Paperclip Game
Paperclip Game is an exercise inspired by the famous trading experiment in which players begin with a simple object and attempt to trade up to something of greater value through successive exchanges. In the improv context, the exercise uses negotiation and justification to practice heightening and the art of making bold offers.
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Related Exercises
Accepting Circle
Accepting Circle is a warm-up exercise in which players stand in a circle and practice receiving and building on each other's offers. One player initiates a sound, gesture, or phrase; the next player accepts it fully before adding their own. The exercise reinforces the foundational improv principle of "yes, and" in its simplest physical form.
Open Offer
Open Offer is a scene exercise in which one player enters the stage and makes a simple physical or verbal offer without a predetermined plan. Their scene partner must accept and build on whatever is presented. The exercise reinforces the principle that scenes begin with offers rather than ideas and teaches performers to trust the process of collaborative discovery.
Agreement Scenes
Agreement Scenes is an exercise in which performers practice fully agreeing with every offer their scene partner makes. By removing all conflict and negation, the exercise reveals how scenes can build through mutual enthusiasm and escalating shared reality. It reinforces the "yes, and" principle at its most fundamental level.
What?
What? is an exercise in which performers respond to each offer with genuine curiosity, exploring rather than accepting at face value. The exercise teaches the difference between blocking and curious investigation, building the habit of digging deeper into a partner's offers.
Ordinary Object
Ordinary Object is an exercise in which a player picks up a common item and uses it as if it were something else entirely, without explaining the transformation. The audience or group must recognize the new object through the specificity of the performer's handling. The exercise develops object work versatility and the ability to communicate through physical precision.
Yes And
Yes And is the foundational improv exercise and philosophical principle in which performers practice accepting a partner's offer (the "yes") and adding new information that builds on it (the "and"). One player makes a statement; the partner responds by first affirming the reality of that statement and then contributing something new. The exercise trains the most essential skill in improvisation and has become the defining principle of the entire art form.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Paperclip Game. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paperclip-game
The Improv Archive. "Paperclip Game." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paperclip-game.
The Improv Archive. "Paperclip Game." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paperclip-game. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.