Quick Description
A group of players challenge each other to spontaneously list three things within a category suggested in the moment.
How to Play
Everyone stand in a circle.
Everyone pumps their fists in unison while saying “Three Things.” [Fists down on “Three” and again on “Things.”]
Person A turns to the person on their right (B) and names a category of things. Person B will quickly list three things that belong in that category.
Person B quickly says three things that fit into the category.
When they are finished with their list everyone shouts “Three Things” while pumping their fists up and down in unison.
Person B then turns to the person on their right and challenges them to list three things.
Continue the pattern around the circle.
Example
- Person A: Three things you like to eat for lunch. (They can be anything. Anything.)
- Person B: Grilled Cheese, Peanut Butter and Jelly and a Cheese Burger.
- Persons A, B and everyone else: Three Things!
- Person B: Three memories from your past.
- Person C: My high school prom, my first break up and my first job.
- Persons A, B, C and everyone else: Three Things!
Variations
Instead of challenging it to the next person in the circle challenge someone at random in the circle
Instead of listing a category, list three things and have the person challenged supply what bonds them together. For example, “Seattle, Portland and San Diego.” “Three cities in the Western US.”
Notes
The category can be anything.
Do this quickly and with energy.
It can be fun and bonding when the group chants together “Three Things.”
This is not a win-lose game (zero sum). There is no score keeping… the answers are not evaluated or discussed.
The answers do not have to be ‘correct’ or ‘true’… just fast. It’s fun to play with responding without evaluation.
More Variations
Each person says 3 things: Turn to the person on your right and give them a category of 3 things (three things you love). They will list 3 things as quickly as they can.
Each person says 1 of the 3 things: Turn to the person on your right and give them a category of 3 things. (Example: Three words that begin with “T”). The first person on your right says one thing that begins with the letter “T” then the person to his/her right says one thing that begins with the letter “T” then the person to his/her right says one thing that begins with the letter “T”. That completes the Three Things. So the person to his/her right give a new category of things.
Backwards (3 things first then the category): Person lists 3 things to the person on their right (Cars, Bars, Liars) and that person needs to identify the category (3 things that rhyme with Cars). Note the person listing the 3 things does not need to know what the category is that connects the 3 things. Resist revaluation, it’s not a guessing contest. Accept everything.
Genre Categories: As a genre warm up. Three names of Film Noir detectives. Three reasons to commit a crime. Three lines of dialogue the police captain says. What ever the genre calls for.
New Choice: Three Things: You can politely refuse an answer and the person listing the three things must provide another. “It feels like heresy to say ‘no’, albeit politely. Ideally, you need to have the most supportive, positive players to make it work, but when you do, it’s really fun.” (from Dave Dennison)
Seven Things: This is just like “Three Things” except with seven things. After four or five, the things get really interesting.
Word-at-a-time Three Things: This is played like a word-at-a-time game. The whole group establishes the category one word at a time and then gives the responses the same way. Answers can be single words or multi-word phrases. Parsing the phrase is part of the fun.
EXAMPLE, assuming 4 people:
Person 1: Three
Person 2: things
Person 3: that
Person 4: start
Person 1: with
Person 2: T.
Person 3: Trains,
Person 4: Tupperware,
Person 1: Ties.
TO ILLUSTRATE MULTIPLE-WORD ANSWERS:
Person 1: Three
Person 2: things
Person 3: that
Person 4: get
Person 1: shipped
Person 2: by
Person 3: FedEx.
Person 4: Packages,
Person 1: important
Person 2: documents,
Person 3: money
Person 4: transfers
Person 1: from
Person 2: Nigeria.
Three Things, No Hesitation: Each player does their best to excise any “er’s”, “um’s”, or “ah’s” —basically any filler word or sound— from their response. If others in the group hear a filler word, they simply raise their hand and then put it down to signal the speaker. Like “Seven Things” mentioned above, this also seems to get to some juicy stuff more rapidly.
Character Three Things: A player takes on a character and gives the category to the next person in that character. The next person answers in the same character. He/she then takes on a new character to give the next person the category. And so on… (Not exactly sure how this works. – Wm)
Improv Three Things: All prompts are what you want for the scenes. This can be about the improv skills to the genre.
Random Number: Three things… 8 things or 10 or 4. We’ve noticed that it’s almost impossible to be “right” or in your head, once you get to 7, 8, 9… Oh, and everyone starts to count with their fingers to keep track!
Too Many Things: Person 1 comes up with a category. Person 2 answers one thing in that category, Person 3 another and so on until, someone pauses for too long, stumbles, etc. Everyone chants: “Too Many Things!” and then whoever paused, took too long, etc. comes up with the new category.
Game Show Three Things: The player behind the person giving the category acts as a “judge” of the answers, making a ding (correct) or buzz (incorrect) for the answers. Dings and buzzes are arbitrary. When the answerer gives 3 “correct” answers, players chant “Three things” and the position of the Judge, Category-Giver and Answer-er shifts.
3 Things Apocalypse: Begins as regular 3 things; once it’s going around the circle in one direction, a second 3 things is added (so that there are simultaneous categories being asked and answered). Then another is added and another, until players are just picking other players at random and doing one-on-one three things.
Solo Three Things: Just as it sounds. Players stand by themselves, chant “Three Things!,” say a category and answer the category.
Two and a half things: Person 1 comes up with a category, Person 2 answers 2 and a half things in that category and Person 3 finishes the third thing in the category. Person 2 comes up with the new category.
Person 1: 3 things that have a happy ending:
Person 2: A Fairy Tale. A Massage. A Man….
Person 3: Hole cover.
Post show Long Form: You take a show you’ve just done, either in rehearsal or in a performance, and have the cast explore parts of the story they didn’t show the audience. The only requirement is everyone playing needs to have either been in it or seen it.
- 3 things the killer was thinking that he didn’t say out loud when he was killing his mother.
- 3 previous boyfriends the love interest had before she met the main character.
- 3 characters who could have come in to deliver the news at the end of the story, other than the character that did.
Hesitation Shame: If someone hesitates or includes a filler, the group yells, “Shame!” In a totally playful way, of course. This encourages true spontaneity, embracing failure, and the group’s joy in laughing at themselves.
Three things with a muse: Person 1 gives category. (“Three things that…”) Person 2 says whatever Person 3 whispers in Person 2’s ear.
Musical Three Things: Prompts and answers are sung. The intro (“Three things!”), set-up and then each of the ‘things” are chorus/verses respectively. All sing “Three things”, then next person sets up the question, and each other person answers in their verse; 3 people sing the three things.
Origin
Thanks to everyone who contributed or was mentioned in the FaceBook inquiry:
Dave Dennison, Rebecca Stockley, Laura Derry, Dan O’Connor, Barbara Scott, Ted DesMaisons, Ana Nelson, Debra Schifrin, Diane Rachael, Brooke Cook, Christian Utzman, Jonathan Goldman, Scott Keck, Don Schmidt, Drew Ross, Erik Olesund, Mona Thompson, Tim Orr, Carrie Caudie
Get the The Playbook so you have hundreds of games in your pocket when you need them.
Contact me to ask for game descriptions or just to say hi.