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.

Worth Reading

See all books →

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.

The Party

The Party is an improvisational game in which players take on character identities and interact at a simulated social gathering. In the most widely documented variant, each player is assigned a character they do not know (the identity is written on a card or otherwise concealed) and fellow guests drop subtle conversational hints to help the player deduce who they are. The game develops listening, subtext, and character awareness simultaneously.

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.

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.

It's My Party

It's My Party is a scene game built around a birthday party or celebration in which the host's attempts to maintain control are disrupted by increasingly chaotic guests. The social expectations of party behavior create a framework for escalating disorder. The game rewards strong character choices and the comedic principle of maintaining composure under duress.

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.

The Lineage

Explore the schools and structures that influenced or evolved from Party Quirks.

Documented In

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

How to Reference This Page

APA

The Improv Archive. (2026). Party Quirks. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/party-quirks

Chicago

The Improv Archive. "Party Quirks." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/party-quirks.

MLA

The Improv Archive. "Party Quirks." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/party-quirks. Accessed September 28, 2026.

The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.