Double Endowment
Double Endowment is a short-form guessing game in which two performers are each secretly endowed with a character trait by the audience, and both must simultaneously figure out their own trait from the clues the other performer is giving. Each performer knows the other's secret trait but not their own, and must embed clues for the other player while interpreting the clues being embedded for them. The result is a mutual guessing dynamic that rewards listening and responsive improvisation.
Structure
Setup
The audience (or host) whispers a character trait to each performer without the other hearing: Performer A is told Performer B's trait, and Performer B is told Performer A's trait. Neither performer knows their own trait.
The Scene
Both performers play a scene. Each simultaneously attempts to: (1) naturally reveal the other performer's trait through their own behavior and dialogue in a way that helps the other guess, and (2) interpret what the other performer is doing to deduce their own trait.
Guessing
At any point either performer may call out a guess for their own trait. Correct guesses are confirmed; incorrect guesses are not acknowledged and the scene continues. The game concludes when both traits are correctly identified.
Conclusion
The host reveals any unguessed traits and opens a brief discussion of how the clues were embedded.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Double Endowment trains simultaneous listening and endowment: performers must be actively receiving information while actively sending it, a skill that directly parallels the demands of scene work where listening and offering happen at the same time.
How to Explain It
"You know what your partner is. You don't know what you are. Play a scene. Help your partner figure out what they are. Pay attention to what your partner is doing -- that's how you'll find out what you are."
Common Pitfalls
Performers become so focused on giving clues that they stop receiving them, or so focused on decoding clues that they stop providing them. The game requires sustained parallel attention. A second pitfall is clues that are too obvious: naming the trait directly or describing it through broad stereotype rather than specific behavior.
How to Perform It
Audience Intro
"We're going to give each of our performers a secret about the other one. They have to figure out their own secret from the clues their partner gives them, while giving clues back. Neither of them knows what they are -- only what the other one is."
Cast Size
Exactly two performers. One host managing the endowments and guesses from outside.
Wrap Logic
The game ends when both traits are identified or after a time limit when the host reveals the remaining unguessed trait.
Worth Reading
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The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games
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Acting Through Improv
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Pirate Robot Ninja
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Whose Improv Is It Anyway?
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The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual
Matt Besser; Ian Roberts; Matt Walsh
Related Games
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Guest Game is a short-form guessing game in which one player hosts a party while other performers arrive as characters with secret identities or traits assigned by the audience. The host must determine each guest's secret through interaction. The game rewards clear character physicalization and the host's observational acuity.
Occupation Endowment
Occupation Endowment is a short-form guessing game in which one player must deduce their secretly assigned profession based on clues embedded in the behavior and dialogue of their scene partners. The endowing players treat the guesser as though the occupation is obvious, creating comedy from the gap between certainty and confusion. The game rewards subtle clue-giving and sharp deductive instincts.
Party Quirks
Party Quirks is a short-form guessing game in which one performer plays a host welcoming guests to a party, each of whom has been secretly assigned a strange identity or behavioral quirk. The host must figure out each guest's quirk through interaction while the guests drop increasingly obvious clues. The game was popularized by Whose Line Is It Anyway and remains a staple of short-form shows.
Superhero Endowment
Superhero Endowment is a guessing game in which one performer must figure out their secretly assigned superpower based on how the other characters react to and interact with them. The endowed players treat the power as common knowledge while the guesser pieces together the clues. The game generates comedy from the guesser's attempts to test and confirm their developing theory.
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What's Going On? is a guessing game in which one performer must deduce the situation, location, or event they have been placed in based on the behavior of the other characters. The endowing players act as though the circumstances are obvious while the guesser pieces together the clues. The game rewards both clear physical communication and sharp observational skills.
Crime Endowments
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Double Endowment. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/double-endowment
The Improv Archive. "Double Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/double-endowment.
The Improv Archive. "Double Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/double-endowment. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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