Fun Icebreaker Ideas & Activities

Category: Classroom Icebreaker

  • Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors Game

    Battle it out to see who is the rock, paper, scissors champion of the group — as the losers of each mini-round cheer the remaining winners on!

    This game works best for ages 12 and up.  It’s recommended for large or extra large groups of 15+ people.

    Setup for Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors

    No special materials are required to play this game, making it convenient and free to play.

    How to play Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors

    1. Have each member of the group pair up for the first round of rock, paper, scissors. If there is an odd number, add the odd person out to another pair and have them do a quick knock-out match to form a pair. Alternatively, you can ask for a volunteer to participate as a referee with you.
    2. Everyone should be in pairs. Ask them to play 3 games, and the best 2 out of 3 will be the winner. You should act as a referee during this time in case there are any disputes or confusions.
    3. Instruct the losers of the first match to start cheering the name of the person who beat them and following that person around to their next game.
    4. Have all the winners pair up and face off against each other while the ones they beat are cheering for them. When one winner beats the other, all the people behind the losing player should start cheering for the winning player.
    5. Repeat this process in elimination, tournament style, until there are only two players left. Each should have a large group of people cheering them on from their previous wins. Let them play the final match. The game is over after one player wins the final match.
    6. (Optional): If you have an odd number of people and you want to reset the game and play again, have the winner of the last game stand aside as a referee with you to give another player the chance to win instead.

    Winning the game:

    The last person standing in this tournament is the winner. They must not lose against any player from the beginning to the end of the game. At the end, the winning player should have all the other players cheering for them. A small prize can be awarded to the winner if you choose, otherwise you can reset the game and play again.

  • Picture Whispers Game

    The Picture Whispers game is sort of like Pictionary mixed with the Telephone Game. Picture Whispers actually has some advantages over Pictionary. First, all players get to draw at the same time, and then get to guess at the same time, in phases, which means more game for everyone involved. Second, the game concludes with each player revealing sequentially all stage of drawings and guesses in their notepad, sharing with the group a short, absurd story of misunderstanding, non-sequitur, and debatable artistic merit. This reveal is similar in effect to — and has all the hilarity of — popular group storytelling game Consequences, or this collaborative drawing game.

    Play Picture Whispers with at least four players, and up to as many as you like, though as the game gets longer for every additional person in the chain, so if you have many more than ten it may be best to end the game after a certain number of passes (say, ten) rather than play all the way to the end of the circle. You could also split a large group into two smaller circles.

    Set-up:

    • All players sit in a circle, or around a table.
    • All players are given:
      • A small notebook or several small sheets of paper
      • A writing utensil.
      • Optional: Some item to be used as a bookmark, to mark which the current page is in case the notepad is closed, would also be useful.

    Rules:

    Each player will choose a word or phrase to write on the first page of their notebook. This could be an object, a person, a place, a concept, the title of a book or movie, or pretty much anything. Players are free to write something as sober, silly or lewd as they want — paying all respect to the company they are in, of course. Remember that some words are harder to express in pictures that others.

    Each player writes that word on the first page of their notebook, and passes their notebook to the player on their left. Be sure that nobody but the player on your left sees your notebook. Also be sure that nobody looks back through the notebook to see what was written or drawn by previous players.

    Now each player turns to the next page of their notebook, and draws an interpretation of the word they were passed. If the word on the first page of the notebook was “fairy”, you should now turn the page and draw a fairy, as best you can.

    Each player passes their notebook to the left again, looks at the drawing on the notebook they have just been passed from their right, and guesses what the word that inspired that drawing might be. Hopefully, the player who has just been passed a picture of a fairy writes “fairy”… but maybe that picture looks more like an “angel”, or “Tinkerbell”, or “Doctor Octopus”.

    Play proceeds in this manner, with every player alternately drawing a picture based on a work, or guessing a word based on a picture, until each notebook is passed back to its original owner (ie. the player that wrote the word on the first page).

    Now, in turn, each player reveals to the rest of the table, from the first page with the original word to the last used page, the contents of their notebook.

  • 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.

  • Frozen T-Shirt Race

    The Frozen T-Shirt Race is an ideal icebreaker game to be played outside on a hot summer day, and is a hit amongst younger players. It’s a true ice-breaker game, as the players will work together to literally break the ice on the t-shirt. The game’s objective is simple—you must thaw out, unfold, and wear a frozen t-shirt. Even though this game might sound easy, it’s a challenge to complete. The Frozen T-shirt Game can be played in groups or each player can receive their own shirt. Setting some restrictions on how the t-shirt can be thawed will make the game more competitive, and then you can really see players getting into it!

    Materials

    • Water
    • Freezer
    • Gallon freezer bags
    • Large t-shirts—the amount depending on the number of players
    • Cooler and ice (optional)

    Set-Up

    • Place each t-shirt in water—about two cups—and then wring it out. Too much water will prevent the t-shirt from thawing in a reasonable amount of time.
    • After the t-shirt has been wrung out, fold it neatly into a square, so that it fits inside the freezer bag. Once the shirt is folded flat, press it to squeeze out the remaining water.
    • Place the shirt in the bag, seal it, and lay the bag flatly into the freezer.
    • If you are playing the game at different location, then use a cooler filled with ice to keep them frozen.

    How to the Frozen T-shirt Game

    • Don’t reveal the game to the players’ prior, so that they will have to come up with the ideas on the spot, without getting an unfair advantage.
    • Assign the teams or individuals and pass out the frozen t-shirts. You don’t want more than 4 or 5 players on one team, as it will get too crowded.
    • The goal is for each player or team to use whatever he or she can to thaw a t-shirt enough to wear it.
    • Whoever gets their t-shirt on first wins! Their body must be completely in the t-shirt including head and arms, so that it’s worn normally.

    Variations

    Set some rules to make the game more challenging, such as:

    • All players must stay in the game area—the game area can be marked off with tape or other marking lines prior to starting.
    • No water or other liquids can be used to thaw out the t-shirt.
    • No machines such as a microwave, heater, dryer, etc. can be used to melt the ice on the t-shirt.
    • No sharp objects can be used on the t-shirt.
    • The t-shirt must remain intact and not destroyed in anyway—no holes, tears, etc.

  • Trust Course Game

    The Trust Course Game is perfect for individual and group bonding for new students, employees, or members of a group. It requires all players to pay attention to small details and trust each other. The Trust Course can be set up in an office space, but is easier to play outside in a safe location, preferably on grass. Since players are partnered together, groups of all sizes can play. Extra-large groups might be more difficult because the excess noise will distract players from giving or listening to commands. True to its name, this game is meant to build trust and reliance between players.

    Set-Up

    • Courses can be set-up before the game starting or players can set up their own course.
    • If the game is played outside, use trees, branches, cones, stones, and any other objects to form your course, but be sure to keep in mind that you don’t want anyone to get injured. Avoid using rope or objects easy to trip over.
    • Partner everyone up in the group.
    • Within the partners, select who will be blindfolded walking the course, and who will be giving directions. These roles can be switched, so both players get a turn.
    • Blindfold the player who will physically be doing the trust course without letting them seeing the set up prior.

    How to Play the Trust Course Game

    • Select the roles for the first round—director and blindfolded walker
    • If the course wasn’t already set up, then create the trust course. To make the game fair, one course can be used for each set of partners. If this route is chosen, then make sure the other groups can’t see the course or hear the commands, so they don’t have an unfair advantage when it’s their turn.
    • Direct the blindfolded player to walk slowly throughout the course to prevent injuries.
    • Give the blindfolded player thoughtful commands to make it through the course successfully without hitting any of the obstacles
    • The blindfolded player should listen carefully and only follow the directions given by their partner.

    Variations

    • If played in an office, classroom, or another setting, then use surrounding objects such as boxes, trashcans, brooms, pillows, erasers, and walls to create your course.
    • To make the game more challenging, limit the amount of commands players can give each other.
    • The course can be timed, so that players have to complete the course in a certain amount of time OR each partnership can be ranked based on time. After every pair has gone, those with the fastest time can earn first, second, third place, and so on.
    • Instead of walking, players can crawl through the course.
    • Set up checkpoints such as items to grab like a balloon or actions to do like hopping up and grabbing a leaf off a tree.

  • The Energy Game (Hands of Power)

    The Energy Game is a drama class warm-up exercise. One player starts by making a sound and a motion, such as a raising fist and growling, or spreading out their arms and roaring. In turn, each player amplifies the energy of this action, as it gets louder and louder around the group.

    Play the Energy Game

    • Everyone stands in a circle.
    • The first player makes a sound and a motion. For example, they might put their hand up and say “Umm”, or wrap their arms around themselves and shiver, or hide their head and whimper, or shake their finger and sigh. Everyone should be at ease doing whatever action and sound they feel like. This is an opportunity to be creative, but part of the beauty of the game is that the player who has the difficult job of starting things off only has to do so in a small and inconspicuous way. From here, things will only get louder.
    • The player to the right mimics the sound and the action of the first player, but they must increase the energy level of the action. The sound must be louder, and the gesture must be exaggerated.
    • Continue around the circle, with each player adding more energy. When everyone has had a turn, the starting player must do the action/sound combo once more at the highest intensity yet, to finish off the round.
    • Another player starts a new round with a new sound and gesture.

    Each player will naturally unleash the energy with a little of their own personality. This, combined with the increasingly absurd exaggeration and volume of the actions, can make for a very funny game. To outperform their peers each player will put aside any self-consciousness and be able to simply shout and show-off a little.

    When everyone has had a chance to be both loud and quiet, the group will be both more at ease with, and more receptive to, themselves and each other. This exercise gets endorphins flowing and smiles showing.

    Bonus Exercise: Hands of Power

    When your vocal cords have been stretched, take up this leading and following exercise for a different style of play. Also regularly deployed at the start of a drama lesson in schools, Hands of Power is a game of trust and awareness and is fun for all ages.

    Play

    • Make up pairs of players.
    • One player, the leading player, holds their hand in front of the other player’s face, so that the second player’s vision is obscured. The leading player starts moving around the room.
    • The second player must follow the first so that their face follows the first player’s hand. With a large group and lots of pairs moving around, this can get quite chaotic, and their are both concentration and trust elements to this game. It is the leader’s role to guide the follower safely around the room!
    • The leader might want to try raising their hand low and high or twisting their palm to see how their partner reacts.
    • After a minute or two, have the players switch roles in their pairs, so the leader becomes the follower and vice versa.

    There may be no winners in these exercises, but they’re still great fun.

  • The Bests

    Perhaps you have seen those TV game shows where two team of friends or family members nominate people in their team to participate in a number of challenges. If you have ever thought it would be fun to try that out, The Bests is the game for you.

    What sort of skills will you be tested in? How about the longest stare? The quickest at looking up words in a dictionary? The fastest at walking backwards? Yes, this is a quirky game of unusual challenges. From the list of many challenge suggestions below there will be something for everyone, and even if you team loses, the pure silliness of it all will still keep things fun. This makes The Bests equally excellent for a laugh among friends, or to break the ice around strangers.

    This game works best with groups of 8 to 20 players of any age.  For extra large groups, choose a smaller group of volunteers to play at the front of the room while everyone else watches.

    Set-Up

    • As the organizer (who will not be playing) gather some or all of these items: paper cups (six or more), a dictionary, a coin, a tape measure, chewing gum, a tennis ball, and/or a stopwatch. Check the list of challenges below to find out how you will be using this strange assortment of items! You can also come up with your own challenges, and if so make sure to get hold of any equipment you will need. Also get a pen and paper to record the results.  Randomly put players into groups of four or five.

    Play

    The organizer should start each round by announcing the first part of the name of the challenge.  For example, he or she could say “The measurement..” but don’t announce what is being measured quite yet! For example, for “The Fastest Cup Stacker” round, simply announce that this round is for “The Fastest.”

    Each team now puts forward one of their players to compete in the round, who they believe will be “The Fastest…” though they don’t yet know what they need to be the fastest at! Every player needs to be picked once before anyone is chosen to participate in a second round.

    When you have a player from each team for this round, reveal the full title of the round and explain how to play.

    Give all players the equipment they need, and, if needed, tell them when to start. Meanwhile, you should referee the round to determine who wins.  The winner of the round gets one point for their team.  When all challenges have been completed, read out the scoreboard in reverse order, finally announcing the winning team. Then break out the champagne!

    Challenges List

    The quickest… at finding a particular word in the dictionary.

    The biggest… head circumference.

    The fastest… at walking backwards.

    The longest… time you get a coin to spin with one touch.

    The strongest… at speed arithmetic (ask 10 math questions, and the team who gives the fastest correct answers most often wins the point).

    The best endurance… in a staring contest.

    The shortest… time it takes to sing the Alphabet song.

    The widest… bubble blown with bubble gum.

    The greatest… at stacking paper cups (they must stack a pyramid of 6 cups, then put all the cups together again, in the shortest amount of time).

    The tallest… throw with a ball that is caught (both players have a chance to throw the ball into the air and try to catch it — the highest throw that is also caught wins).

    The most… hair.

    … and feel free to make up your own crazy rounds, too!

     

     

  • Bang / The Gun Name Game

    To avoid getting shot, learn and remember names of the people in a group!

    Bang! or (The Gun Name Game) is a game of name-recall that works perfectly amongst strangers as an introductions game, but is also a game of reactions that can be played in groups of people that already know each other. Younger boys especially will love it, because any time spent pointing fingers as weapons and shouting “Bang!” is time well spent — and perhaps we don’t even have to be all that young!

    Bang! needs a big group to be played — ideally more than 12 people.  It takes just a few minutes.

    Rules

    1. Everyone arranges themselves in a circle.
    2. An organizer, who is not playing, calls out the name of somebody in the circle. For example, let us assume he called out the name “Frank”.
    3. Frank, upon hearing his name, must duck. The players to either side of Frank, upon hearing Frank’s name, must turn towards Frank with their fingers pointed into a pretend gun, and shout “Bang!”
    • If Frank failed to duck quickly enough, he has just been shot, and is eliminated from the game.
    • If Frank ducks to safety, but one player shouts “Bang!” faster than the other, the slower player is eliminated.
    • If Frank ducks to safety, and both players shout at the same time, all three are safe and nobody is eliminated.
    • If any player in the circle makes the mistake of ducking or shooting at the wrong time, they are eliminated.
    1. The organizer continues shouting names, as quickly as he can adjudicate the results, until only two players remain in the game.

    Finale

    1. The two remaining players stand back to back in the style of a duel.
    2. The organizer starts callings names of anyone in the room. If the name is called does not belong to either of the duelists, both duelists take a step forward (stepping away from one another).
    3. If the name of one of the two duelists is called, both must spin around and aim a “Bang!” at the other.
    4. The organizer decides on a winner, or if it is too close to call has the duelists play the finale again.

    To make the finale harder, the organizer could ask all of the eliminated players to shout random names during the duel. The duelists must only react to the voice of the organizer.

  • Sequence

    This is a team-building game of communication and pictures. Every member of the group will need to describe the picture they are given, and then as a group they must put the pictures in the correct order.

    The pictures for this game could come from children’s books, or comic books, and you can pick the source to fit the group. For groups of teenagers and young adults, a game involving a Batman or Spider Man story is bound to get an enthusiastic response. Children’s books, like The Tiger Who Came to Tea or Where The Wild Things Are, work well for nostalgic adults, and those who have children of their own.

    In everyday life we rarely describe pictures — we just show them! This game will warm up thinking muscles as well as talking muscles, which makes it an ideal start to a day of team-building activities, or as an a icebreaker to introduce new work colleagues.

    Set Up:

    • As the game organizer, who will not be playing, find a children’s book or comic book with at least as many pages as the number of players.
    • Make copies of each page.
    • Identify each of the pages with a unique number or letter, but not in their original order. If you had ten pages, you could first shuffle the pages, and then go through them numbering them 1 to 10.

    Rules:

    • Players are not allowed to read the text on the pages. They must describe what is happening in their own words. The same rule applies to speech/speech bubbles on the page. They cannot read this speech directly, but can only vaguely describe what is being said.
    • Players cannot show their page to any other player until the very end of the game, when the order has been decided.
    • When deciding on an order, pages should be placed facedown on the table.
    • The goal of the game is to have all the pages placed facedown in the correct order.

    Play:

    1. Randomly hand out the pages to all the players, so that everyone has at least one page. If there are more pages than people they should be distributed as evenly as possible.  The goal of the game is to have all the pages placed facedown in the correct order.
    2. When an order has been agreed upon by all players, the players turn all pages face-up and check that the story is in the right order. If there is any doubt, they can check with the organizer.

    Some books will be harder than others. Children’s book with a simple story and only a few images per page will be easier than a comic book with a page full of images and text, and a more complex story that might jump from scene to scene. The harder books will really get people talking, describing, discussing, and debating, and it will be a more rewarding when if the succeed, and more

    If you have a lot of players, you can turn this into a competitive team game by making two copies of the story pages, splitting the group into two teams, and timing them

    Nightmare variant:

    Players cannot describe their images in words, but must re-enact the scene on their page in mime.

    Okay, I don’t think anyone has ever really tried this, but does sound funny!

     

  • Crazy Job Interview

    Crazy Job Interview is a game for the smooth-tongued. Each player will take turns convincing another that they are the best for an imaginary job. The twist: they have to talk about things suggested by the other players, and explain why those things would make them a good fit for the job. One player might have to explain why being an “Intellectual” and “A My Little Pony Fan” makes them a great “Supermodel”. The next player might try to make a persuasive case that being “Aggressively Flirtatious” and “Angry With The Queen” makes them indispensable as “Prime Minister.”

    If you are worried about a real job interview coming up, Crazy Job Interview (also known as Mock-upations) is a great mental exercise: you will work on your speaking, your positive-outlook, and your quick-thinking. Plus, what is the best treatment for nerves? Laughter!

    Set Up:

    • Give each player seven small strips of paper.
    • Each player writes down five or more “traits.” Just an adjective will do — “Fast,” “Stupid,” “Corrupt,” or “Invisible,” for example — but feel free to get creative. Maybe a background, such as “Irish,” or a previous job, such a “Bin Man,” or an interest, such as “Video Gamer,” or outlook on life, such as “Brexiteer”.
    • Each player writes down two or more “occupations.” Mundane or fantastical, it all works well. Even if you use everyday roles, like “Office Worker” or “Waitress,” the player will still have a time trying to work out why the silly traits they are given would fit that job! But if you want to go for “Porn Stars“ and “Dragon Tamers,” that will be funny too.
    • In each case above, remember that you can certainly make things harder by writing awkward suggestions — but it’s possible you might draw your own slips of paper!
    • All trait slips go into a literal or non-literal hat, and all occupation slips go into a separate vessel.

    Rules

    1. Randomly choose a player. They will be the first interviewer.
    2. The other players draw an occupation and three traits from the respective hats. They can look at the occupation, but not at the traits.
    3. In any order, the interview will call on one of the players to be the interviewee. The interviewee will be giving a short speech explaining why they are a fit for the job they have drawn.
    4. At the same time, the interviewee looks at one of the their trait cards, and starts to give their speech. The first part of their speech should revolve around this trait. If the occupation is “Doctor” and the trait is “Bloodlust,” the player might say that they are far from squeamish about cutting people open, and that they can go into their job with a passion that other surgeons would lack.
    5. When they are ready, the interviewee looks at their next trait, and beings talking about that trait instead. The interviewee might choose to move on before they have said anything, if they can’t think of what to say, or they might talk about their first trait for a minute or more first.
    6. The interviewer can force the interviewee to move on to the next trait. They say, “Okay, what else?”. If the interviewee is talking about their last trait, the interviewer would instead say, “Okay, I’ve heard enough.”
    7. When the interviewee has finished talking about their three traits, the interviewer choose another player to give an interview.
    8. When all players have given their interview, the interviewer awards a point to whoever they thought was the best interviewee. The interviewer can decide on their own standards: it might be the funniest interview, or the one who made the best case towards their specific occupation. You will have to trust the interviewer to be honest and reward who they feel is the most deserving player. Giving points “tactically” (such as not giving them to somebody because they already have more points than you) is not in the spirit of the game, so chill it!
    9. The player to left of the current interviewer becomes the new interviewer, and the game starts again. When you are running out of traits or occupations, return to the setup phase to create more.

    Notes:

    Not everyone is great at talking when on the spot. There is no need to try to be funny or creative in this game — just relax and say what comes to mind. If players do need a moment to compose themselves, though, they can ask the interviewing player to go last in that round.

    You could also allow all players to look at their traits when they draw them so they have some thinking time, and/or have the interviewer draw the occupation and have all players give a speech relating to that same job, so that players can use the ideas they heard in earlier interviews to jump off from. Experiment, do what works for your group, and enjoy yourself!