Secrets Endowment
Secrets Endowment is a short-form game in which performers are given secret information about their characters that they must reveal through behavior and hints rather than direct statement. The tension between concealment and disclosure drives the comedy. The game trains the skill of communicating subtext and rewards both subtle clue-giving and attentive scene reading.
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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.
Mystery Word
Mystery Word is a short-form game in which performers play a scene while one performer -- unbeknownst to the others -- has been given a specific secret word that they must work into the dialogue naturally and without drawing attention to it. The rest of the performers and audience try to identify when the mystery word has been successfully used, creating a dual layer of engagement: the scene itself and the detective puzzle of watching for the hidden word.
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.
Crime Endowments
Crime Endowments is a short-form guessing game in which one player must determine a secret crime, weapon, and location through clues embedded in the other players' behavior. The endowed players know the secret combination and weave references to the crime, weapon, and location into natural-seeming conversation and action, while the guesser asks questions and observes their behavior to deduce the combination.
Ted Talks
Ted Talks is a short-form game in which a performer delivers an improvised presentation in the style of a TED Talk on an audience-suggested topic. Other players may provide slides, demonstrations, or audience participation. The game rewards confident public speaking, the ability to sound authoritative on any subject, and the comedic gap between expertise and ignorance.
Murder Endowment
Murder Endowment is a short-form guessing game in which one player must determine the method, location, and motive of a fictional murder based on clues provided by the other performers. The endowed players act out increasingly obvious hints while maintaining the reality of their scene. The game generates comedy from the guesser's struggle to decode the clues.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Secrets Endowment. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/secrets-endowment
The Improv Archive. "Secrets Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/secrets-endowment.
The Improv Archive. "Secrets Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/secrets-endowment. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.