Similar Uses Test (SUT)
Pick an everyday object, define its function, then list as many different objects designed to do the same thing as possible in two minutes. Builds associative thinking.
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Related Exercises
Alternate Uses Test (AUT)
Take an everyday object and list as many different uses for it beyond its intended purpose as possible in two minutes. A daily creativity training exercise from divergent thinking research.
Brain Drain
Brain Drain is a rapid-fire listing exercise in which a player must name as many items as possible in a category before time runs out. The speed prevents self-censorship and trains the associative thinking essential to improvisation. It can be played individually, in pairs, or as a group warm-up.
Infinite Box
Infinite Box is an object work exercise in which a player mimes opening a box, removing an object, using it, and discovering another box inside, which contains another object, and so on. The exercise trains sustained object work, creativity under repetition, and the ability to generate variety from a single premise.
Free Association Lines
Free Association Lines is a scene exercise in which performers base each line of dialogue on a free association from the previous line rather than on the logical or narrative continuation of the scene. The scene's dialogue follows an associative chain rather than a plot chain, producing unexpected turns, images, and juxtapositions. The exercise trains performers to trust spontaneous impulse in scene work and to discover that scenes built from associative logic can carry emotional truth even without conventional narrative coherence.
Random Images
Partners select five unrelated images for each other. Each person creates an original story combining all five images into one coherent tale, building associative thinking skills.
Picnic Basket
Picnic Basket is an alphabet or memory game in which players take turns adding items to an imaginary picnic basket, each round requiring the player to recall all previous items before adding their own. The exercise trains memory, sequential thinking, and the ability to listen carefully to others' contributions.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Similar Uses Test (SUT). Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/similar-uses-test-sut
The Improv Archive. "Similar Uses Test (SUT)." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/similar-uses-test-sut.
The Improv Archive. "Similar Uses Test (SUT)." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/similar-uses-test-sut. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.