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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Secrets Endowment
Secrets Endowment is a short-form game in which performers are given secret information about their characters that they must reveal through behavior and hints rather than direct statement. The tension between concealment and disclosure drives the comedy. The game trains the skill of communicating subtext and rewards both subtle clue-giving and attentive scene reading.
Famous Person Endowment
Famous Person Endowment is a guessing game in which one performer is secretly assigned a celebrity identity and must deduce who they are through interactions with scene partners who know the answer. The endowed performer does not know their identity and must read their scene partners' reactions, offers, and endowments to figure out who they are playing. The game rewards lateral thinking, careful observation, and the ability to accept endowments and build on them without the security of knowing the full picture.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Occupation Endowment. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/occupation-endowment
The Improv Archive. "Occupation Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/occupation-endowment.
The Improv Archive. "Occupation Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/occupation-endowment. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.