Paperclip Game
Paperclip Game is a group exercise in which players stand in a backline and step forward one at a time to build a chain of pattern and heightening. The first player declares what object they are and what function they serve. Each subsequent player names a different object with a similar function, gradually escalating the scope or stakes of that function until the pattern reaches its peak. The exercise trains the core long-form skills of recognizing patterns and heightening them through analogical thinking.
Structure
Setup
Players form a backline. No props or preparation are needed. The facilitator may provide the opening object or let a player volunteer one.
Progression
One player steps forward from the backline and declares what object they are and what their function is. For example: "I am a paperclip, and I hold loose papers together." A second player steps forward and names a different object that performs a similar function: "I am a rubber band, and I hold loose pieces of mail together." The pattern is now established: objects that hold loose things together.
Remaining players step forward one at a time, each heightening the pattern by finding objects with increasingly significant, dramatic, or abstract versions of the same function. "I am twine, and I hold loose recyclable newspapers together." "I am shackles, and I hold loose chain gang prisoners together." "I am religion, and I hold loose communities together."
Each new offer should feel like a natural escalation from the last. The pattern continues until the group reaches a peak that cannot be topped, or until the facilitator resets the exercise with a new opening object and function.
Conclusion
The facilitator calls a reset when the pattern has reached a satisfying top or when the energy plateaus. A new player steps out with a different object and function, and the process begins again.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Paperclip Game isolates two foundational long-form improv skills: pattern recognition and heightening. Players practice identifying the underlying function or theme in an offer, then finding analogies that amplify that theme. The exercise builds the muscle of thinking in terms of game and pattern rather than narrative.
How to Explain It
"Someone is going to step out and say what object they are and what they do. The next person finds a different object that does something similar. Then we keep going, each time finding an object where the function is bigger, more intense, or more meaningful. We are building a ladder of the same idea. When we reach the top, we start over with a new object."
Scaffolding
Begin with objects whose functions are concrete and easy to match: a bookmark holds a place, a traffic cone holds a space, a bodyguard holds a perimeter. As the group builds confidence, encourage more abstract functions: a lullaby calms a restless mind, a sunset calms a hectic day. The shift from concrete to abstract is itself a form of heightening that the group can practice.
Common Pitfalls
The most common issue is players who match the object rather than the function. If the first offer is "I am a paperclip and I hold papers together," a player who says "I am a stapler and I hold papers together" has matched literally rather than heightened. Coach players to keep the function but escalate its scope or emotional weight.
A second pitfall is players who break the pattern by introducing a completely unrelated function. The exercise depends on disciplined analogical thinking. If someone goes off-pattern, the facilitator can gently redirect by restating the established function.
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Related Exercises
Accepting Circle
Accepting Circle is a warm-up exercise in which players stand in a circle and practice receiving and building on each other's offers. One player initiates a sound, gesture, or phrase; the next player accepts it fully before adding their own. The exercise reinforces the foundational improv principle of "yes, and" in its simplest physical form.
Open Offer
Open Offer is a scene-starting exercise in which one performer enters the space and makes a clear, specific opening offer -- a line of dialogue, a physical action, or an emotional state -- that establishes a strong starting point for their scene partner to build on. The exercise trains the ability to begin scenes with purpose and generosity rather than caution or ambiguity.
Agreement Scenes
Agreement Scenes is an exercise in which performers practice fully agreeing with every offer their scene partner makes. By removing all conflict and negation, the exercise reveals how scenes can build through mutual enthusiasm and escalating shared reality. It reinforces the "yes, and" principle at its most fundamental level.
What?
What? is an exercise in which performers respond to each offer with genuine curiosity, exploring rather than accepting at face value. The exercise teaches the difference between blocking and curious investigation, building the habit of digging deeper into a partner's offers.
Ordinary Object
Ordinary Object is an exercise in which a player picks up a common item and uses it as if it were something else entirely, without explaining the transformation. The audience or group must recognize the new object through the specificity of the performer's handling. The exercise develops object work versatility and the ability to communicate through physical precision.
Yes And
Yes And is the foundational improv exercise and philosophical principle in which performers practice accepting a partner's offer (the "yes") and adding new information that builds on it (the "and"). One player makes a statement; the partner responds by first affirming the reality of that statement and then contributing something new. The exercise trains the most essential skill in improvisation and has become the defining principle of the entire art form.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Paperclip Game. Retrieved March 19, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paperclip-game
The Improv Archive. "Paperclip Game." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paperclip-game.
The Improv Archive. "Paperclip Game." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/paperclip-game. Accessed March 19, 2026.
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