Description: One player plays a marriage counselor. Two other players play a couple in need of counseling. Their "problem" is that every time one of them does a certain action, the other reacts in an unusual way. The marriage counselor interviews the couple and attempts to ascertain the actions and the reaction.
Tips: Players playing the couple should choose actions which are easy to incorporate into a conversation with another and that could be made obvious to the casual observer. For example, twirling one's hair, stretching arms, scratching face, etc. The reactions can be a little more over the top. Examples: every time A rubs her eyes, B changes more and more into a robot; every time B coughs, A has flashbacks of the Vietnam War.
- The marriage counselor can have fun with the scene by adopting a character for themselves, even a characterization of well-known therapists (Dr. Phil, Sigmund Freud, etc.).
- Once the actions/reactions have been guessed by the counselor, end the scene logically - resolving the couple's issues, scheduling a next appointment, etc.
Variants: Some troupes play the couple as simply having quirks (not as a reaction to another's action); the counselor must determine the quirks. (This becomes similar to Party Quirks.)
Tips: Players playing the couple should choose actions which are easy to incorporate into a conversation with another and that could be made obvious to the casual observer. For example, twirling one's hair, stretching arms, scratching face, etc. The reactions can be a little more over the top. Examples: every time A rubs her eyes, B changes more and more into a robot; every time B coughs, A has flashbacks of the Vietnam War.
- The marriage counselor can have fun with the scene by adopting a character for themselves, even a characterization of well-known therapists (Dr. Phil, Sigmund Freud, etc.).
- Once the actions/reactions have been guessed by the counselor, end the scene logically - resolving the couple's issues, scheduling a next appointment, etc.
Variants: Some troupes play the couple as simply having quirks (not as a reaction to another's action); the counselor must determine the quirks. (This becomes similar to Party Quirks.)
This game is called Marriage Counselor, and A will be playing said marriage counselor. B and C will be playing the couple in counseling, and they're in counseling because they each do something that drives the other crazy, causing peculiar reactions. Before we can get those, however, we'll ask A to leave the stage.
[A LEAVES STAGE.]
Now that A's gone, we need to figure out why B and C are in counseling. Whenever B does a particular action - [GET ACTION FOR B] - C has a peculiar reaction to it. [GET BEHAVIOR FOR C]
Now when C does [GET ACTION FOR C], B reacts to it. [GET BEHAVIOR FOR B]
Let's bring A back in, and see if he/she can't solve their problems.