Crabtrees Conundrum
Crabtree's Conundrum is a scene game in which a character finds themselves in an escalating predicament that grows more absurd with each attempted solution. The game rewards the commitment to solving the problem within the scene's established rules, creating comedy through the gap between the character's sincere efforts and the compounding impossibility of their situation.
Structure
Setup
An audience suggestion establishes the initial predicament: a specific situation a character is in that needs resolution. The performer playing the character (Crabtree, or any named protagonist) begins the scene already in the problem.
The Escalation
Crabtree attempts to solve the problem using the most logical available means. The solution produces an unintended consequence that creates a new, larger problem. Crabtree attempts to solve that problem. Each solution reveals or creates a new complication, and the stack of problems grows with each round. Other performers play the elements of the environment: other characters, objects, circumstances, and the forces that complicate each solution.
The Rules of Escalation
Each new complication must emerge organically from the attempted solution rather than being introduced from outside. The complications must be accepted and incorporated by all performers: no one dismisses a new problem as irrelevant. The character must genuinely try to solve each new problem rather than surrendering or commenting on the absurdity.
Conclusion
The host wraps when the stack of complications has reached a satisfying peak absurdity, or when a solution accidentally resolves multiple problems at once.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Crabtree's Conundrum trains the acceptance of complications, the commitment to solving problems within established scene logic, and the ability to build an escalating structure without external input. It develops the improvisers' understanding that obstacles and complications are the engine of comedy and drama, not interruptions of them.
How to Explain It
"Crabtree has a problem. Every time they solve it, something new goes wrong. Your job is to accept whatever just happened and immediately try to fix it -- with complete sincerity. The comedy comes from how hard Crabtree is trying, not from giving up."
Common Pitfalls
The most common drift is a protagonist who comments on the situation rather than trying to solve it, stepping outside the scene's logic to register the absurdity. Sidocoach: "What's Crabtree's next move?" A second pitfall is supporting performers who introduce complications that contradict established scene facts; all new complications must follow from what has already been established.
How to Perform It
Audience Intro
"We need a problem that someone needs to solve. What's Crabtree's predicament tonight?"
Cast Size
One primary performer as the protagonist in the predicament. Two to four supporting performers playing environment, other characters, and the complications.
Staging
The protagonist plays at center or slightly downstage. Supporting performers make themselves available as needed rather than maintaining fixed positions.
Wrap Logic
The game concludes most satisfyingly when an attempted solution accidentally resolves several layers of complication at once, or when the complication stack becomes so elaborate that even stating it produces laughter.
Worth Reading
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The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual
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Group Improvisation
The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Crabtrees Conundrum. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/crabtrees-conundrum
The Improv Archive. "Crabtrees Conundrum." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/crabtrees-conundrum.
The Improv Archive. "Crabtrees Conundrum." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/crabtrees-conundrum. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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