Games

A game is a collection of rules used to alter the content of a scene and make it more interesting. At least all of the games on this page are the property of ComedySportz. Games all have different regulations, and vary from very basic games to complex scenes.

Bippity Bippity Bop
Bippity Bippity Bop is a game which is used to warm players up both physically and mentally. To begin, all of the players form a circle. Then, one person steps into the middle'''. '''The player in the middle must approach one of the players in the circle and say "Bippity Bippity Bop!" The goal for the player in the circle is to say "Bop" before the player in the center is able to finish the phrase. However, if the player in the circle does not say "Bop" or if the player in the center says anything other than "Bippity Bippity Bop" and the player in the circle says "Bop", then the two switch positions. In addition, the player in the center is able to point to a player in the circle and give orders such as "Kool-Aid Man", "Moose", "Fire Hydrant", "Kamikaze", "Elephant", "Charlie's Angels", "Toaster", and "Bowl of Jello". In these cases, the player in the circle and the players to his/her right and left must form a symmetrical representation of the command before the player in the center can count to ten. If any of the three players in the circle fails to comply, he/she switches places with the player in the center.

Zip-Zap-Zop
Zip-Zap-Zop is a game used as a warm-up to make the players listen to each other and watch each other. In the game, the players all stand in a circle. One player points to another player in the circle and says, "Zip!" The indicated player must then point to a third player and say "Zap!" The third player then points to a fourth player and says "Zop!" The cycle repeats as quickly as possible. At any point, the player who's turn it is to speak may point across the circle and say "Bunny!" The indicated player must then place both hands on his/her head as if imitating moose antlers and repeat the words, "Bunny bunny bunny bunny!" The player to his/her right must do the same, but only using the left hand. The opposite is true for the player on the left. Another variation of Bunny is Samurai, in which the player in the center karate-chops the air in front of him/her in the direction of another player. The players on the right and left karate-chop the player in between them at the same time. Throughout the course of the game, someone may turn to the player to his/her right or left and say "Beep". The "beeps" will be passed through the circle until they are interrupted by a "Zip", a Bunny, or a Samurai.  lirrr

Fuzzy Duck
Fuzzy Duck is a word game which is strictly a warm-up game, as a slip-of-the-tongue would result in a Brown Bag Foul if it occurred in an actual show. In this game, the players all stand in a circle. One player turns to the left and says "Fuzzy Duck." The words "Fuzzy Duck" are passed clockwise around the circle one player at a time until someone says "Does he?" to the last player who said "Fuzzy Duck". That player will then have to say "Ducky Fuzz" to the player at his/her right. The words "Ducky Fuzz" are passed counter-clockwise around the circle until someone else says, "Does he?"

What Are You Doing?
What Are You Doing is a game which is usually played in the beginning of a performance. Two players are on stage at a time. After recieving either a topic, initials, or a word to rhyme with, one player begins with a random action. The second player asks the first player, "What are you doing?" If, for example, the players were given a topic, then the first player would answer the second player by saying something that he/she wasn't actually doing, but was relative to the topic. The second player would then do what the first player said that he/she was doing. When the first player asks the second player, "What are you doing?", the second player must also answer relative to the topic. If initials were provided, then the first major word in every response has to begin with the first initial, and the second major word must begin with the second initial. If a word to rhyme with was provided, then the last word in every response must rhyme with that word. There is also a version of this game in which the players may ask any question EXCEPT for "What are you doing?". The response must still stick with the topic, initials, or rhyme, and it must still answer the question "What are you doing?", even if it's not the question that was asked.

Look, Ma!/Try That On For Size
Look, Ma! is, in a way, the opposite of What Are You Doing?. In Look, Ma!, two players stand next to each other. Based on a topic provided by the audience (usually a sport or other active hobby), one player begins a repetitive action. The second player copies the first, and both perform the same continuous motion at the same time. The first player says, "Look, Ma! I'm..." followed by an verb which would justify the motion. The second player then says, "Look, Ma! I'm..." and then a different verb to justify his/her motion. The game continues until one player cannot think of any other explanation or until an explanation is repeated.

The game Try That On For Size is the same as Look, Ma!, except that after the action is initiated, the first player says what he/she is doing and follows it with, "Try that on for size!"

Switch Interview
Switch Interview is a game which two players play together. This game may be played while sitting on chairs or while standing. In the game, the player on the audience's left interviews the player on the right about a topic which is provided by the audience. The "interviewee" must pretend to know everything about the topic and must answer every question that the "interviewer" asks. After a short, 30 to 60 second conversation, the ref calls "Switch!" The interviewee would then get up and leave, the interviewer would take the place of the interviewee, and a new player becomes the interviewer. Another topic would be given, and the game would continue until the ref calls "Scene!".

Hitchhiker
Hitchiker is a game in which four chairs are set up in a square to symbolize a car. Three players sit in the "car" and, based on an audience suggestion, pretend to drive to a location. During the game, a fourth player will stand near the car and hold out his/her thumb as if he/she were hitchhiking. The hitchhiker takes the empty seat in the "car." The hitchhiker enters the vehicle with a trait, usually an accent. The three players who were already in the car must all take on the trait of the new player. When another player sticks his/her thumb out, the player in the driver's seat leaves the car. The player in the passenger seat takes the driver's seat, and the new player takes the passenger seat. The new hitchhiker will also have a trait. All four players in the car must present the same trait at one time. The first hitchhiker's trait disappears. Then, when the next waiting player signals that he/she is ready to join the group, the player in the back seat who started the game in the car will get out. The first hitchhiker moves over, and the new hitchhiker takes the open seat. The traits of the hitchhikers may be written on slips of paper and folded so that the players cannot see what trait they are getting, or the players can think of their own traits.

Emotional Party
Emotional Party is a game that is very similar to Hitchhiker. Emotional Party is usually played with 4 or 5 players. Before the game, each player is usually assigned an emotion from the audience. The players are also given a reason for a party by the audience (something that one would not usually have a party for, such as re-shingling a roof). One player begins on the stage alone. After a few lines of improvised dialogue, a second player pretends to knock on the mimed door. As soon as the first player opens the door, he/she takes on the emotion of the second player. When the third player enters, all three players on stage take the new emotion. When every player is on stage, then the last player who entered must find a reason to leave the party. When he/she leaves, the remaining players take on the emotion of the next most recent guest. By the time everyone leaves, the first player should be back to his/her assigned emotion. Like in Hitchhiker, emotions may be provided by the audience or thought up by the player before joining the party.

Beastie Rap
Beastie Rap is a game based off of the unique rapping style of the popular American hip-hop group The Beastie Boys. The game uses two teams of three players each. One player from each team stands in front of the other two, and a beat is played. The players are given a word (usually a name, only one syllable long) to rhyme with. Then, the front player of one team raps a set-up phrase for his/her teamates to rhyme with. For example, if the name was Fred, the front player might say "I'm getting tired, so I'll go to..." In this case, the other two players must both say "Bed" together. If the two players do not say the same word or if one player doesn't say anything, then the team would rotate clockwise so that a different player is in front. After the first set-up phrase, then the next team must set up a different rhyme. If any rhymes are repeated, the guilty team must rotate. If the player in the front fails to follow the rythm, then his/her team must rotate. After any rotation, a new word to rhyme with is requested.

Da Doo Ron Ron
Da Doo Ron Ron is another singing game based off of the song from 1963 of the same name. Any number of players may participate in this game, but it works best with 4-8 players. Like in Beastie Rap, the players are given a one-syllable name to rhyme with. The player on the audience's far left begins with a short phrase ending with the name provided by the audience. The next player must then sing a new phrase to rhyme with the first player's. The third player must think of three more rhymes with shorter phrases. Then, that cycle repeats until a player cannot think of a rhyme. When that happens, that player is eliminated and a new rhyme is recieved. The last player standing wins the game.

Madrigal
Another singing game is Madrigal. Madrigal is usually played by 3 people. To set up the game, the audience provides three lines: one player is assigned a newspaper/tabloid headline, another player is given a line from a bumper sticker, and the third player is assigned a saying that a mother would tell her children. Each player sings his/her phrase twice in a row to a madrigal tune. After the third player is finished reciting his/her phrase, then the first player must mix up his/her line with a line from another player. For example, if the lines were "Aliens Land on White House Lawn", "Eat your greens before dessert", and "Follow me to Hooters", then a player may sing, "Follow me to dessert" or "Green aliens land on Hooters". The game usually only lasts a couple of rounds. No repetitions are allowed.

9 out of 10
9 out of 10 is a debate game. This game may be played by any number of players, but it works best with 4-8 people. To play, the players split up into two teams and are given a rediculous topic to debate like, for example, whether or not to fill the public swimming pool with jello. One team would be for filling the pool with jello, and the other team would be against it. One person may argue a case at a time. While speaking, he/she must stand in the designated spot between the two teams. If a player on the opposing team hears a flaw in the speaker's case, he/she may call, "Challenge!" and point out that flaw. If the ref agrees with the challenging player's argument, then he/she allows that player to step into the box and argue his/her team's point. The game usually lasts about two minutes. At the end of that time, whichever team has a player in the box wins the game.

What 'chu Got?
This game, which is often used as an opening head to head, is set up like Beasty Rap. All of the members of both teams will be on stage, with two people on the downstage right and left corners of the stage. They will get a topic such as a relationship between two people, a general category, a rhyming word, or initials. A simple beat would be played and the person in front will come up with a sentence to fit the beat, which they will say three times which would be followed by all three people on the team saying, "What'chu Got?" to the other. While the lead person is saying his or her sentence, they will also do a dance move that looks like what they are saying is being done, which will be copied by the people behind the lead. A sentence example is: I'm chasing after cars. I'm chasing after cars. I'm chasing after cars, What'chu Got? Whenever some one cannot think of anything else to say, is off beat, or repeats themselves, the team will rotate. The team with the fewest rotations wins this head to head.

Forward-Reverse
The game Forward-Reverse is usually played with 3 or 4 players. To set the scene up, the ref asks the audience for a topic. Then, the players improvise a scene based on the suggestion. At any point in the game, the ref may blow his/her whistle and call, "Reverse!" The players then have to repeat the events of their scene in reverse order. All actions are done backwards, and all dialogue is reversed. The players do not have to speak backwards, but they must reverse the order of their lines. For instance, if one player waved and said, "Good Morning" and another player replied "Hello" and the ref calls, "Reverse!", then the second player would say "Hello" and the first would wave and say "Good Morning." While the scene is in reverse, the ref may call, "Forward!", which would correct the direction of the scene. At the end of the game, the ref may tell the players to "Reverse back to the beginning!" or simply call, "Scene!".

What?/New Choice
What? is a scene game which is played by 3 or 4 people. The players create a regular scene based on an audience suggestion. After any player speaks, however, the ref is able to blow the whistle and call, "What?" Whichever player just spoke must then come up with a completely new line. For example, if Jennie says, "I won the lottery last night," and the ref calls "What?", then Jennie might say something like, "I read about a sale on shoes at the mall." The ref is also able to call "What?" on an action or entrance that a player makes. For instance, if Patrick marches onto a scene and the ref calls "What?" on the action, then Patrick might leave the scene and roll back on.

Meanwhile
Meanwhile is played with at least 2 actletes. To begin, the ref gets a suggestion from the audience for the 2 players to begin with. They will then perform a very short, 15-30 second long scene. During the scene, the rest of the players will be watching and listening for a way to change the location of the scene. Using references from the dialogue, a player watching the scene may call, "Meanwhile, ..." and then the setting which he/she wants the next scene to take place in. For example, if Matt and Julia are performing a scene about picking up litter from the highway and Matt says, "I just found a half-eaten sandwich," then Jesse, who is watching, may say, "Meanwhile, at Subway..." Jesse and one other player who was watching, like Jimmy, would go up on the stage. Matt and Julia would sit down and watch again as Jesse and Jimmy perform a scene about Subway.

Blindline
Blindline is a scene game performed by 3 players. Before the game begins, every player would have to leave the room so that they could not see or hear what is happening on stage. The ref would then ask the audience for "lines". The audience is asked for phrases such as famous movie quotes, commercial jingles, or something a husband always hears from his wife. The Jolly Pranksters who are not playing the game write down each phrase on pieces of paper. When there are about 10 lines, the pieces of paper are folded and spread across the stage. Then, the three players return to the room. They perform a scene based on an audience suggestion like any other scene game. However, during the scene, a player may pick up one of the pieces of paper and read what it says aloud. Besides phrases, the blindlines may contain an accent for the player to assume or an item that the player must somehow incorporate into the scene.

Sit, Stand, Lie
The scene game Sit, Stand, Lie is played by 3 actletes. Based on a suggestion from the audience, they create a regular scene. However, at all times during the scene, one player must be standing up or walking, one player must be sitting (on a chair or on the ground), and one player must be lying down on the ground. The original positions of the players are not permanent, though, as at any point in the game, a player may change positions. If two players are standing and one player is sitting, then one of the two players who are standing must lie down as quickly as possible. It is important for the players to justify the position that they are in.

Sit, Stand, Soap
Sit, Stand, Soap is a variation of Sit, Stand, Lie which requires 4 players instead of 3. In Sit, Stand, Soap, one player must always be leaning against the back wall, two players must stare into each other's eyes, and the fourth player must be staring off into space.

Cut and Paste
Cut and Paste is a scene game which is usually played by 3 actletes. The audience provides a suggestion before the game and, based on that suggestion, the players make a scene. During the scene, the ref may blow his/her whistle and yell, "Cut" and then a players name. That player has to leave the scene, but the other players have to act like he/she is still there. For example, if Matt and Andrea were in a scene together and are pretending to wrestle, the ref could call "Cut Matt!" Matt would then leave the scene, but Andrea would have to continue wrestling with an invisible player. If she picks the invisible player in the air, and the ref calls "Paste Matt!", then Matt would rejoin the scene, and Andrea would have to pick him up into the air.

Four Square
Four Square is a game for 4 players. To play, the four players stand in a square. There will always be two players in the front and two players in the back. The ref gets a suggestion from the audience for the two players in the front. Then, the players rotate clockwise once (the player in the front right moves to the front left, and the player in the back right moves to the front right). The ref gets another suggestion for the two players who are now in the front. All four pairs of players recieve suggestions for scenes, and the ref begins with the first pair. They perform a short scene based on their suggestion. During the scene, the ref may call "Switch!" When this happens, the players rotate clockwise, and the new pair plays the scene assigned to them. When the players have rotated until the first pair is up again, they may either resume their scene where they left off or continue it as if time has passed. The game usually lasts until the players have rotated 360 degrees three or four times.

Replay At Bernie's
Replay At Bernie's, or, as it is sometimes known, Weekend at Bernie's, is a scene game which is played with 3 or 4 players based on the 1989 comedy film "Weekend at Bernie's". Like all scene games, Replay at Bernie's begins with the ref asking the audience for a suggestion for the scene. Then, the players would perform a 1-3 minute scene based on that suggestion. After the ref calls "Scene!", the players line up side by side in front of the audience, who votes for which player they want to see "die". The players then replay the same scene as before, but the player who "died" must play dead. The remaining players have to move the "corpse" of the dead player, saying his/her lines for him and mimicking all of his/her actions. When the scene ends, a second player is killed. Then, the remaining player(s) have to move both dead players as the scene is replayed again. If there are four players, then a third actlete is killed off, leaving only one surviving player to replay the scene and drag around three "corpses."

Countdown
Countdown is a scene game in which 3 or 4 players perform a scene based on an audience suggestion in two minutes. At the end of the scene, the players must replay the same scene, but they only have one minute to do so. The scene must begin with and end with the same lines, and no dialogue may be altered. At the end of the minute-long scene, the players will replay the same scene in 30 seconds. The scene is replayed in 15 seconds, 7.5 seconds, and, if the audience so wishes, 3 seconds.

Replay
Replay is a game in which 3 actletes play a 1-3 minute scene based on an audience suggestion. At the end of the scene, the ref slightly alters the scene by assigning each player a trait. The ref may give the players foreign accents, contrasting emotions, stereotypes from High School cliques, ages to pretend to be, or a film type. The players will then replay the scene with those traits. For example, if the ref asks the audience for accents and is given French, British, and German accents, then one player would say his/her lines with a French accent, one player says his/her lines with a British accent, and one player says his/her lines with a German accent. At the end of that scene, the ref may ask the audience for a film type and recieve the suggestion of "horror film". A film type is the only suggestion for replay in which all players are given the same suggestion. All 3 players would replay the scene (the original scene, without the accents) as if it were a horror flick. The scene may be replayed as many times as the ref feels are necessary. For regular replay, suggestions from one scene do not continue into the next scene.

Mega Replay
Mega Replay is a variation of Replay in which two teams of three actletes perform a scene. First, 3 players perform a regular scene. Then, the other 3 players replay the same scene with traits. The second 3 players each choose which of the first 3 players he/she wants to replace before the scene starts. After the second scene is over, then the first 3 players replay the scene with different traits. The traits from the second round are not carried on to the third round. Finally, the second team replays the scene with new traits.

Pile-On Replay
Pile-On Replay is a variation of Replay in which three actletes perform a regular scene. At the end of the scene, the ref gets suggestions from the audience for the traits to assign each player. The players replay the first scene with those traits. Then, at the end of the second round, they are assigned new traits. The difference between Pile-On Replay and regular Replay is that for the third round, the players must keep the traits assigned to them in the second round. For example, if Jordan is assigned an Australian accent in Round 2, the age of 80 years old in Round 3, and the High School stereotype of cheerleader in Round 4, then he must replay the original scene as an 80-year-old Australian cheerleader in Round 4.

Mega Pile-On Replay
Mega Pile-On Replay is a mix of Mega Replay and Pile-On Replay. It is the same concept as Pile-On Replay, but it is done with two teams. The 3 players who performed the first scene must combine the new traits of Round 3 with the traits of the players from Round 2. By Round 4, the second team has to perform the first team's scene with 3 traits for each player.

Naïve Replay
Naïve Replay is a game which is played by 3 actletes. One player leaves the room where he/she cannot see or hear the players on the stage. The two players must then perform a scene based on an audience suggestion as if the third player was there, but invisible. When the scene is over, the third player comes back into the room. He/she must do exactly what is implied based on the actions and dialogue of the other two players. The two players must perform the scene EXACTLY as it was done before; if the third player is two feet away from where he/she is supposed to be, the first player may not move to correspond with him/her or tell him/her to come closer.

Crazy Mixed-Up Country Hi-Jinks
Crazy Mixed-Up Country Hi-Jinks is a form of Replay. Two teams of 3-4 actletes play. One team leaves, and the other team is assigned an audience-based suggestion. The team that stayed performs a scene based on this suggestion. When this short, 1-2 minute scene is over, the second team comes back into the room. The players on the second team decide which player on the first scene to take the place of. After this decision is made, then the first team replays their scene for the second team, but in gibberish. Based on the actions of the first team, the second team must try to reconstruct the scene in English.