I Can Do Better/Anything You Can Do

How to Play

Two teams compete within a single scene. A player can challenge a choice by calling “I can do better!” If the referee accepts the challenge and likes the replacement, the challenger takes over that role.

1. Start the scene. The referee chooses a starting team and gets an audience suggestion. That team begins a scene while the other team watches for opportunities to challenge.
2. Make a challenge. A player from the other team calls “I can do better!” The scene pauses, and the referee asks what they can do better. The challenger names a specific action or choice they want to improve.
3. Get permission to try. If the referee wants to see the proposed improvement, the challenger taps out the relevant player and attempts the action in their place. If the referee declines, resume the scene with its current cast.
4. Judge the attempt. If the referee deems the attempt better, the challenger stays in the role and the scene continues. If the referee disagrees, the tapped-out player returns and the scene continues with them.
5. Keep challenging. Continue the same scene, allowing further challenges from the opposing team. End when the referee calls the game, ideally on a strong scene ending or a successful final challenge.

A successful challenge changes who plays a character; keep that character's relationships and the scene's situation intact as the new player takes over.

Improv Tovarisch’s game reference emphasizes observing a specific choice and showing an alternative without dismissing the other performer. Apply that approach within the referee-led format above: challenge the action or delivery, then demonstrate your proposed improvement.

Examples

The scene is a restaurant. A server presents the day's special with a plain “Here's your soup.”

CHALLENGER: “I can do better!”

REFEREE: “What can you do better?”

CHALLENGER: “I can present that soup more dramatically.”

REFEREE: “Let's see it.”

The challenger taps out the server, takes the role, and delivers an elaborate royal proclamation announcing the soup. If the referee accepts it as better, the new server stays and the customer responds within the scene. If the referee rejects it, the original server returns and carries on.

Other challenges can target emotion or delivery: “I can look more shocked by that bill” or “I can make that apology more awkward.”

Player Tips

• Challenge a specific choice the audience just saw. Make the proposed improvement clear before attempting it.
• Describe the alternative rather than criticizing the performer: “I can greet that customer more enthusiastically” gives everyone something to play, while “I can act better” does not.
• Give the referee a visible or audible change to judge: a bigger gesture, a stronger emotion, or a more distinctive delivery.
• Continue the character and story after a successful challenge so the game still feels like one scene.
• Let choices land before challenging them. Watch and listen rather than planning an unrelated bit.
• Accept the referee's decision promptly and keep the scene moving.

Host Tips

• Explain both outcomes: an accepted attempt keeps the challenger in the scene; a rejected attempt brings the original player back.
• Ask “What can you do better?” before authorizing a tap-out. Get a clear proposal so the audience knows what to judge.
• Give the challenger enough room to demonstrate the improvement, then make a clear, quick ruling.
• Keep the competition playful. Redirect vague or personal challenges toward a specific action the player can demonstrate.
• Balance challenges with time for the scene to develop. End on a strong payoff before the exchanges become repetitive.