Credits & lineage
Play travels through people. Credit should travel with it.
These records distinguish a named source, a documented version, and a broader tradition. A reference does not automatically identify the first inventor, establish permission, or imply endorsement. Source links point back to the people and organisations whose work helps make the activity understandable.
Playformation summaries, prompts and timings may differ from the referenced versions. Unknown origins stay explicitly unresolved. No trademark status is inferred from an activity’s popularity.
Reviewed October 19, 2026. This is a best-effort source review, not an exhaustive rights or trademark clearance. AI did the initial research. We’re sorry for any inaccuracies. Suggest an edit using the contact form ↗. Please include the activity name and supporting source.
Download the credit register (JSON) ↓
Weather Report
Shared check-in practice; original creator not established.
Erica Marx documents a related weather-metaphor check-in and acknowledges that similar versions may predate hers. This link credits that documented variation, not sole invention of the general practice.
Hopes & Concerns
Shared contracting and dialogue practice; original creator not established.
A documented dialogue version, not evidence of first invention. Playformation uses its own brief prompts.
Name & Gesture
Traditional theatre warm-up; original creator not established.
Related practitioner version credited as a reference, not as the original invention.
Failure Bow
Matt Smith, who teaches and presents The Failure Bow.
Short Playformation facilitation summary. This credit does not establish exclusive invention or ownership of all bowing-to-failure practices.
Zip Zap Zop
Traditional theatre game. UT Austin documents a version with source credit to Michael Rohd.
Rohd is credited for the documented source; sole invention of the wider game is not claimed. The Failure Bow extension is credited to Matt Smith.
The linked reference is not a blanket reuse license for its text.
Group Machine
Theatre-game tradition; UT Austin cites Viola Spolin for its Machine version.
Playformation facilitation adaptation of the shared machine exercise; no claim of exclusive invention.
Mirror
Viola Spolin, Improvisation for the Theater; mirroring also appears in wider theatre traditions.
- Viola Spolin: official legacy site ↗
- Gary Schwartz: first-hand account of Spolin teaching the mirror ↗
A concise Playformation adaptation, not a reproduction of the book. Attribution identifies this lineage without claiming every mirror exercise began with Spolin.
Gift Giving
Shared improv exercise. UT Austin credits Chris Vine for its documented Gift Giving version.
Playformation uses the receiver-names-the-gift variation. Chris Vine is credited for the documented teaching source; sole invention is not established.
Silent Seeing
Related to contemplative and authentic-relating practices; exact lineage unresolved.
A definitive source for this exact version has not yet been established.
The supplied prototype named a broad tradition but no specific creator. No definitive source for this exact two-minute exercise was established in this review.
Count to Twenty
Traditional ensemble concentration game; original creator not established.
Farmer is credited for the documented teaching reference, not as the claimed inventor.
One Word at a Time
Keith Johnstone, Word-at-a-Time Story.
Concise Playformation summary and reflection prompt, not a licensed Theatresports performance format.
Keith Johnstone’s site identifies Theatresports™ and other named performance formats as protected brands. This generic exercise listing does not claim a licence to those formats.
One to Three
After Augusto Boal’s Two by Three by Bradford.
- UT Austin: Two by Three by Bradford, source citation Augusto Boal ↗
- Augusto Boal: Games for Actors and Non-Actors, publisher ↗
Playformation variation using clap, jump and sound substitutions; the source title and author remain credited.
Yes, And… Party Planning
Shared improv acceptance practice; UT Austin cites Viola Spolin for its Yes, AND… version.
Party-planning scenario and round order are Playformation variations. No sole inventor of all Yes, And exercises is claimed.
Cross Your Arms
Widely circulated change-management exercise; original creator not established.
A definitive source for this exact version has not yet been established.
A single creator or canonical source for this exact version has not been established. This is not a claim that the activity is in the public domain.
Nine Dots
Early published versions are associated with Sam Loyd and A. Cyril Pearson (1907).
Historical publication credit, not proof of joint invention. The reference links to the early publications. No ownership claim is made for the generic puzzle.
Lifeline Drawing
Shared life-review and timeline practice; exact exercise origin not established.
A definitive source for this exact version has not yet been established.
A single creator or canonical source for this exact version has not been established. This is not a claim that the activity is in the public domain.
What? So What? Now What?
Liberating Structures: Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless (original repertoire); Keith McCandless and Nancy White (2026 Fieldbook).
Playformation adaptation: shorter sequence, digital lanes, clustered notes and personal commitments. This is an adaptation rather than the complete Liberating Structure. Earlier versions of source materials may have different terms.
This Playformation W3 activity adaptation, including its Flavor Finder summary and W3-inspired Targeted Debrief Deck prompts, is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Keep this attribution, source links and adaptation notice with further copies. This license applies to that activity content, not the whole site.
ORID Focused Conversation
Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA); R. Brian Stanfield, editor of The Art of Focused Conversation.
- ICA Associates: Focused Conversation Method ↗
- ICA Associates: ORID facilitation training ↗
- ICA USA: Technology of Participation (ToP)® ↗
Independent Playformation prompts following the Objective, Reflective, Interpretive and Decisional sequence. This is not a substitute for ICA training.
No open-content licence or permission to reproduce ICA question libraries is asserted here.
ICA USA identifies Technology of Participation (ToP)® as its branded system. Playformation does not imply ICA endorsement or certification.
One Takeaway: Have a Go
Studio-specific debrief prompts in the supplied prototype.
A definitive source for this exact version has not yet been established.
Studio-specific reflection prompts. Exact authorship has not been independently established; no separate named creator is asserted.
Why Did We Switch?
Studio-specific debrief prompts in the supplied prototype.
A definitive source for this exact version has not yet been established.
Studio-specific reflection prompts for adapting to a group. A named external creator has not been established.
4Ls
Mary Gorman and Ellen Gottesdiener (2010).
Playformation adaptation of the four reflection categories: Liked, Learned, Lacked and Longed For. No broader open-content licence is asserted.
Rose, Bud, Thorn
Scouting reflection tradition; LUMA Institute documents the Rose, Thorn, Bud design-method adaptation.
LUMA describes its adaptation from scouting practice. This is source lineage, not a claim that LUMA invented all rose/bud/thorn reflections. Playformation changes the order and uses brief prompts.
Head, Heart, Hands
Broader holistic-learning tradition. Related research: Yona Sipos, Bryce Battisti and Kurt Grimm (2008).
The paper supports the head/hands/heart learning framework. It does not establish these researchers as creators of this exact debrief or its gesture sequence. Playformation prompts are an adaptation.
Spectrogram
Related to J. L. Moreno’s sociometry tradition.
The link establishes the professional lineage, not authorship of this particular 0–10 facilitation exercise. The exact origin of this version remains unresolved.
Frozen Tableau
Shared tableau practice; this adaptation is informed by Augusto Boal’s Image Theatre.
- Augusto Boal: Games for Actors and Non-Actors, publisher ↗
- UT Austin: Frozen Picture / Stage Picture ↗
Frozen images predate this Studio. Boal is credited for the Image Theatre influence; not every frozen tableau is claimed to be his invention.
One-Word Whip
Shared closing-round practice; original creator not established.
CASEL documents a related practice. This credits its reference, not sole invention of one-word rounds.
Front-Page Headline
Shared headline and gallery-walk reflection practice; exact creator not established.
A definitive source for this exact version has not yet been established.
A single creator or canonical source for this exact version has not been established. This is not a claim that the activity is in the public domain.
Gifts & Appreciations
Shared appreciation and closing-circle practices; exact creator not established.
A definitive source for this exact version has not yet been established.
The prototype referenced appreciative inquiry broadly. This exact exercise has not been traced to a named appreciative-inquiry creator.
Open to the Shift
Studio prompts inspired by Otto Scharmer’s Theory U and the Presencing Institute.
Independent short debrief prompts, not a reproduced Presencing tool or an official Theory U programme.
The Institute applies CC BY-SA 4.0 to materials specifically marked for that licence. This reference does not claim that all its materials or trademarks are freely licensed.
The Presencing Institute identifies Theory U, Presencing, u-lab and its name as trademarks. These names identify the inspiration only; no endorsement is implied.
Postcard to Future Self
Shared transfer-of-learning practice; original creator not established.
Stanchfield is credited for her published practitioner version. This is a documented reference rather than a sole-inventor claim.
Plus / Delta
Shared improvement and debriefing method; original creator not established.
Research reference for the method, not an origin claim. Playformation uses independently worded reflection prompts.