The Games of Whose Line

These are the games that have been played on the show. Some of them are played only on the British version and some just on the American version. [game: (# players) description] Addicts Anonymous: (4) One person leads some type of addicts group, while the other four are trying (usually without success) to recover from it. Advertisement: (1) A player has to advertise a product chosen by the audience in some musical style. Alphabet: (2-4) The players must act out a scene beginning with an audience-chosen letter, and each successive line must begin with the next letter of the alphabet. Animals: (3) The players act out a scene as certain animals. Greg has made comments about it, such as "What's wrong with you? Get some friends. Hamsters." To which Clive replied: "The hamsters are my friends." Audition: (4) One player is directing a play, the other three are auditioning for it. Authors: (4) The players stand in a line and tell parts of a story as a chosen authhor. Some authors have included Jackie Collins, Lewis Carroll, Dr. Seuss, Zane Grey, Tony Esposito, the Bible, a child's letter to Santa, and Hello! Magazine. Backwards Scene: (2-4) The players start at the end of a scene and work back to the beginning. Bartender/Prison Visitor/Psychiatrist: (2-4) One player is the tender/visitor/doctor. The others come in and sing their problems, which gets advice sung back. Josie is often the title character, as is Niall, Chip, Brad, and Mike. Book Writer: (2) One is the author of a fake book; the other interviews them about the book's content. Broadway Musical: (1) The player sings a song about an audience member in the style of a Broadway musical. Changing Emotions: (3-4) Players hold different objects, each of which stands for an emotion. As they're passed around, emotions change with them. For example, Colin had a bag meaning angry; Tony had a towel meaning conceited or vain; Ryan had a drink bottle meaning paranoid. Couples: (2) Players act out a scene as different couples. Courtroom Scene: (4) Players are judge, prosecutor, and witnesses in a strange case. Credit Reading: (1-4) The "winner" of the show reads the credits according to Clive's whims. Other credit readings have included Ryan and Greg as Beavis and Butt-Head; Tony as a drunk Australian soap opera star; Chip as an auctioneer; Steve Frost as a mother shouting out a window; and Greg as Elvis Costello (haha). Daytime Talk Show: (4) One player is a talk-show host. Two others are guests, and the final one is an audience member asking questions. Greg is usually in the position of host; he once named himself "Proop Doggy Dogg". Wayne is usually the audience member, while Ryan and Colin are the guests. Dead Bodies: (4) Three players have died while trying to act out a play. The remaining unlucky soul moves the bodies around in a desparate effort to continue as if nothing is wrong. Colin usually is the remaining living person, and you can imagine how much it hurts trying to lift Ryan, Steve, and Greg off the ground! Director: (3) Two players are actors in a movie. The third is the director of the movie, who has them constantly re-enact the scene with stranger and stranger suggestions. Duet: (2) Two players sing a song, usually about a person in the audience. On the American version, Wayne is usually joined by Brad or Chip, depending on who's there. Colin and Ryan never have to play this one! Emotion Option: (2) Sort of a cross between Changing Emotions and Film & Theatre Styles, the two platers are told to act in certain emotions instead of film styles. Expert: (1) Player is an expert on something unusual, like the afterlife or karate-chopping pigs. Expert Translation: (2) Like Foreign Film Dub, one player tells the audience about their vice in a foreign tongue, while the other translates what has been said. Every Other Line: (2) Clive gives one player a script from a play, from which they read every other line. The other person improvises on what has been said, make sense or not. Film & Theatre Styles: (2) The players start out normal doing a scene. They are buzzed and given different film & theatre styles. These can range from tacky porn to Shakespeare to children's Nativity play to...Charlie's Angels. Film Dub: (1-3) The players make up dialogue for a piece of film from which the soundtrack has been removed. Film Trailer: (4) One players is the voice of the trailer of a strange film. The other three act out scenes. Greg is usually the narrator. Films have included "The Creature from Essex" with Eddie Izzard as Tracy, Steve as Essex Man, and Ryan as Dr. Woobleforth; "Jelly Wars" with Ryan as Luke Nipnember, Mike as The Flying Fortress/Princess Yin-Yang, and Tony as The Evil Professor; and "He Invaded My Chip Shop" with Ryan, Tony, and Mike. Fixed Expressions: (3-4) Each player is given an emotion, which they must keep on their face no matter what happens. Emotions include constipated, shocked, happy, anxious, and upset. Foreign Film Dub: (4) Two players act out a film in a foreign language, while the other two translate what they've said. Funeral: (4) One player leads a strange funeral service, while the other three read equally strange eulogies. One funeral was for Frederick the Trampolinist, where Greg was more into playing Twister than getting through the funeral. Greatest Hits: (3-4) Two players are pitching an album featuring the greatest hits of an occupation--mailman, lifeguard, etc.--and the other player(s) sing(s) the songs from the album. Colin and Ryan are usually the pitchmen; Wayne is sometimes joined by Brad on the US version, while Josie usually sings it in the UK. Hands Through/Helping Hands: (3) One player cannot use their own hands at all, and has them provided by one of the other people. The third is standing by as someone for the person to talk to. Ryan is almost always the guy having his hands provided for him--he's easy to hide behind--while Colin and Greg usually are the ones feeding him snot-flavored cereal and aftershave. Ryan also comes up with funny comments, like "Bonjour, or, as we say in France, hello!" and "Escargot, escargot-ing, escar-gone!" Hats/Dating Service: (4) The players pair up and each use a box of hats to give examples of things like "World's Worst Dating Agency Video", "World's Worst Audition Tape", and "World's Worst Ad Campaign". Here He Is Now: (4) Two players are on stage, talking about the people offstage and giving them odd characteristics. The other players must do as they've been described as when they arrive. Hey You Down There: (3-4) Parodies of 1950’s-era Public Information films. One player narrates instructions on how to do a certain activity or procedure, which are performed by the others. Hoedown/March/Gospel/Rap: (4) Players each sing a verse on the same topic (not awlways), using the assigned musical style. Colin usually doesn't follow the rules and he faints, sings in German, dances, smiles, or says "Instrumental!" to get out of doing anything right. Home Shopping: (2) Players are on the Home Shopping Network and must come up with clever ways to sell totally useless products (i.e., a banana skin, John Major, an unflushable toilet, yesterday's newspaper). Ryan and Colin are usually stuck there. Interview: (2) One player is a historical figure, the other is interviewing him/her. Irish Drinking Song: (4) One of the greatest games in the world. All the players - or three and Drew - stand in a line and make up a song in the style of an Irish drinking song. Included among them have been 2 Drew Carey, Ross Perot, sleeping with an ugly woman, and going to the park. Colin usually mananges to get Ryan laugh so hard to the point he's in tears. Let’s Make A Date: (4) A satirical parody of The Dating Game. One player is the contestant and the other three have strange ways of behaving, like Party Quirks. The contestant must guess who's doing what. Past quirks have included a masochist, Bill Clinton, a boa constrictor, South Park characters, someone who's turned on by danger, the contestant's ex-husband, and Noddy. Letter Changes: (2) Each player has one letter they cannot say, and it must be replaced with something else. Its kind of confusing to understand. Mission Impossible/Improbable: (3-4) Two or three players are given instructions by the remaining player on how to do an everyday activity (i.e., getting dressed). Moving People: (2) Players act out a scene, but can only move when audience members move them. Apparently they don't understand the game is called "Moving People"! (American) Musical/(Rock) Opera: (4) Players act out an audience member's life in the suggested style (i.e., "The Bitchin' Wallabies" were a group created by Greg to go along with the audience member's Austrailia/rock competition thing). Multiple Personalities: (3) Players each hold an object in their hand. With each object, they are a specific person, usually a historical figure or celebrity icon. Their personality changes when they trade props. Musical Film Review: (4) One player reviews a movie, the other three act out pieces of it. Narrate/Film Noir: (2-4) Each player narrates their own thoughts and/or actions, as in Film Noir-style movies. News Flash: (3) Two players are anchors in a studio. The third is in front of a green screen where he is the only one who cannot see where he is. The anchors give hints so the reporter can figure out where he's supposed to be. Colin was once put in front of a screen showing his past nutty clips (the dinosaur impersonation, mainly). He even made a bald joke to go along, even though he had no clue where he was! News Report: (4) One player plays the head anchor of a news program. The second plays an expert on the subject they're dealing with; a third is a field reporter interviewing the people who come along, played by the fourth person. Number of Words: (4) Each player is assigned a specified number of words they must speak per line...no more, no less. Ryan once was given one-word lines, and kept yelling "Two!" the whole time; Colin also had a one-word limit, and said "Yep" and "Nope" the whole time. Old Job, New Job: (3-4) One player is in a new job, but still uses elements of his old job. The other two are involved in the new occupation as well (i.e., Steve was a drug dealer who used to be a greengrocer, while Ryan was another dealer and Colin was a potential customer; Ryan was a schoolteacher who used to be a cowboy, while Tony and Colin were students...Tony then said the line "If you're five, how come you're already bald?" to which Colin replied, "Shut up!"). Party Quirks: (4) One contestant is host or hostess of a party. The other three are the guests who enter one at a time. Each guest has an unusual or insane quirk (hence the name), which the host must try to guess. Greg, Paul, and Tony are most often the hosts; Ryan usually comes in last. Quirks have included a cow, a baby learning to walk, someone obsessed with gadgets, a good cop/bad cop, an eagle, the dances of the twentieth century, and Tony Slattery. Panel: (4) Players act as members of a panel discussing a given topic. Picture: (2-4) Players provide the faces for a classic painting and act out a scene based on what’s in the picture. Press Conference: (4) Three players are reporters asking question. The fourth is the person giving the press conference, who must guess their particular claim to fame from the questions asked. Props: (4) In two teams of two, players must come up with as many creative uses as possible for an unusual object (i.e., a mop end, a large black oval named Orson Welles, two white half-spheres, two big fans). Questions Only: (2-4) Earlier episodes of this game had two players act out a scene speaking only in questions. Later versions are done as a one-on-one rapid-fire game. If a player makes a mistake, they are buzzed out and replaced with another player. Clive has buzzed out for other reasons, such as Tony speaking too high or others not answering the question. Quick Change: (3) Two players act out a scene while the third watches. The watcher shouts "change!" at random intervals, and the players must change what they have just said into something else. Quiz Show: (4) One player is the Regis Philbin-esque person hosting a game show. The other three are the unlucky souls as contestants. Remember That Song?: (4) Sort of like Greatest Hits, players recall an oldie and the others must perform it. Like on GH, Ryan and Colin often reminisce about the 70s and 80s, although with the 50s, Colin was born in '57, Ryan in '59! Remote Control: (4) Each player has to be a certain TV show, whether they like it or not (i.e. Tony hates Brookside, but oh well!) and all discuss the same topic (lobsters, global warming, earthquakes) and Clive buzzes between all of them. Other games had Steve as "The Bill", Eddie as News Night or something like that, Greg as host of a game show which he called "Ouch! Stop Pinching My Butt!", and Ryan as a cooking show. Scene to Music: (2) The players begin acting normally--or as close to that as possible--until music comes in. They must keep the same mood as the music. Greg and Mike were discussing Greg moving out of the flat ("See? See how they side with me?"), and horror music came in. Greg immediately began doing his thing: "Cluck like a chicken, Mike!", "...after all the times I invaded your brain!" Scene to Rap: (4) The players rap out a scene instead of talking. Ryan usually throws in that he can't rap because he's a Caucasian or something similar. Scenes from a Hat: (4) Clive or Drew pulls audience suggestions from a hat, and the players must act out a scene based on the suggestion. And you never know what'll happen. A classic? Drew: "People you wish would just shut up." Wayne: "People you wish would just shut up." Scene with a Prop: (2) Players are given a strange prop, and must use it in a scene. Tony and Paul were given a "Stop: Children" sign once, to which Paul said, "It says 'stop children'. I'm thirty-four!" This game was played only once. Secret: (2) The scene starts about 30 seconds before a secret is discovered. The place where the secret is found is chosen by the audience, and it's possible to go nuts from there. Like Colin finding Ryan's Tooth Fairy costume in the hay, and Ryan says, "If you don't let me win, I'll be pissed off and never give you money for that loose tooth! It ALL makes SENSE..." Song Styles: (1) Player sings a song in an assigned style, usually about an audience member. Although some have been done about household items (blenders, pruning shears) or or other things (a little red triangle found in the boot of a car; a syringe in a hospital). Song Titles: (4) Players can only use song titles as their dialogue. Most common is the song title "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts". Other songs have been "Rocket Man", "Reunited", "Layla", "American Pie", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", "Mr. Bo Jangles", and "O Canada", supplied by Colin. And there's "Love Love Me Do", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "I Am the Walrus", and others. Sound Effects: The only game to have three distinctly different ways to play it. A: (2) One player mimes an activity while the other provides sound effects for it. B: (2-4) Players act out a scene, reacting to recorded sound effects that are inserted in. C: (2) Two unlucky audience members must supply the sounds...they don't do the best of the job...but oh well... Sports Commentators/Sportscasters: (4) Two players act out an everyday activity in slow motion. The other two comment on it as if it’s a sporting event. Like Ryan and Colin as two hot-dog vendors. Stand, Sit, Lie (Down)/Bend: (3) At any given time during the scene, one player must be standing up, another sitting, and the third either lying down or bending. Story: (4) The audience chooses a title and moral. One player narrates a story while the other three act it out. Strange Bedfellows: (3-4) Players must perform a scene as an assigned character. Superheroes: (4) The first player is given a "Superhero name" by the audience (i.e.: Potato Man, Mr. Floppy, Captain Hot Studmuffin). He must solve a "world crisis". The other three enter one at a time, and each are assigned a super name by the previous player. Tag: (4) Two players are put into a position suggested by the audience. They act out a scene until another player shouts, "Freeze!", tags one player out, and takes their place to do an unrelated scene. That’ll Be Charlie Now: (4) Three players discuss the unusual quirks of their friend Charlie, who must take on those quirks when he enters. Three of A Kind: (3) Players perform a scene, all as the same person (John Wayne, Elvis, etc.) Three-Headed Broadway Star: (3) Three players (or two and Drew) sing a Broadway song together, each one supplying the next word. Topics have been lumberjacks, hernias, and such. Two Characters: (2) Players act out a scene as two given characters, like Jim Meskimen and Chris Smith as two guys from "Star Trek" looking for socks. Video Players: (4) One contestant runs the video player, fast-forwarding, rewinding, etc. The other three act out the video’s scenes ("What are you doing with that squeezy-bottle?") Weird Newscasters: (4) One player is the "normal" anchor of a news program. The other three are co-presenters, and each one has been assigned an unusual characteristic. This is as accurate I can at this point. The games they choose to play are always changing.

The Best Games of Whose Line (this is just my opinion...)

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