Top Improv Games for Two People

There are so many great improv exercises for two people. You don’t need a big group to practice or perform improv (as evidenced by the amazing improv duos out there). However, when I looked online, it was more difficult than I expected to find a list of the best two-person improv games. So, here we are. 🙂

Here are 10 great improv games for two people:

1. Alphabet Game (ABCs)
2. Blind Line
3. Change of Genre
4. Fortunately, Unfortunately
5. Half-Life
6. New Choice
7. One Word at a Time Story
8. Questions Only
9. Three-Line Scene
10. Word Association

Below, I’ll not only explain how each two-person improv game or warmup works, but also what improv skills it’ll help you practice: agreement, object work, etc.

Warmup Improv Exercises for Two People

Fortunately, Unfortunately

Great for practicing: agreement, imagination

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZqps4-zY0&feature=youtu.be

This warmup is really simple and can be played with just two people or with a large crowd. The first improviser says a statement starting with “fortunately…” Then, the next improviser finds a way to yes, and that statement while twisting it to something unfortunate, starting their line with “unfortunately…”

The first person will respond with another “fortunately” statement (in direct response to the previous statement), followed by “unfortunately,” etc. The goal is to tell a kind of story with these statements, ending when you come to a natural conclusion.

For example:

Player 1: Fortunately, I got a surprise letter in the mail today!
Player 2: Unfortunately, the letter was an overdue bill.
Player 1: Fortunately, I had just gotten paid that day.
Player 2: Unfortunately, your hot water heater stopped working, and you had to spend your paycheck to get a new one.
...
Etc.

One Word at a Time Story

Great for practicing: agreement, characters, storytelling

This is improv exercise is exactly what it says on the tin: You take turns telling a story one word at a time, alternating each word with your partner. This game can get even more challenging in a large group, where the story may take many turns you didn’t expect before it’s your turn to contribute a new word, but the two-person version requires you to think quickly and be flexible if your partner says a word you weren’t expecting.

Often, this game begins with the line “Once upon a time” and ends with “The moral of the story is…”

The goal is to try to create a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, as well as distinct character(s). Challenge yourself to create (and share) clear characters, adopting mannerisms, vocal tone, etc. of the character as you and your scene partner share their dialogue.

Three-Line Scene

Great for practicing: clear labeling; establishing the who, what, where of your scene quickly; making strong choices

This is a classic improv exercise for two people. The goal is to create a series of short scenes lasting only three lines. Player 1 says the first line of the scene, the initiation. Player 2 responds, and then player 1 ends the scene with the third line.

The three-line scene is great for practicing clear labeling, making bold choices quickly, and taking on new characters, especially as you go through a series of three-line scenes one after the other. The scenes are super fast, but you can establish a lot about who your two characters are, where they are, and their relationship to each other in just three lines.

Word Association

Great for practicing: getting out of your head/staying in the moment

This warmup exercise is pretty straightforward but can help build energy before a set and get two improvisers on the same mental page.

One improviser starts by saying a random word, and their partner says another word, inspired by the first word. You go back and forth, trying to maintain a quick pace and not think about what word to say sense or what word makes sense.

Improv Games for Two People

What about performance-ready improv games for two people? The games below can be played by a duo, though some require a third person to act as a “host” during the game or to run a timer.

Alphabet Game (ABCs)

Great for practicing: balancing game mechanics with staying in the moment

Start with an audience suggestion (I’ve found that location and relationship work well for this game). Two people will then improvise a scene based on the suggestion, but there’s a catch: each player must start his or her line with the next letter of the alphabet.

So, for example:

Player 1: Albert, I can't find the jello mix, and the Robinsons will be here at 6.
Player 2: Better check Celia's room - she's been hiding things lately.
Player 1: Celia! 
Player 2: Don't get too mad at her. She's just going through a phase.
Etc.

Ideally, the scene will come to a satisfying conclusion by the time you reach the letter Z. You can also start the game from anywhere in the alphabet; just go through all 26 letters. For example, if you get an audience suggestion for the letter H, start with H and work your way around to G.

This game requires you to think about the mechanics of the game (“what letter comes after V?”) while still establishing a clear who, what, and why for your scene.

Blind Line

Great for practicing: justification

In this game, two people act out a scene based on an audience suggestion. However, one of them has to periodically incorporate random lines into their dialogue. These lines can be audience suggestions that were written down before the show (and put into the improviser’s pocket, for example), or they can be lines from a play or movie (e.g., reading random lines from The Glass Menagerie), etc.

Whenever the improviser reads a “blind line,” the two players must justify that line and make it make sense in the scene. This is great practice for justifying sometimes absurd developments in a logical way while staying in character (which is a key element of exploration in “the game of the scene”).

Here’s an example of Blind Line in performance:

Change of Genre

Great for practicing: agreement, playing off genre conventions

This improv game requires two people, plus a “caller” who can periodically call out genres throughout the scene. Start by getting both a scene suggestion and several film/book genre suggestions from the audience (horror, film noir, Disney movie, rom-com).

After getting the audience suggestions, the two improvisers should begin a scene just as they normally would. Once they’ve had a bit to establish the base reality of the scene, a third person (the caller) should call out “freeze.” The improvisers will pause, and the caller should shout out a genre, which the players will then adopt as they resume the scene exactly where it left off.

The fun of this game is to fully embrace the conventions of each genre, maintaining the thread of the original scene (as well as the characters’ relationship to each other) while adjusting dialogue, action, and tone to suit each successive genre.

Half-Life

Great for practicing: establishing a scene quickly, making big choices, memory, physicality/movement (really using the stage)

This improv game works well with just two people or with three or four (more than four gets a bit unwieldy, in my experience). In addition to the people in the scene, you will need someone to set a timer. This can be a friend or audience member if you have only two improvisers.

You’ll get a suggestion from the audience for a two-person scene. Then, the designated time-keeper will set a timer for 60 seconds. The two improvisers will create a full scene in just 60 seconds. When they finish, the time-keeper will set a timer for 30 seconds, and they’ll have to replay the entire scene from start to finish in half the time. Then, they’ll do the whole thing in 15 seconds. Then, 7 seconds. And (most hilariously) 3 seconds.

Note: I’ve personally found that this game works best when you establish the who, what, and where of your scene very quickly, when you make strong character choices, and when you embrace big actions and really use the stage.

New Choice

Great for practicing: imagination, justification, moving beyond the most obvious choice

In New Choice (I’ve also heard this game called “Ding”), you have two improvisers creating a scene, plus one person with a bell or buzzer. The two players get an audience suggestion, then create a two-person scene. At any time during the scene, however, the third person can ring the bell (or use the buzzer) and yell out “new choice!”

When “new choice” is called, whoever said the last line in the scene must change what they’ve said to a completely new choice. You can ding someone once, or you can ding them several times in a row, forcing them to make new choice after new choice until you feel they’ve hit upon a promising line. The scene then continues on, and the players must jusitfy that choice and keep the scene moving forward.

Questions Only

Great for practicing: asking questions that move the scene forward

Questions can be a crutch for many improvisers (myself included). It can be easy to use questions as a way to avoid yes, and-ing your partners’ contribution to the scene. However, some questions can still move a scene forward by containing important information that adds to the scene. (Or by furthering the game of the scene.)

This two-person improv game involves only speaking in questions for the whole scene. That’s it. You cannot repeat questions, and you should still try to move the scene forward. If you’re playing with more than two people, when someone fails to ask a question or hesitates, you can tag them out and replace them in the scene. However, tagging out isn’t required, and you can play this game with just two people.