House of Games: Bippity Bippity Bop

[acrouch]

Continuing the series of discussion threads that each cover a game or exercise or format as thoroughly as possible. Known origins, how it's played, variations, alternate names, tips on teaching it, what its value is, etc.

Today:

Bippity Bippity Bop

Where we stand in a circle with one person in the middle and they try to get out of the middle by saying "bippity bippity bop" to someone around the circle before that person can say "bop" back to them.

[LuBu McJohnson]

I don't care what anyone says, I like this game. I don't know what it does for me, but I like it.

[acrouch]

My favorite rule for Bippity Bippity Bop is that it's always the person in the middle's call whether or not they are successful, which means if you get sick of being trapped in the middle, you can just cheat and make the call in your favor.

[Asaf]

I never really understood this game, and was never really able to have fun doing it.

Andy, what do you mean about cheating in your favor? How do you cheat?

[kbadr]

When you're in the middle, you can just decide "I've been here too long" and declare that someone else lost and is in the middle. Everyone has to accept it and roll with it. It's a form of getting each other's backs. I prefer to play that dynamic from the outside--when I see that someone's been in the middle too long or too often and they're not enjoying themselves, I take a dive and put myself in. That's the most valuable part of the game to me.

[Matt]

I've seen this game layered in a number of different ways:

• If someone across the circle makes eye contact with you, swap places. If person in middle beats you to an empty space, you are now in the middle
  Wippity wippity WOP
  Call out a physical pose to a person, the person you point at and their left & right neighbors must make the pose before you count to ten, or five, or whatever
  Simultaneously play 'Whoosh', 'Soundball', or pass colored space balls
  Add a 'complete the rhyme' game, a la Beastie Rap. If the person you set up the rhyme for doesn't get it, they are in the middle.
  Multiple middle people

[nadine]

And there was a variation with dirty stuff.. I can't remember, but it makes me think of Christina de Roos.

[ErikAdams]

It's a form of getting each other's backs. I prefer to play that dynamic from the outside--when I see that someone's been in the middle too long or too often and they're not enjoying themselves, I take a dive and put myself in. That's the most valuable part of the game to me.

This game tends to make me really nervous, so I'll try to keep this in mind the next time I play.

[acrouch]

And of course, if I say "bop" instead of the fully "bippity bippity bop" and you say "bop" anyway, I have effectively psyched you out and you're now in the middle.

[beardedlamb]

this is easily my favorite warm-up because it's challenging, fun, open-source, and supports many of the principles of good improv. over the years i've been doing it, it's evolved and changed in so many ways, such that even after doing it 5 days in a row, it was never boring because there was always some new variation invented along the way. not alot games have that same malleability.

[York99]

You gotta throw in the other stuff:
Washing machine
Airplane
Charlie's Angels
and more!