-All - Imagine a man who is so smart that his brain had to be split amongst three separate bodies. This is Dr. Know-It-All, the man who answers questions from the audience. Each of three players in the game adds to the answer one word at a time.[1]
    • History of a Thing - Five people tell the story of how some everyday object came to be invented, with each person contributing one word at a time.[1]
  • Operator
  • Party Quirks - One person (the guesser) hosts a party, and three partygoers with unusual traits or quirks show up at the party one by one, and the host of the party must figure out who they are.[1]
  • Picture in Picture - Two teams of two create scenes based off of an object (like an airplane). Each team uses the object in a completely different manner (one might be on a plane, and the other might be building a model plane) and the focus switches between the two scenes.[1]
  • Ping Pong
  • Press Conference - One person holds a press conference, fielding questions from reporters. The player does not know who he is or what he has done, and must figure it out based on the questions.[1]
  • Poetry Slam - Similar to "World's worst" or "185," except players perform free-form poetry about a topic, usually in an over-drmatised style
  • Questions Only - Also, the Question Game; The performers can only say lines in question form. If they make a statement or are unable to respond, they are replaced with another performer.[1]
  • Repair Shop
  • Roll with Emotions
  • Scene Three Ways - A short form piece where the performers act out the same scene three different times; The first time normal, and then the next two or three times in different movie genres (ex, horror, western). See Also, Styles.
  • Shoulda Said - A scene is performed, but anytime one of the participants says something that the player on the buzzer doesn’t like, the buzzer is sounded and that person has to say something completely different. Also known as "new choice."[1]
  • Show Me That - Two performers start a scene. Whenever one of them says something that might make an interesting scene (for example, “this is worse than when I fought Santa Claus on the moon!”), someone on the sidelines may yell “show me that!” People switch off, and now that scene is portrayed.[1]
  • Sing It - A scene is performed. At any time when an interesting line has just been delivered, a non-performer can call out "Sing It!" The performer who has just said a line must then make up a song that continues the story based on the line.
  • Sideline Sermon - Two performers stand on stage, taking terms delivering a sermon on a subject that follows the pattern “adverb verb noun” (such as “exhaustively reticulating splines”). However, they aren’t told ahead of time what their sermon topic actually is. That’s the job of each sermonizer’s teammates, who must convey the topic using only mime.[1]
  • Slide Show - Someone just got back from his trip to some place you normally wouldn’t take a vacation to, and he has the slides to prove it. He goes through his slide show, with each slide being portrayed by three or four performers on stage.[1]
  • Slowmo Sports - Two players acting as commentators in real time must announce for two players in slow motion acting out the world championships of some utterly bizzare and audience suggested sport. Often the event ends with a survivor instead of a traditional winner.
  • Song Titles - much like “Questions Only,” but performers can only speak in song titles rather than questions. An extremely difficult game to pull off.
  • Song Games - Performers must sing an original song, without additional scene work. Typically, each line must rhyme with a preceding line. Often played as an elimination game such that when a performer fails to sing a line correctly, they are elliminated and the remaining performers begin a new song with the same rules.
    • Beastie Rap - Do Rap Rap done in a Beasty Boys-ish style. Players divide into two teams, each with a leader. The leader starts each line and his teammates must join in on the last word. For example, if the name is Mark, the leader could say “He got bitten by a” and the entire team would shout “shark!.”[1]
    • Do Rap Rap - Similar to Do Run Run, but with comedically unsuccessful attempts at rap instead of oldies.[1]
    • Do Run Run - The song “Do Run Run” is performed, with each person giving a line that rhymes with a one-syllable name (or any word) provided by the audience. Players are eliminated as they reuse words or fail to think of one in time.[1]
    • Hoedown - A game where each performer must sing a four-line verse about a topic. The first and second lines must rhyme, as must the third and fourth.
    • Irish Drinking Song - Four performers sing a song about a profession, each one singing half a line before the next person starts. The second and fourth people’s lines must rhyme. Four verses are sung, each one started by a different person. Not for the faint of heart.[1]
  • Space Jump - Two performers start a scene. At any time, a third performer can freeze that scene, enter, and start a new scene with three people. A fourth and a fifth performer do the same. Then, when the fifth person leaves, the scene reverts to the four-person scene, which may continue at some point in the future. The process repeats as each new person leaves the scene in opposite order of his arrival.[1]
  • Story Story Die - This uses a conductor and four or more people. As the conductor points to people, they tell a story that has never been written, each using his own genre or style. However, if someone continues after the conductor points away, or the next person fails to start up exactly where the last person left off (mid-paragraph, -sentence, or -word), they are eliminated.[1]
  • Split Screen - Four players take the stage, A1 and B1 on stage left and A2 and B2 on stage right. They then act out a scene, except the two halves of the stage are switched and what is usually the center of the stage is considered a wall and what is usually considered the end of the stage is considered the middle. The A players and B players play the same character, so when A1 walks off stage left, A2 enters the scene from stage right and continues whatever A1 was doing. When A1 and B1 talk to each other, they thusly have their backs to each other. Most humorous if players find reasons to exit their side of the stage in a commical manner.
  • Stunt Doubles
  • Styles - Two or three performers act out a scene. At arbitrary intervals, a fourth person will shout out a different type of film, theater or television genre (collected from the audience beforehand), and the performers must continue the scene in that genre. (For example, jumping from science fiction movie to Shakespeare play.)
  • Sweet Burn
  • Twin Chairs
  • Vergnügungsfest
  • World’s Worst - Players stand in a line and alternate giving examples of some of the world’s worst things, based on audience suggestions.[1]
  • What Are You Doing? - Two letters are grabbed from the audience (for example, “E” and “G”). Then one player asks the other, “What are you doing?” to which he replies something other than way he is currently miming, which starts with the letters supplied (”Eating Grass”). The person who asked the question must then act out whatever was given to him. This continues until someone fails to come up with an action.[1]
  • What Will They Think of Next?! - Before the game begins, one performer takes 5 suggestions for 3 categories: Country, Noun, and Verb. The game is in the format of an informercial. When prompted by the host, the audience is supposed to yell out "What will they think of next?!" The actual game is provided by one host and three or more characters from the countries taken before the game began. Each character is supposed to present the new invention they have come up with (ie Lobster swimmer or G-string window). The inventions are in the structure of Noun/Verb or Noun/Noun. The episode is supposed to be closed with "(Stay tuned next week for another edition of) 'What will they think of next?!'"
  • Wikipedia - Similar to "History of a Thing" except that the players are tasked with writing the wikipedia entry for an item and the arbitrator picks the players to speak in place of objections swapping them out.
  • Word Rations - Three people perform an ordinary scene. However, one performer can only say one word at a time, the second performer can only say three words at a time, and the third performer can only say five words at a time.[1]
  • Zulu - Audience suggests a product and players come up with new names for the product (the name of the game is somewhat of a mystery)

[edit] Longform structures

In longform improv, one game is played throughout the entire performance. These longform games usually last anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple of hours. As opposed to shortform, longform performances will usually only take suggestions at the very beginning of the performance. These suggestions are then incorportated into the show. The performance is a story made up and acted out on the spot by the performers. Different games provide different rules for the performance.

The following are games for use in Longform Improv:

  • Armando - A two-part series of scenes, influencing and influenced by the monologues of one performer. Named for Armando Diaz, a noted improv teacher and director.
  • Atlantis
  • Bat (or Blind Harold) - Harold done in the dark. Similar to a radio play, often with sound effects.
  • Close Quarters[1] - A series of scenes that take place during the same stretch of time, all within 50 yards of each other.
  • Deconstruction
  • Evente
  • Funeral Party
  • Harold - first championed by Del Close
  • Horror
  • La Ronde
  • Living Room
  • Mamot
  • Monoscene
  • Montage
  • Mosaic
  • Movie
  • Narrative
  • Octopus
  • Overclocked
  • Sitcom[2]
  • Six Degrees
  • Sleep Over
  • Soundtrack - a form utilizing audience-provided music. Developed by Mother in NYC
  • Spontaneous Broadway
  • Subject
  • Sybil - one person Long Form/Harold
  • Triptych

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at Ship of Fools Improv Games (January 1, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
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