Fun Icebreaker Ideas & Activities

Author: kafash

  • Line Up Game

    Line Up! is a fun icebreaker that can be useful for camps, workplace bonding, or other large group events.  Work together as a team to arrange yourselves in a line based on a quality you have that is not obviously apparent. Examples of qualities to arrange to are alphabetically by middle name, chronologically according to birth date, or house number. Younger children could try something easier, such as arranging by height, because they may not all be able to recite the months of the year. This icebreaker starts as chaos, and ends with order as all participants work together to discover the facts they need and arrange themselves accordingly.

    Line Up works best in a large open space where participants can move around freely. This is an icebreaker that is ideal for very large groups because the leadership required scales appropriately with the number of players.  Smaller groups can still use this icebreaker, but the game is not as difficult with under 10 participants. Line Up is an engaging activity that can help group facilitators pinpoint natural leaders that emerge as the game is played, although every participant is an important part of the game.

    Materials

    To play the Line Up icebreaker, you will need:

    • A large open space for participants to move around
    • A list of qualities for the players to line up according to

    How To Play

    1. Call the group to order. Explain the rules of the game and explain the quality that they will line up according to. For example, line up in the order of your birthdays, with January 1 being the furthest to the left and December 31 being the furthest to the right.
    2. Do not help the group or give them hints as to how to organize themselves. Participants may use any objects available in the room to help them if they request them.
    3. When the group believes that the line up is correct, they will start at one end and call off their birthdays. Down the line, every participant will name off their date. The game is won if the line is correct.
    4. If the line is incorrect, give the players another quality to line up to and allow them to try again.

    Tips and Notes

    The tricky part of this game is getting a group of people who don’t know each other to establish leadership. If no one steps forward and starts to make leadership decisions, it will be very difficult for the players to line up. If too many people step forward with opposing leadership strategies, it will be difficult to find cohesion as each leader struggles to get buy in from the rest of the group.

    Line Up works particularly well with groups of people who don’t know each other. In a group that is more familiar with one another, it won’t take long for them to decide the leaders because they have previous experience with each other’s leadership skills.

  • Tall Tales “Suddenly” Story

    Spin fantastic yarns — amazing stories — with this engaging group activity. Each person will tell three sentences of a story and end with the word “suddenly…” The next person will then have to pick up the story and add three sentences of their own.

    Tall Tales encourages the players to think on their feet and connect to the story that has already been told, which trying to stump the next person to speak. Everyone gets a turn to talk in this icebreaker, so quiet group members have an equal chance to participate. Tall Tales doesn’t require any movement and is therefore able to fit in a room of any size.

    Tall Tales is an icebreaker for groups ages 10 and up. Children younger than 10 may not have the storytelling ability to play and enjoy this game. This icebreaker can be adapted for groups of any size, although it’s not recommended to play with over 25 people. For smaller group, the story can continue around the room until you are satisfied with the icebreaker or the group gets stuck.

    Materials

    To play Tall Tales, you will need:

      • Nothing!

    Optional- You may want to have a couple of story starters on hand in case the group gets stuck and needs to start again. See Tips and Notes for story starter ideas.

    How To Play Tall Tales

    1. Explain the rules to the game. Subject material should remain appropriate to the group level.
    2. Designate a person to start the game or read one of the story starters provided below. End with the word “suddenly…”
    3. The next person picks up the story and tells three more sentences, taking the story in any direction they’d like. After three sentences, they end with the word, “suddenly…”
    4. The game continues until one of the following happens:
    • Every player gets a turn and the game has filled the time allotted.
    • Every player gets several turns and the game has filled the time allotted.
    • The players gets stuck, in which case you can either pass to the next person or start a new story.

    Tips and Notes

    Encourage players to make their stories twist and turn. Challenge each player to try to stump the person next to them.

    If players have difficulty coming up with three sentences, give each sentence an objective to help get their creativity flowing. The first sentence should introduce the new scenario (the thing that suddenly happened). The second sentence should add to the story with narration, description, or backstory. The third sentence should begin to move the story in another direction, ending with suddenly…

    Here are two sample story starters.

    Jane liked to help her parents on the family’s farm, and caring for the chickens was her favorite chore. Every morning she would feed the chickens and collect fresh eggs as soon as she got out of bed and before she had eaten breakfast. But this morning, she heard a strange noise before she entered the chicken coop. Suddenly…

    Jake had never had a pen pal before, so when the strange letter addressed to “My Friend” came in the mail, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. He opened the letter carefully, noting there was no return address. He read the first line of the letter, “Dear Jake.” Suddenly…

  • Interview Game

    Spend three minutes finding three interesting facts about a partner, then discuss them as a group. Interviewers will ask pointed, specific questions and subjects will answer them to the best of their ability. Afterwards, the interviewer will report to the rest of the group about what they learned.

    This icebreaker is a good way to spark conversation in quiet groups that may be intimidated by public speaking or more active icebreakers. It works reasonably well with groups that don’t have space to move around, although spreading out is ideal for this icebreaker.

    Interview is an icebreaker for mid-sized groups (8-15 people) and works best with groups aged 10 and up. Younger children may have difficulty thinking of questions to ask their partner and identifying interesting facts. Larger or smaller groups can use this icebreaker, but it will start to run long and loud the more people participating. Smaller groups can use Interview, but groups will likely be able to hear one another, which leads to cross-talk and derails the purpose of the icebreaker.

    Materials

    To play the Interview icebreaker, you will need:

    • Paper for each pair to jot notes on
    • 1 pen or pencil per pair
    • Watch or clock to time the activity
    • Flip chart or whiteboard (optional)
    • Permanent marker or dry erase marker (optional)

    How To Play the Interview Game

    1. Divide the group into pairs. A group with an odd number of participants can have one group of three, or the odd person can partner with the group leader. Spread out as much as possible so that each partners can hear each other speak.
    2. Each group will need to decide who is going to be the “interviewer” and who will be the “subject.” Everyone will eventually play both roles, so it doesn’t really matter who goes first.
    3. Give the group three minutes for each interviewer to learn three interesting facts about their subject by asking specific questions. Do not allow them to ask, “What are three interesting facts about you?” Good questions examples are: Where did you grow up? What was your favorite class in high school? What do you like to do in your spare time?
    4. After three minutes has passed, bring the players together and allow one interviewer at a time to explain what interesting facts they discovered. Jot down notes on a whiteboard or flip chart next to each subject’s name, which helps name recognition and sparks later conversation.
    5. Once every group has shared their facts, have the participants switch roles and repeat steps 3 and 4.

    Tips and Notes

    Watch the time! It can be very easy for participants to get into detailed conversations or launch into monologue about their interesting facts. Emphasize that facts should be delivered to the group in the form of one intriguing sentence, not a detailed explanation.

    The Interview Game gets noisy with lots of people talking in small groups. This icebreaker works best in a larger room where participants have a chance to spread out, and where high levels of noise won’t bother anyone.

  • Word Chains

    Test memory skills and on the spot thinking with Word Chains, a highly adaptable icebreaker for smaller groups. Players will sit in a circle and list words in a category. They must remember the words said previously and think of unique words to add. This icebreaker challenges memory skills and is great for players of any age. Word Chains naturally gets more difficult the longer it’s played. This means that players will be able to take the game to their skill level organically.

    One variation of Word Chains is to start the game with the phrase, “I’m going on a picnic and I’m going to bring…” Each player would add an item to the list after listing everything that came before. Any category of object can be used for Word Chains, such as types of fruit, state names, football teams, colors, items of clothing, and country music singers. The game can be made more difficult for older audiences by requiring that the words are in alphabetical order, although vaguer categories should be used to allow players flexibility to find all the words.

    Materials

    • Pencil and Paper. You may find the game more interesting if you take notes and track the phrase, or to act as mediator in case disputes arise.
    • List of categories or rule variations to try
    • 30-second timer

    How To Play Word Chains

    1. Arrange the participants in a circle and explain the rules of the game, any variations, and the theme of the word chain.
    2. Start the word chain yourself or designate someone as the start of the chain. Example: Theme – types of fruit. First word in the chain: Apple.
    3. The second person will have to repeat the chain, and add a unique word that fits the category. Example: Apple, Watermelon.
    4. Each person will have 30 seconds after correcting reciting the chain to add another new word.
    5. The icebreaker can be repeated with different categories or with different rule variations to make the game more challenging.
    6. The chain is broken when a player cannot correctly recite the chain or can’t think of a word to add to it within 30 seconds.

    Tips and Notes

    For a more competitive spin, don’t end the game when someone makes a mistake. Instead, that person can sit out and the game can continue until you find the champion of Word Chains.

    Feel free to adapt Word Chains to your group’s level.

    • Asking the group to think of words in alphabetical order makes it easier to remember the word chain and more difficult to think of a new word.
    • Asking players to start each word with the letter that ends the word before it makes it more difficult to both remember the chain and think of a new word.
    • Instead of category, players could list groups of words with 3 letters, or groups of words with 2 syllables, etc.

  • Would You Rather? Game

    Ask the group to decide what they would rather do given two possible options. Take a poll, and then lead a short debate between the merits and disadvantages of each option. The questions can range from silly, to gross, to impossibly cool. This icebreaker can also be adapted to fit a theme, such as a holiday or study unit. Would You Rather is a dynamic activity that makes people think on their feet and gives insight into their priorities.

    Would You Rather is a good icebreaker for large or small groups and is most effective in 10 to 40 minutes sessions. This highly adaptable activity can easily be made age appropriate for young children, adolescents, and even adults. Small groups could use this activity in more of a debate style, while bigger groups might call out reasons for choosing one or the other. The goal of the icebreaker is to initial conversations across the group and for participants to discover things they have in common that might not be obvious otherwise.

    Materials for the Would You Rather Icebreaker

    To play the Would You Rather icebreaker, you will need:

    • The list of Would You Rather questions
    • A writing utensil to keep count

    How To Play

    1. Make your list of questions. Would You Rather is easy to adapt to any event, grade level, or theme. The game can be played in a more formal or informal setting. See Tips and Notes for question ideas.
    2. Call the group together and explain your chosen rules. Designate one side of the room “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
    3. Ask each question and ask participants to move to one side of the room or the other, depending on which option they “would rather.”
    4. Have each side explain their reasoning behind their decision. In a more formal game or a larger group, you could give each side a few moments to consult as a group and present their top three reasons for their choice. In a less formal game or smaller group, each person could say their top reason for their choice.
    5. After each group has had their say, move everyone back to the middle for their next question.
    6. Repeat steps 3 to 5.

    Tips and Notes

    Here are some question ideas to get you started.

    The Impossible

    • Would you rather be 10 feet tall or 10 inches tall?
    • Would you rather live in outer space or at the bottom of the ocean?
    • Would you rather be able to fly or able to run 50 mph?

    Gross Out

    • Would you rather swallow a bug or lick a frog?
    • Would you rather sit in a room with a snake or a tarantula?
    • Would you rather be bitten by a werewolf or a zombie?

    Make You Think

    • Would you rather travel 100 years back in history or 100 years into the future?
    • Would you rather live in the desert or in the Arctic?
    • Would you rather live forever or be remembered forever?