Improv Storytelling Circle Game

Slips of paper and pencils for writing prompts

A bowl or hat for drawing slips

A timer or phone stopwatch

Index cards with surprise twists for Curveball Cards (e.g., 'A dinosaur walks in,' 'Time jumps 100 years forward')

Sit in a circle with 3 or more players. Teach the golden rule of improv: always say 'Yes, and...' — accept what the previous person said and add to it.

Everyone writes a character, a setting, and a problem on separate slips. Mix them up, draw one from each pile.

Player one starts the story using the prompts, speaking for 30-60 seconds.

When the timer beeps, the story passes to the next player, who continues exactly where the last person stopped.

Each player gets 30-60 seconds per turn. After two full rounds, the moderator calls 'Wrap it up!' and the next player must end the story within 60 seconds.

Discuss the story: funniest moment, biggest surprise, hardest part.

Round two: add Curveball Cards. The moderator plays one at a random moment and the current storyteller must weave it in.

Round three: try 'One Word at a Time' — each person says only one word, going around rapidly.

Vote on the best story and give it a title.

The 'Yes, and...' rule is the most important thing to teach. Without it, kids contradict each other and the story falls apart. Practice a few exchanges before the first story.

Shy kids often bloom in the One Word at a Time variant because pressure per turn is tiny. Start there with reluctant participants.

Write 10-15 Curveball Cards in advance. Good curveballs are specific: 'The floor turns to lava' works better than 'Something bad happens.'

Record one story on a phone and play it back. Kids are amazed by how coherent the story sounds as a complete piece.

If a child freezes, the moderator can prompt: 'What did the character see next?' This is better than skipping their turn.