SCENE-BASED GAMES
Big, Bigger, Biggest
The performers are split into teams of two. The first pair does a short, normal scene. Then the second pair does the scene again, escalating the magnitude of everything in the first scene. It is then done a third time (with a third team or the first again), escalating again.
Blind Line
a.k.a. Sentences, Actor's Nightmare
Sentences given by the audience are written on slips of paper and scattered on the stage. Throughout the scene, the performers periodically pick up a slip of paper and read the sentence on it, then justify.
Changing Styles
a.k.a. Genres
For 3 performers. Throughout the scene, the host may call out new genres, given beforehand by audience suggestion, and the players must adapt the story around it.
Chubby Bunny
For 2 performers. The performers try to do a scene that is completely serious. Every time one of them makes the audience laugh, he must have a marshmallow put in his mouth, and is not allowed to chew or swallow.
Country Hijinks
a.k.a. Lost in Translation
For 4 performers, split in pairs. The first pair does a scene while the second is outside. Then, the second pair is called back in, and the first repeats the scene exactly, but using gibberish instead of words. The second pair then creates the scene they thought they saw by duplicating the actions and inserting their own dialogue.
Can also be played with 6, with the first repeat performance done by a third pair rather than the first; or if noise-cancelling headphones are available, the second pair can watch the first scene during the first iteration while listening to music that drowns out the dialogue.
MUSICAL COUNTRY HIJINKS 🎹 - Includes a song. The accompaniment should be as similar as possible between scene iterations.
Date Patrol
Description
Day in the Life
SHORT VERSION
LONG VERSION
Dead Bodies
Description
Director
a.k.a. Lights Camera Action
For 4 performers, one of whom is the Director. The other three are the actors, and perform a short scene. The scene ends when the director says "cut," after which he will give directions to alter the scene based on genres, accents, etc., given by audience suggestion.
Evil Twin
For 4 performers split in two pairs.
Faster, Faster
Description
Film Noir
Description
Foreign Film Dub
Description
Game-O-Matic
Description
Growing Shrinking
a.k.a. Channel Surfing
Description
Impossible Mission
a.k.a. Improbable Mission, Mission Improbable
Description
ImprovBroadway+
a.k.a. DVD
For 3 performers. The host has an imaginary remote, which he can call commands from to affect the scene. The buttons are: pause, rewind, change speed, skip scene, foreign language dub, director's commentary, deleted alternate ending, trailer.
Movie Pitch
a.k.a. My Movie
The performers are Hollywood pitchmen and the host is a producer. The pitchmen will give movie titles based on initials given by the audience. When the host hears one he likes, the person who came up with it gives a brief synopsis. If he still likes it, the host may then ask the performers to act out a scene from the movie. After this, they return to giving movie titles.
Musical Thoughts 🎹
For 4 performers, two of which are in the scene, and two of which are on the sides to sing. Over the course of the scene, the host will prompt those on the sides, who are each assigned to one person in the scene, to sing the inner thoughts of his counterpart in a very short song.
My Hands are Tied
a.k.a. Helping Hands
For 4 performers. The performers split into pairs, with one person in each pair putting his arms behind his back, and the other sticking his arms through the first person's arms. The first person must do the speaking in the scene, and the second person does all the motions and gesturing.
Naïve Replay
For 3 performers, 2 of whom step outside at the start. The one left onstage does a scene as though the others are there, leaving gaps where they would be doing or saying things. After this, one of the absent performers is brought in, and the scene is redone with the first person exactly repeating the original performance and the second person filling in some of the gaps. The scene is repeated a second time with the third person trying to do the same.
The Nightmare 🎹
Description
New Choice
For 3 performers. Throughout the scene, the host may call "new choice," at which point the last thing that was said or done must be replaced with something new. The host will call "new choice" again after each new choice until he hears something he likes, at which point the scene will continue.
BUZZERS AND BELLS - The host uses a buzz sound instead of shouting "new choice," and a ding sound when the scene can continue.
Oscar-Winning Moment 🎹/💻
For 3 performers. The performers are acting out a scene from an "Oscar Bait" movie. At any point, the host may call "Oscar-Winning Moment," after which the person who spoke last must deliver an overly dramatic monologue. During this monologue, dramatic music with a singular strong emotion will play, either from the sound system or the pianist, and the performer must match the tone, even if the tone doesn't match the scene.
TONY-WINNING MOMENT - Like Sing It, but with the award-bait premise and tone-matching mechanic from OWM.
Paperback Writer
a.k.a. Novelist, Dime Store Novel
One performer is a writer, reading aloud a story he's writing as he's writing it, while everyone else acts out the story. The writer has a choice to delete and rewrite brief parts of the story as they go along. Actors may speak and try to creatively interpret what the writer says, but must be careful not to contradict what has been "written."
Peanut Gallery
a.k.a. Hecklers, Don't Make Me Heckle
For 4 performers in 2 teams. Both teams are performing the same scene, but only one is doing it at a time. The team not doing the scene heckles the other, trying to make them laugh. If someone in the scene laughs, the teams swap roles.
Pick-a-Text
Description
TEXT ME A MUSICAL
PICK-A-LYRIC
Revolver
a.k.a. Four Square
Four performers stand in a 2x2 grid. Each combination of adjacent performers is a different scene with its own suggestion. Throughout the game, the host will say "rotate" to cycle through the scenes, with the pair in front being the scene currently going. When a scene returns, time has passed.
Revolving Doors
a.k.a. Walkout, Exit Game
Description
Rogers and Hammersing 🎹
The host will get the name of a musical, then 3 songs form it. The performers then act out the musical with three songs based on the titles.
Shamilton 🎹
A short rap opera about a subject or title given by the audience. One performer acts as a narrator who stands on the side of the stage and sets up and transitions between scenes in the opera.
Shakespeare
Description
Sing It! 🎹
During the scene, the host will periodically call "sing it," at which point, the person who spoke last (unless otherwise specified by the host) will sing a song.
BLIND SING IT! - Combination with Blind Line; each song must incorporate a line from a slip of paper.
RAP IT! - Instead of singing, rap.
SING IT LIKE - When "sing it like [name]" is called, the host will also specify an impression the singer must do while singing.
Sweet Perfection
a.k.a. You Can't Handle This Scene
For 4 performers in 2 teams. Both teams are performing the same scene, but only one is doing it at a time. The team not doing the scene may call "objection!" and tell the host a problem or error with the scene that should be corrected. The host, acting as judge, may sustain or overrule the objection. If sustained, the teams swap roles and the scene continues. If overruled, the scene continues without switching.
Two-Headed Monster
Description
Two-Line Vocabulary
Description
Two Rooms
For 4 performers in 2 teams. Each pair does a separate scene, but only one scene is seen onstage at once. At any point, the host may call "switch," at which point the team not onstage switches in and does its scene. Every time this happens, the last line or sentence said by the scene switching out must be the first line said by the team switching in.
Understudy
Description
The performers are split into teams of two. The first pair does a short, normal scene. Then the second pair does the scene again, escalating the magnitude of everything in the first scene. It is then done a third time (with a third team or the first again), escalating again.
Blind Line
a.k.a. Sentences, Actor's Nightmare
Sentences given by the audience are written on slips of paper and scattered on the stage. Throughout the scene, the performers periodically pick up a slip of paper and read the sentence on it, then justify.
Changing Styles
a.k.a. Genres
For 3 performers. Throughout the scene, the host may call out new genres, given beforehand by audience suggestion, and the players must adapt the story around it.
Chubby Bunny
For 2 performers. The performers try to do a scene that is completely serious. Every time one of them makes the audience laugh, he must have a marshmallow put in his mouth, and is not allowed to chew or swallow.
Country Hijinks
a.k.a. Lost in Translation
For 4 performers, split in pairs. The first pair does a scene while the second is outside. Then, the second pair is called back in, and the first repeats the scene exactly, but using gibberish instead of words. The second pair then creates the scene they thought they saw by duplicating the actions and inserting their own dialogue.
Can also be played with 6, with the first repeat performance done by a third pair rather than the first; or if noise-cancelling headphones are available, the second pair can watch the first scene during the first iteration while listening to music that drowns out the dialogue.
MUSICAL COUNTRY HIJINKS 🎹 - Includes a song. The accompaniment should be as similar as possible between scene iterations.
Date Patrol
Description
Day in the Life
SHORT VERSION
LONG VERSION
Dead Bodies
Description
Director
a.k.a. Lights Camera Action
For 4 performers, one of whom is the Director. The other three are the actors, and perform a short scene. The scene ends when the director says "cut," after which he will give directions to alter the scene based on genres, accents, etc., given by audience suggestion.
Evil Twin
For 4 performers split in two pairs.
Faster, Faster
Description
Film Noir
Description
Foreign Film Dub
Description
Game-O-Matic
Description
Growing Shrinking
a.k.a. Channel Surfing
Description
Impossible Mission
a.k.a. Improbable Mission, Mission Improbable
Description
ImprovBroadway+
a.k.a. DVD
For 3 performers. The host has an imaginary remote, which he can call commands from to affect the scene. The buttons are: pause, rewind, change speed, skip scene, foreign language dub, director's commentary, deleted alternate ending, trailer.
Movie Pitch
a.k.a. My Movie
The performers are Hollywood pitchmen and the host is a producer. The pitchmen will give movie titles based on initials given by the audience. When the host hears one he likes, the person who came up with it gives a brief synopsis. If he still likes it, the host may then ask the performers to act out a scene from the movie. After this, they return to giving movie titles.
Musical Thoughts 🎹
For 4 performers, two of which are in the scene, and two of which are on the sides to sing. Over the course of the scene, the host will prompt those on the sides, who are each assigned to one person in the scene, to sing the inner thoughts of his counterpart in a very short song.
My Hands are Tied
a.k.a. Helping Hands
For 4 performers. The performers split into pairs, with one person in each pair putting his arms behind his back, and the other sticking his arms through the first person's arms. The first person must do the speaking in the scene, and the second person does all the motions and gesturing.
Naïve Replay
For 3 performers, 2 of whom step outside at the start. The one left onstage does a scene as though the others are there, leaving gaps where they would be doing or saying things. After this, one of the absent performers is brought in, and the scene is redone with the first person exactly repeating the original performance and the second person filling in some of the gaps. The scene is repeated a second time with the third person trying to do the same.
The Nightmare 🎹
Description
New Choice
For 3 performers. Throughout the scene, the host may call "new choice," at which point the last thing that was said or done must be replaced with something new. The host will call "new choice" again after each new choice until he hears something he likes, at which point the scene will continue.
BUZZERS AND BELLS - The host uses a buzz sound instead of shouting "new choice," and a ding sound when the scene can continue.
Oscar-Winning Moment 🎹/💻
For 3 performers. The performers are acting out a scene from an "Oscar Bait" movie. At any point, the host may call "Oscar-Winning Moment," after which the person who spoke last must deliver an overly dramatic monologue. During this monologue, dramatic music with a singular strong emotion will play, either from the sound system or the pianist, and the performer must match the tone, even if the tone doesn't match the scene.
TONY-WINNING MOMENT - Like Sing It, but with the award-bait premise and tone-matching mechanic from OWM.
Paperback Writer
a.k.a. Novelist, Dime Store Novel
One performer is a writer, reading aloud a story he's writing as he's writing it, while everyone else acts out the story. The writer has a choice to delete and rewrite brief parts of the story as they go along. Actors may speak and try to creatively interpret what the writer says, but must be careful not to contradict what has been "written."
Peanut Gallery
a.k.a. Hecklers, Don't Make Me Heckle
For 4 performers in 2 teams. Both teams are performing the same scene, but only one is doing it at a time. The team not doing the scene heckles the other, trying to make them laugh. If someone in the scene laughs, the teams swap roles.
Pick-a-Text
Description
TEXT ME A MUSICAL
PICK-A-LYRIC
Revolver
a.k.a. Four Square
Four performers stand in a 2x2 grid. Each combination of adjacent performers is a different scene with its own suggestion. Throughout the game, the host will say "rotate" to cycle through the scenes, with the pair in front being the scene currently going. When a scene returns, time has passed.
Revolving Doors
a.k.a. Walkout, Exit Game
Description
Rogers and Hammersing 🎹
The host will get the name of a musical, then 3 songs form it. The performers then act out the musical with three songs based on the titles.
Shamilton 🎹
A short rap opera about a subject or title given by the audience. One performer acts as a narrator who stands on the side of the stage and sets up and transitions between scenes in the opera.
Shakespeare
Description
Sing It! 🎹
During the scene, the host will periodically call "sing it," at which point, the person who spoke last (unless otherwise specified by the host) will sing a song.
BLIND SING IT! - Combination with Blind Line; each song must incorporate a line from a slip of paper.
RAP IT! - Instead of singing, rap.
SING IT LIKE - When "sing it like [name]" is called, the host will also specify an impression the singer must do while singing.
Sweet Perfection
a.k.a. You Can't Handle This Scene
For 4 performers in 2 teams. Both teams are performing the same scene, but only one is doing it at a time. The team not doing the scene may call "objection!" and tell the host a problem or error with the scene that should be corrected. The host, acting as judge, may sustain or overrule the objection. If sustained, the teams swap roles and the scene continues. If overruled, the scene continues without switching.
Two-Headed Monster
Description
Two-Line Vocabulary
Description
Two Rooms
For 4 performers in 2 teams. Each pair does a separate scene, but only one scene is seen onstage at once. At any point, the host may call "switch," at which point the team not onstage switches in and does its scene. Every time this happens, the last line or sentence said by the scene switching out must be the first line said by the team switching in.
Understudy
Description
GUESSING GAMES
Crystal Ball
For 3 performers, with the roles of fortune-teller (guesser), spirit, and client. The spirit, from the crystal ball between the fortune-teller and client, mimes 3 details of the clients future: what his next job will be, who he'll marry, and how he'll die.
Customer Service
Description
Interrogation
a.k.a. Good Cop Bad Cop
For 3 performers, two of whom are police interrogators, and one of whom is the suspect (guesser). The suspect must "admit" his crime, his accomplice, and his motive.
Karaoke Charades 🎹
One performer must guess who he broke up with, where they broke up, and why based on miming from the others. The guesser must constantly be singing. It is not recommended you do this one in a show unless your name is Zach Atherton.
Late for Work
Description
Party Quirks
Description
Press Conference
Description
Playground Insults
Description
SIDELINE DEBATE - Choose the genre/premise of the debate instead of just a playground
Split Environments
Description
Three Things
One performer guesses, and the others give hints using miming and gibberish. He must guess a sport or other activity that involves parts, then three elements of that sport or activity that have each been replaced with something else.
For 3 performers, with the roles of fortune-teller (guesser), spirit, and client. The spirit, from the crystal ball between the fortune-teller and client, mimes 3 details of the clients future: what his next job will be, who he'll marry, and how he'll die.
Customer Service
Description
Interrogation
a.k.a. Good Cop Bad Cop
For 3 performers, two of whom are police interrogators, and one of whom is the suspect (guesser). The suspect must "admit" his crime, his accomplice, and his motive.
Karaoke Charades 🎹
One performer must guess who he broke up with, where they broke up, and why based on miming from the others. The guesser must constantly be singing. It is not recommended you do this one in a show unless your name is Zach Atherton.
Late for Work
Description
Party Quirks
Description
Press Conference
Description
Playground Insults
Description
SIDELINE DEBATE - Choose the genre/premise of the debate instead of just a playground
Split Environments
Description
Three Things
One performer guesses, and the others give hints using miming and gibberish. He must guess a sport or other activity that involves parts, then three elements of that sport or activity that have each been replaced with something else.
JUMP-OUT GAMES
185
Description
Dear Diary
Description
Casanova
a.k.a. Hey Baby!
Description
Celebrity Voicemail
Description
Deleted Scenes
Description
Freeze Tag
Description
OBJECT FREEZE
Good News/Bad News
Description
Hey Waiter
Description
It's a Boy
Description
Jeopardy!
Description
Last Action Joke
Description
Props
Description
Scenes From a Hat
Description
When I Was Your Age
Description
World's Worst
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
Description
Dear Diary
Description
Casanova
a.k.a. Hey Baby!
Description
Celebrity Voicemail
Description
Deleted Scenes
Description
Freeze Tag
Description
OBJECT FREEZE
Good News/Bad News
Description
Hey Waiter
Description
It's a Boy
Description
Jeopardy!
Description
Last Action Joke
Description
Props
Description
Scenes From a Hat
Description
When I Was Your Age
Description
World's Worst
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
JUMP-OUT GAMES
Alphabet Soup
Description
Boo, Yay!
Description
First Line, Last Line
Description
Numbers
a.k.a. 867-5309
Description
Oxygen Deprivation
Description
Top That
Description
What Are You Doing?
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
Description
Boo, Yay!
Description
First Line, Last Line
Description
Numbers
a.k.a. 867-5309
Description
Oxygen Deprivation
Description
Top That
Description
What Are You Doing?
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
NON-SCENE MUSIC GAMES
Beastie Rap
Description
Carnegie Hall 🎹
Description
Dueling Soundtracks 🎹
Description
For Your Consideration 🎹
Description
Greatest Hits 🎹
Description
Hoedown 🎹
Description
Irish Drinking 🎹
Description
Madrigals
Description
Pet Peeve Blues 🎹
Description
Serenade 🎹
Description
Sing For Your Supper 🎹
a.k.a. Bouncy Ball Sing-Along
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
Description
Carnegie Hall 🎹
Description
Dueling Soundtracks 🎹
Description
For Your Consideration 🎹
Description
Greatest Hits 🎹
Description
Hoedown 🎹
Description
Irish Drinking 🎹
Description
Madrigals
Description
Pet Peeve Blues 🎹
Description
Serenade 🎹
Description
Sing For Your Supper 🎹
a.k.a. Bouncy Ball Sing-Along
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
PANEL/CHARACTER GAMES
Acronym Panel
Description
Advice Panel
Description
Double-Heart Bypass
Description
Good, Bad, Worse
Description
Super Happy Surprise Prize Dating Game
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
Description
Advice Panel
Description
Double-Heart Bypass
Description
Good, Bad, Worse
Description
Super Happy Surprise Prize Dating Game
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
AUDIENCE GAMES
Campfire Tales
Description
Dubstep
Description
Human Props
Description
Moving Bodies
Description
Pillars
Description
Seuss
Description
Sound Effects
a.k.a. Foley
Description
Telephone
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
Description
Dubstep
Description
Human Props
Description
Moving Bodies
Description
Pillars
Description
Seuss
Description
Sound Effects
a.k.a. Foley
Description
Telephone
Description
Title 🎹
Description
Title
Description
GIMMICK GAMES
9 Out Of 10
Description
Slide Show
Description
Slow-Mo Olympics
Description
Spelling Bee
Description
Story
Description
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Radio
Description
Description
Slide Show
Description
Slow-Mo Olympics
Description
Spelling Bee
Description
Story
Description
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Radio
Description