Best Games for Large Group Improv Jams

Specific Games That Worked for Me

I was recently reading

Will Hines

’s Substack post on “Open Improv Jams.” He offers advice on how to run open jams effectively. Hines outlines many strategies for keeping jam groups manageable and cohesive. The article shares some great approaches and I recommend everyone interested in running community improv jams read through it. However, I wanted to address specific cases where you can’t (or don’t want to) cut group size. This could be due to a variety of reasons, but I’ll share my experience and then outline the games that worked well for us.

I served as President of a public four level improv club (and a 5th level for program graduates) in college, which maintained 40-60 members across levels during my tenure as an officer. Every Thursday, after class, we held a public jam for all members. We loved this jam, but it proved to be a consistent challenge for club administrators. It was important to us that we allowed all levels to intermingle, instead of holding separate jams. The club was already divided up for the majority of meetings (classes). Outside of a few bonding events and shows each semester, the jams were one of the only official opportunities for senior and junior club members to interact. Inter-level jams also gave new players a chance to perform with and learn from more experienced players. However, it was always a challenge to find games that could support such a huge group. While the whole club rarely attended jams, it was common to see 30+ members pulling up. We wanted games that maximized playtime and did not feel like additional class time.

GIANT SLACKER.

We were primarily a longform club and our students loved any opportunity to perform more of it. These Slackers were run in a huge circle, with two-person scenes set as the standard.* Limiting edits to tag outs generally kept things on the rails while still offering lots of creativity (we found freeforms became far too chaotic). Students could come in as new characters or bring back old ones, and we could travel as far away from the original suggestion as we wanted. They were great for practicing Game moves (and gave level one students fantastic references for Game). Senior improvisers were conscious to let junior players hop in, or even pull them in with a double tag out. Some of these sets got really wild but were always really fun. Though, it’s definitely helpful to have moderators in the circle to keep things from crossing any lines.

*Note: Traditional Slackers are edited when characters exit the scene, like in the Linklater movie, Slacker, but we tended to play by the IRC’s more flexible tag-out based definition. 

FREEZE TAG.

Most improvisers are already familiar with this classic game, but there’s a reason it’s so well known and I couldn’t justify excluding it here. It works great with large groups; I recommend standing in a circle and cutting quickly. Like in the Slacker, our senior improvisers would call “Double Freeze!” to pull nervous, junior players in.

For an explanation of the game, click here.

SOUNDSCAPES.

Large groups are fantastic for Soundscapes! Have everyone lay down if possible. Turn off all the lights in the room and close your eyes for good measure. One person starts with a simple sound and slowly the rest of the room begins to join in. Try to add a sound that fits into the same enviornment as the last one. Build one environment and then let it evolve into another. When these are good, they can feel weirdly spiritual. See what worlds they take you to. 

THE BAT.

If you have more of a medium sized group then a Bat can be a great choice. I’ve heard the Bat described both as a Blind Harold or simply any longform in the dark. We usually treated it as a Blind Free Form. These can be great because they simplify overcrowded scenes. Excessive characters can just fade away, while the more relevant ones go on talking. Anyone can jump in as the narrator and add some wonderful scene painting, that just isn’t possible on a stage. Sound effects and side support come super naturally in this form. Since all the edits are verbal, new scenes are set up clearly and we’re able to cycle through lots of characters. Since every character is just a voice, any player can come in as any character we’ve heard before.

KNOCKOUT GAMES.

Quick scene based knock out games also worked really well for us. We had students stand in two lines wrapping the walls of the room. Two players at the front of each line would step on stage and compete in a knockout game (examples below). Students had to respond quickly and within the parameters of each game. Everyone in line served as a collective referee, chanting the iconic line “DIE!” if a performer flubbed up or took too long. The loser walks to the back of the opposite line. To move quicker, up to four players can perform at a time, and everyone walks after failure.

Examples: Alphabet Game, Question Game, Syllable or Word Limit Game

ENERGY PASSING GAMES.

A lot of classic energy warm up games work great in large groups. These usually involve standing in a circle and passing an imaginary ball of energy around. There are loads of energy passing games, but links to some of my favorites are listed below. Woosh is my all time favorite, because it moves very quickly, you can pick and choose your favorite rules, and create an infinite number of house rules. Reddit user, Roywinkle, has a fantastic google doc to get you started. 

Examples: Woosh, Zip Zap Zop, Whisky Mixer, Name Passing

ALL PLAYS AND DIRECTED GAMES.

These are games that allow everyone to play at once—though some may require a director to lead the group. There are loads more if you do some digging, but these are a few that worked well for us. Since many of these games have multiple variations, I offer the versions we played below, rather than linking to an external website.

MIRRORING:
Players move around the room in pairs, mirroring their partner. One player leads and the other follows. At first a director calls “switch” to swap the leader, then eventually calls “share” to have the players swap on their own (without speaking).

FOLLOW THE FOLLOWER:
Similar to Mirroring, this game has everyone begin in a circle and look around the room at other player’s posture/mannerisms/fidgeting. This game will start subtly but will quickly evolve into a ruckus as each player continuously exaggerates and embodies the actions of another. 
My friends, Matt Morrow and Blake Geary, introduced me to a variation to this game they called Jump Around. In this version, players begin with a directive phrase such as “jump around.” All players repeat this phrase aloud while performing the task. Players listen for the amalgamation of noise to sound like something else and commit to saying that new phrase and performing that activity. Interpret the necessary activity however you will.

IMMERSIVE MONOSCENE AKA LARPING:
Take away any optional fighting mechanics and Live Action Role Playing is just improvising for no audience. Pick a setting or event (we quite liked doing a cocktail party) and give everyone a few moments to establish a character. They should find their posture, put on a face, pick up a prop, and then let them move around the room. Interact in small groups with everyone else at the party. 

SHOW DON’T TELL:
There is no talking in this game. Players all decide on an object to hold. They must go around the room, demonstrating their object and then trading it for another player’s object. Set a number of trades to be completed or have a director bring the game down.