The latest blog entries. Our icebreakers blog features interesting articles, reviews, and advice. For example, check out our two-part series below for the best icebreakers for when you go on a date!
We are happy to announce New Game Wednesdays! Every Wednesday, we will add at least one brand new, expert approved icebreaker game. This week’s new game is Human Rock Paper Scissors. This active game is hilarious — it’s played in teams and it involves using your whole body to act out a big rock, a paper, or a pair of scissors. Give this game a try!
Also feel free to contact us and suggest new brand new icebreaker games!
One of our good friends, Joe, has just launched a brand new site: Party Games Guide! We love the website so much that we want to help his website take off! To celebrate the launch, we’re giving away a brand new iPad retina mini (up to $500 value) to a lucky winner.
How to win it? The rules are simple — just share a link to the Party Games website on your blog or website and email us with the link to your webpage, and you’re entered for the random drawing! It only takes a minute to enter.
Three steps to entering the iPad Contest. Just visit the site, share it with others, and email us!
It’s back to school time! Are you a teacher or professor getting ready for the upcoming school year? Don’t forget that classroom icebreakers are one of the best ways to get your students to open up and be more engaged. I’ve been teaching students of all ages for well over a decade — for me, it’s clear that icebreakers can make a huge difference! This article will give you some of my favorite recommendations for classroom activities.
Beginning of the School Year? Consider an introduction game.
At the beginning of the school year, sometimes students are very shy and reluctant to speak up. During this time, students may not know each other and may feel uncomfortable. Some icebreakers are especially helpful for getting people to know each other better through fun introduction activities. For example, the Blanket Game can get students to know each others’ names and faces quickly. The famous Two Truths and a Lie can quickly get people to discover amazing things about each other. To build common ground, Unique and Shared can get students to discover what they have in common with others in the room.
Sometimes the simplest icebreakers can be elegant and quick-and-easy. Candy Introductions requires just a couple bags of candy to play. Icebreaker Questions can break the ice with some interesting questions to get students to go beyond the superficial. Once students start sharing about themselves in the classroom, it makes it much easier for them to feel comfortable participating in class activities.
Getting Students to Voice Their Opinions
One of our favorite games to get students to express where they stand on various issues is the Extremes: Where Do You Stand? game, making use of the classroom space itself in a visual way. Four Corners is another good game that takes advantage of the corners of the room.
Are you a classroom teacher? We’d love to hear from you what your favorite icebreakers. Which ones do you find to be most successful? Let us know!
In last week’s blog post, we took a look at some of the best icebreakers for date night, which took a look at icebreaker questions to help you get to know each other better and after-date game activities to create a memorable experience. We continue today with Part Two: Icebreaker Games for Every Situation!
1. If you want your date to feel like you have a lot in common
Some good conversation starters for a date include getting a sense of a person’s favorite childhood shows. You could ask something like, “Which cartoon character do you relate to the most?” or “If you were a character on the TV show Friends, who would you be?” Once you find out, you can enjoy laughing at their personality type. We recommend these additional good icebreaker questions to help you understand each other more. Remember, keep your date talking about himself or herself! This is key to getting them to feel comfortable with you. Don’t blab on and on about yourself.
2. If you want your date to know interesting things you’ve done
Good icebreakers might include Never Have I Ever, to get a sense of what crazy or interesting things a person might have done or not done. You can quickly get a sense if someone is the adventurous type, or if they haven’t done a lot of ridiculous things! Two Truths and a Lie can also help you get to know each other more in a fun way. Getting to know each other in this way can quickly break the ice and help you feel closer!
3. If you want your date to think you are funny
There are many activities you can do for a hilarious date night. For more adult-oriented fun, consider playing a game like Cards Against Humanity. The more you can keep the laughs going, the more he or she will enjoy being with you. Everyone likes being with someone with a good sense of humor!
4. If you want your date to get to know your deep, sensitive side
You can ask your date some questions to help them understand you and have them open up with what makes them tick. For example, asking them: “If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?” or “If every job paid the same amount of money, what would you do?” are great questions for getting a sense of what is important to them.
Try these icebreaker activities on your next date and he or she won’t think of you as a boring person. Good luck and enjoy your date night!
Dear Icebreakers Family,
This has been a challenging time for everyone. We hope you and your family are doing well — staying safe and healthy.
Do you need activities to play while you are isolated at home? Games can be one of the best ways to connect with friends as a social experience and to enjoy quality time with family and others who you might not be able to see face-to-face.
During such a difficult time, we wanted to provide a collection of some of the best FREE activities that are fun, social and engaging. We recommend using a videoconference tool like Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc.) while playing the game so that you can more easily talk and see faces.
In no particular order, here is our list:
Special thanks to our friends at Learning Theories for providing this guide.
So, it’s date night. Afraid that your date will be snoozevilles, or that you won’t know what to say? Never fear. Icebreakers.Ws will be your guide for the best date night conversation icebreakers. This series will help you with some hilarious or memorable dates that can help you stand out from most of the other (boring!) people. Perhaps you’re having a cup of coffee or are sharing a nice meal together. We’ll start with some great icebreaker questions that are guaranteed to get you and your date talking. Start with these five:
Then, after your high quality date night conversation, keep the humor going with a date night game that continues to break the ice. Our favorite game for getting to know each other might be the Ungame, a great Question-and-Answer activity. Or more awkward laughs (and some physical contact), try the classic game of Twister to break the ice! You can buy it now at our online store. 
Unfortunately, this year has been a challenging time during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Many classes have been moved to online, with videoconferencing software like Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams being used for teaching and learning sessions.
While the virus keeps everyone home and people are “social distancing,” there is a growing need for more virtual icebreakers to help people socialize and games that can be played while people are online. We’ve collected (and will keep updating!) our list of online activities and games that are well suited during this difficult time.
A good virtual icebreaker should be playable online, free or cheap, and should involve participation from everyone.
Many of our 100+ icebreaker games can be adapted for online play, especially our “Get to Know You” type games, but not all of them — like the ones where people need to run around. But some virtual icebreakers take advantage of the affordances of videoconferencing, like the ability to change your background image or to use breakout rooms in creative ways.
So let’s say you want to use an activity or fun experience to help break the ice or entertain folks. What are some recommendations?
Online Icebreaker Games to try over Zoom videoconference
Elipsis (Dot dot dot) Game — is a simple guessing game similar to Loaded Questions that can be played over Zoom. All players change their screen name to “…” and one takes turns asking questions like “What is your dream?” or “What did you eat this morning for breakfast?” Everyone connected in Zoom types in their answer in the Chat window. Each person takes turns guessing who typed in what. It’s fun!
Skribbl.io is a fun online multiplayer drawing game similar to Pictionary. Draw a clue and earn points if others can correctly guess it quickly.
GeoGuessr.com is a Google Maps-based guessing game in which you are placed within a 360 degree image of somewhere in the world and get more points if you can correctly guess where you are. Custom maps and educational modes are also available, making it a pretty fun activity.
Zoom Jam featured a competition in which many brainstormed several game ideas that work great at a distance. For instance, 24 Hours in Atlantis is a clever story-based game involving challenges that a group must tackle in order to find the lost treasure room of Atlantic.
Board and tabletop games
Board Game Arena and Tabletopia are two excellent services that allow people to play tabletop games. Games include digitized versions of famous board games like Settlers of Catan, Colt Express, Seven Wonders, 8 Nimmt and many other tabletop games, ranging from simple to complex.
Know of other games that you recommend during these challenging times? We’re constantly updating this guide. Share it with your friends!
