Blind Date Character Quirks
Blind Date Character Quirks is a short-form guessing game in which one player goes on a "date" with three suitors, each endowed with a secret character trait by the audience. The dater must identify each suitor's quirk through conversation. The game rewards clear physicalization of traits and the guesser's ability to read behavioral clues.
Structure
Setup
One performer (the Dater) leaves the stage or turns away while the audience endows each of three remaining performers (the Suitors) with a specific character quirk. The quirks should be physical and behavioral rather than biographical: "speaks in questions," "can't stop organizing things," "believes everyone is a close friend they haven't seen in years."
Play
The Dater returns and goes on a "date" - a casual conversation - with each Suitor. The Suitors commit fully to their quirk in everything they say and do. The Dater must observe, probe, and identify what each Suitor's quirk is.
Guessing
After 2-3 minutes with each Suitor (or less if the Dater guesses correctly), the Dater names what they believe the quirk to be. The audience confirms or corrects.
Cast Variation
The game can also run with all three Suitors simultaneously at a "cocktail party" - the Dater moves between them in the same space. This reduces per-Suitor time but increases the social complexity.
Scoring (Optional)
Track correct guesses. Multiple rounds with different Daters and different quirk categories can create a competitive format.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"Three suitors will get a quirk from the audience. Your job is to figure out what each quirk is through conversation. Suitors: commit fully. Dater: trust your observation."
Why It Matters
Blind Date Character Quirks trains two distinct skills simultaneously: physicalization (for the Suitors) and observation (for the Dater). The Suitors develop the ability to let a single behavioral choice color every element of their presence - not just what they say but how they move, how they listen, how they respond. The Dater develops the ability to read behavioral information systematically rather than just reacting to it. Both skills transfer directly to scene work.
Common Coaching Notes
- Quirks should be playable, not biographical. "Is secretly a robot" is hard to play. "Treats everything as a competitive sport" is easy to play in every line.
- Suitors must stay in their quirk under observation pressure. When the Dater watches closely, performers often drop character. Coach: "They're watching you even harder. That's when you need it most."
- Coach the Dater to probe. "What do you do for fun?" produces more quirk-revealing behavior than "Tell me about yourself." Teach specific questions that reveal behavioral traits.
How to Perform It
Audience Intro
"We need a volunteer to leave the stage - you're going on a blind date. While you're gone, the audience is going to give each of these three suitors a secret personality quirk. Your job when you come back: figure out each one. Ready? [Volunteer leaves.] Audience, what's the quirk for suitor number one?"
Collect three distinct quirks. Brief each Suitor quietly or allow the audience to hear - the Dater is the one who doesn't know.
Cast Size
Four performers: one Dater, three Suitors. The host manages the guessing beats and audience confirmation.
Staging
Set three chairs or positions across the stage for the Suitors. The Dater moves to each in turn. The "cocktail party" variation removes the chairs and lets everyone mingle simultaneously.
Wrap Logic
The host wraps after all three quirks have been guessed (correctly or not). A quick recap - "Let's hear what the quirks actually were" - lands the audience confirmation beat. If time allows, a fourth "mystery round" with one Suitor can extend the game.
Worth Reading
See all books →
Pirate Robot Ninja
An Improv Fable
Billy Merritt; Will Hines
Acting Through Improv
Improv Through Theatresports
Lynda Belt; Rebecca Stockley
The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual
Matt Besser; Ian Roberts; Matt Walsh
Group Improvisation
The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games
Peter Campbell Gwinn; Charna Halpern
Theater Games for Rehearsal
Viola Spolin
Whose Improv Is It Anyway?
Beyond Second City
Amy E. Seham
Related Games
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.
Party Quirks
Party Quirks is a short-form guessing game in which one performer plays a host welcoming guests to a party, each of whom has been secretly assigned a strange identity or behavioral quirk. The host must figure out each guest's quirk through interaction while the guests drop increasingly obvious clues. The game was popularized by Whose Line Is It Anyway and remains a staple of short-form shows.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Blind Date Character Quirks. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/blind-date-character-quirks
The Improv Archive. "Blind Date Character Quirks." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/blind-date-character-quirks.
The Improv Archive. "Blind Date Character Quirks." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/blind-date-character-quirks. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.