RUEN

Sideways

A scene game where the back wall becomes the floor and the real floor becomes a wall. Players sell the shifted gravity with full-body contact points, turning mundane actions into striking physical comedy.

Players

2–6

Difficulty

Beginner

Full description

Setup and Launch

Explain the convention: the back wall is the floor, the real floor is a wall. When a character stands, the actor lies flat on the ground. When a character lies down, the actor stands pressed against the back wall. Have everyone practice selling their contact points -- palms flat, feet planted -- so the shifted gravity reads instantly without explanation.

Clear a safe zone near the back wall. Remove anything sharp or obstructive and lay down mats if available. Bring out two or three players, give a simple scene suggestion, and allow 10-15 seconds to calibrate. Let them try walking along the wall, turning corners, picking something up from the floor-wall. The rest of the team watches for visual clarity.

Play

The host keeps the single down axis pointing toward the back wall and edits the scene as long as the world rule stays clear.

  1. Suggestion and entry. Start with a grounded setting -- a kitchen, a park bench. Nothing acrobatic yet. One player establishes the rhythm of walking along the wall; the second enters, mirroring the same axis.

  2. Maintaining the physics. Everything falls toward the back wall. Objects rest on the wall surface. Doors swing in the plane of the floor-wall. If the logic breaks, call a freeze, reset poses quickly, and resume.

  3. Comic discoveries. This is where the game shines. Encourage images the audience can't see in normal scenes: a character hanging upside down from a chandelier while the actor just stands there. Someone turning into a bat clinging to the ceiling. A glass of water poured upward. When a strong image lands, hold the beat, let the audience absorb it, then edit or tag out.

  4. Rotation and pacing. Swap players every 45-90 seconds or inject a new location to keep energy high. Watch safe distances and make sure contact points stay visible to the house.

Key rules

  • Safety first: clear the back wall area, check the floor surface, lay down mats if needed, and assign a spotter to watch for collisions.

  • One gravity axis, no exceptions: if someone breaks the orientation, freeze the scene, reset contact points, then continue. A single slip kills the illusion for the whole audience.

  • Sell the contact points: feet and palms pressed flat, weight visibly committed. If the audience can't see where the actor touches the "floor," the image falls apart.

  • Object work obeys the same rule: things "rest" on the wall and "fall" toward the back. If a prop creates confusion, drop it and simplify the action immediately.

  • Short bursts, frequent rotation: play 45-90 second segments and swap players to keep energy up and avoid physical fatigue — this game is more tiring than it looks.

Context

🧺 Cart