Murder Endowment
Murder Endowment is a short-form guessing game in which one player must determine the method, location, and motive of a fictional murder based on clues provided by the other performers. The endowed players act out increasingly obvious hints while maintaining the reality of their scene. The game generates comedy from the guesser's struggle to decode the clues.
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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.
Crime Endowments
Crime Endowments is a short-form guessing game in which one player must determine a secret crime, weapon, and location through clues embedded in the other players' behavior. The endowed players know the secret combination and weave references to the crime, weapon, and location into natural-seeming conversation and action, while the guesser asks questions and observes their behavior to deduce the combination.
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.
What’s Going On?
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.
Detective
Detective is a guessing game in which one player takes the role of an investigator while the remaining performers hold secret information about a crime, event, or scenario. The detective pieces together the story through questioning, observation, and deduction while the other performers communicate information indirectly through behavior, dialogue, and scene work rather than stating the answer directly. The game trains deductive reasoning, indirect communication, and the ability to convey information through subtext and physicality. Detective rewards both the guessing player's analytical skill and the ensemble's ability to provide clear, playable clues without giving the answer away.
Guest Game
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.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Murder Endowment. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/murder-endowment
The Improv Archive. "Murder Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/murder-endowment.
The Improv Archive. "Murder Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/murder-endowment. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.