Black Magic
Black Magic is a guessing game in which two players appear to share a psychic connection. One player leaves the room while the group selects an object, then returns and identifies it as a partner points to various items. The secret method involves a pre-arranged signal. The game demonstrates how coded communication and showmanship create the illusion of mind reading.
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Related Games
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.
Bartender
Bartender is a short-form guessing game in which one player tends bar while several patrons, each endowed with a secret character trait, identity, or quirk by the audience, attempt to communicate their assignments through behavior, dialogue, and physical choices. The bartender must identify each patron's secret while maintaining the scene and keeping the bar running. The game belongs to the family of guessing games (alongside Party Quirks and Psychiatrist) and creates comedy through the tension between the patrons' increasingly obvious clues and the bartender's attempts to decode them. The bar setting provides a natural framework for one-on-one interactions, character reveals, and the rotating focus that guessing games require.
Dating Game
Dating Game is a short-form guessing game modeled on television dating shows. One player interviews three potential "dates," each secretly endowed with a character quirk, celebrity identity, or unusual trait by the audience. The dater must identify each contestant's secret through the interview. The game rewards clear physicalization and clever deduction.
Zapping
Zapping is a channel-surfing game in which a host or audience member clicks through imaginary television channels, and performers must instantly create a new show, commercial, or program with each click. The rapid switching rewards quick initiation and the ability to establish a distinct world in seconds.
The Lineage
Explore the schools and structures that influenced or evolved from Black Magic.
112 Acting Games (Levy)
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Black Magic. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/black-magic
The Improv Archive. "Black Magic." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/black-magic.
The Improv Archive. "Black Magic." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/black-magic. Accessed October 14, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.