Superhero Endowment
Superhero Endowment is a guessing game in which one performer must figure out their secretly assigned superhero power through the behavior of their scene partners. The other performers know the power and play scenes that make it relevant without naming it directly.
Structure
Setup
One performer leaves the room or covers their ears. The remaining group agrees on a superhero power for the absent performer. The power is typically something absurd or specific rather than a generic ability from comic books.
The Scene
The guesser returns. The performers play an improvised scene in which the assigned power is constantly relevant. Without naming the power or pointing at it directly, they make it clear that the guesser possesses something extraordinary.
Cluing In
The performers incorporate situations, problems, or comments that logically relate to the assigned power. If the power is the ability to perfectly parallel park, every scene challenge involves parking situations. If the power is knowing exactly what temperature soup is, soup becomes oddly central to the scene.
The Guess
The guesser can attempt to name their power at any point. If incorrect, the scene continues with additional clues. If correct, the group celebrates and a new round begins with a different guesser.
Variations
Some versions assign the power to a character attribute rather than a superhero ability. The guesser might need to figure out their secret occupation, emotional state, or defining characteristic.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Superhero Endowment develops the skill of endowing a scene partner with specific qualities through behavior rather than exposition. It teaches performers to show rather than tell and to make information visible through action.
How to Explain It
"We are going to give our guesser a secret superpower. They have to figure it out from how we treat them in the scene. Do not say the power out loud. Make it relevant through what happens in the scene."
Scaffolding
Before the guessing version, practice plain endowment exercises where performers practice revealing a character's occupation, status, or mood through behavior alone. This builds the foundational skill before adding the game element.
Common Pitfalls
The most common issue is performers who make the clues too obvious, essentially describing the power without naming it. The other common problem is performers whose clues are so subtle that the guesser has nothing to work with. Calibrate toward specific but discoverable.
How to Perform It
Game Mechanics
Superhero Endowment works best when the assigned power is specific enough to generate clear behavior but not so specific that only one scene is possible. "Can fly" is too broad. "Can tell exactly how many seeds are in any piece of fruit" is specific enough to be funny and generate varied scenes.
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Related Games
Secrets Endowment
Secrets Endowment is a short-form game in which performers are given secret information about their characters that the other performers do not know, creating dramatic irony as each player navigates a scene while hiding or gradually revealing their secret.
Famous Person Endowment
Famous Person Endowment is a guessing game in which one performer is secretly assigned a celebrity identity and must deduce who they are through interactions with scene partners who know the answer. The endowed performer does not know their identity and must read their scene partners' reactions, offers, and endowments to figure out who they are playing. The game rewards lateral thinking, careful observation, and the ability to accept endowments and build on them without the security of knowing the full picture.
Double Endowment
Double Endowment is a short-form guessing game in which two performers are each secretly endowed with a character trait by the audience, and both must simultaneously figure out their own trait from the clues the other performer is giving. Each performer knows the other's secret trait but not their own, and must embed clues for the other player while interpreting the clues being embedded for them. The result is a mutual guessing dynamic that rewards listening and responsive improvisation.
Occupation Endowment
Occupation Endowment is a short-form guessing game in which one performer is endowed with a specific occupation by the audience, and a second performer must discover what the occupation is through scene interaction. The endowing performer communicates the occupation through behavior, physicality, and contextual clues without ever naming it directly.
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.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Superhero Endowment. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/superhero-endowment
The Improv Archive. "Superhero Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/superhero-endowment.
The Improv Archive. "Superhero Endowment." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/superhero-endowment. Accessed September 28, 2026.
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