Fun Icebreaker Ideas & Activities

Category: Extra Large Group

Extra Large Group Icebreakers. Got a huge group of 30 or more people? No sweat. Try these activities!

  • 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.

  • Giants, Wizards, Elves Game

    Giants, Wizards, and Elves is an icebreaker that is similar to Rock, Paper, Scissors — except more hilarious!  It’s also a versatile game — it works in groups of all sizes, including large groups of 50 or above. 

    This icebreaker game involves to teams and requires no special materials to play.  It works both indoors and outdoors, so go ahead and have fun!

    Setup for Giants, Wizards, and Elves

    This game involves two teams who will act as one of 3 characters: giants, wizards, and elves. When a player acts out a character, he or she does the specific hand motions and also makes the noise associated with the character.

    • Giants.  Stand on your tippy toes, raise your arms like a giant, and make a menacing growling noise: “Rarrr!”  
    • Wizards.  Crouch slightly, as wizards are a bit shorter.  Wave your fingers as though you’re casting a magical spell, and make a magical noise: “Shaazaam!”
    • Elves.  Crouch down very low, cup your hands around your ears, and make a high pitched elf noise: “Eeeee!”

    Make sure everyone knows the motions and sounds.  Feel free to practice until everyone knows how to become each character.  Split everyone into two teams and divide them into separate sides of the room. For each round, both teams huddle and choose to become a giant, wizard, or elf.  When ready, both teams then line up and stand facing each other, about five or six feet apart.  At the start of each round, the leader says “Three, two, one, go!!”

    At this point, each team acts out the character they chose (giant, wizard, or elf).  As soon as they do this, the winner tries to grab the loser — as many people over to their side as they can.  The loser tries to retreat back to their own side to be safe for that round.  If captured, a person now belongs to the other team.  The following determines who beats who:

    Giants beat elves, because giants are able to “squash” elves.  Elves beat wizards because they outsmart them.  Elves chew at their legs.  Wizards beat giants because they are able to zap them with a magic spell.  If both teams show the same character, no one wins.  Rounds keep repeating until one team wins (the other team is completely captured).

  • Bigger and Better Game

    Bigger and Better is a team building activity in which teams compete by trading ordinary objects. The winner is the team that ends up with the biggest and best items when time expires.

    This active teambuilding exercise requires six people at minimum, and can support very large groups if the teams are divided evenly. Teams should be about three to six people in size. This game involves interacting with lots of strangers in a public place such as a school campus. Props required include small objects such as paper clips or pens (one for each team). Recommended age is 18 and up. This game can be played with adults and even in corporate settings. When playing with younger people, please be sure to provide proper supervision when necessary.

    Setup for Bigger and Better

    To prepare for Bigger and Better, get several paper clips or some small objects that are low in value. Be sure to have enough to provide one per team.

    Playing Bigger and Better

    Explain the rules to everyone: You will give each team a small object, and their job is to keep trading and upgrading their team’s object to obtain the largest and most valuable item possible. They may not offer anything other than the item they have, and they must stick together as a group. Set a time limit, such as one or two hours, and tell everyone that they must be back in time or else they will be disqualified. Announce that each team’s item will be judged in three categories: size, value, and creativity.

    Divide the group into teams of three to six. Pass out the paper clip (or other small object) to the each group and send them off. When time expires, the judging process begins. Each team presents their item before the entire group. They explain why their item is biggest and best. At the end, choose winners for each of the three categories, or judge the items in any other way you wish. This activity involves good teamwork and creativity as each team coordinates their efforts and decides what strategies they will approach when playing. Camaraderie will be built, and surprises will come out of the activity. Who knows, a group might be able to turn a paper clip into a car! Well, maybe a toy car.

    Be sure to visit our online store for various useful supplies, such as paper clips and items for the Bigger and Better activity.

  • Superlative Game

    The Superlative Game is a simple icebreaker that asks players to line up in ascending order for various different categories (e.g. height, birthday month, etc.).  It’s very easy to learn and play, and it doesn’t require a lot of time.

    This game can be classified as a get-to-know-you style icebreaker.  The recommended group size is medium, large, or extra large groups.  Players will be divided into multiple teams of at least five people.  This game can be played both indoors or outdoors.  There are no special materials required to play.  It works great with all ages.

    Setup for the Superlative Game

    The facilitator of the Superlative game needs to prepare a list of categories.  These categories can be surface-level categories such as height (in ascending order), birthday month (in ascending order, from January to December), shoe size, number of siblings (least to most), etc. or you can also make deeper categories, depending on your goals.

    Playing the Superlative Game

    Split the group into at least three teams.  The ideal team size is at least five players per team, but preferably no more than nine.  Explain the rules and consider using one of the variations below (such as the no talking rule). 

    Read the first category aloud, such as “Line up by increasing order of height.  Go!”  Each team scrambles to get in the proper order.  When a team thinks they are done, they must all sit down and raise their hands.  At this point, the facilitator checks the team and verifies that they are in the proper order.  If they made a mistake, they get awarded zero points that round and the facilitator checks the next group that sat down.  The first team to correctly get in order and sits down gets awarded a point. 

    The facilitator then reads off the next category, and this process repeats until the game is over (no more categories).

    Variations

    There are many variations to this game that are worth considering.  These include:

    1. No talking allowed.  All players must rely on body language and hand gestures to get in the proper order.

    2. Head and feet only.  You can only use your head and feet to signal where to go.  No talking or use of arms/hands to communicate.

  • Telephone Charades

    Telephone Charades (also known as Charades Down the Line) is a hilarious icebreaker in which a person acts out a charade only for the next person in the line, who in turn acts out for the next person.  The last person standing in line attempts to guess what the original clue was.

    This is in active icebreaker that works best with a group of five or six people.  It can also be implemented for larger groups by taking five or six volunteers per round.   This game is best played indoors.  No special materials are required other than sheets of paper with the clues written on them.  Telephone Charades is for people age 10 and up.

    Setup for Telephone Charades

    Telephone Charades or “Charades Down the Line” is an active icebreaker that combines charades with the “telephone down the line” game.   To prepare for the game, write a list of humorous actions to be acted out.  Some examples are:

    • a pantomime
    • a nerd’s first date
    • a cat bathing itself
    • going skydiving
    • fishing and catching a huge fish

    Instructions for How to Play

    Choose five or six people (or ask for volunteers) and ask them to line up in a row, facing the left side of the room.  Ask the first person to turn around to see the first clue to be acted out.  Reveal the clue to the person, and display the clue to the audience as well.

    The first person turns around and taps the next person in line on the shoulder.  He or she then acts out the clue using classic charades rules (no talking or noises permitted).  The second person then taps the third person and acts out his or her understanding of what was acted out.  This process continues until it reaches the last person in line, who must guess what the action is.

    This game is funny because the acting tends to warp and get distorted based upon each person’s interpretation of what is going on.

    Variation

    A good variation to try is to have two teams line up and act out the same clue simultaneously.  The teams that guess the clue correctly (or most correctly) wins the round.

  • React and Act Game

    React and Act! is a funny icebreaker in which players randomly select a sheet of paper that has an occurrence on it (for example, winning a million dollars in the lottery) and they must react to the occurrence using animated expressions, gestures, and words.  After a set amount of time, other players try to guess what happened that caused those reactions and actions.

    React and Act is an active icebreaker game that can work with a variety of group sizes.  It can work for small groups of five people, or adapted for very large groups by selecting volunteers.  This game is best played indoors.  Materials required include paper, pens, and a bag.  React and Act works with all ages, including adults.

    Setup for React and Act

    React and Act involves some preparation; however, this is part of the fun!  Pass out sheets of paper and pens to the players.  Have each person write an event.  Tell them to be creative!  Examples of events can include:

    • Being surprised by a large, aggressive bear in the woods
    • You just won the lottery
    • You have just been proposed for marriage with an engagement ring
    • You just got fired by an incompetent boss
    • Making the game winning pass to win the Superbowl
    • You just fell in love

    Once everyone writes an event, fold the paper once and place it into the bag.  Divide the group into two teams (or select five volunteers if it is a very large group).

    Instructions for How to Play

    Ask five people on each team to randomly select an event from the bag.  Instruct them to react to this event, without explicitly giving away what the event is.  Choose a time limit (usually 30 seconds to a minute works well) and when you say “Go!”, have all five people to simultaneously react to their event using exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and their voice.

    For example, the person who has just won the lottery could raise his or her arms and scream excitedly, jumping up and down.  The person who has just confronted a bear might make a terrified look, shake in fear, and call for help.  And so on.  Each of the five actors can interact with each other, but they must stay “in character” and continue reacting and acting based upon what their sheet said.

    After time expires, the other members of the team try to guess what happened for each person.  If you wish to keep score, each team gets a point for each correct guess.  This game is a great way to break the ice, while watching people act out silly (and usually hilarious) things.

    Variations to Try

    There are many variations to React and Act that changes the way the game is played.  Try experimenting with these and see whether you like them.

    • No talking allowed, but noises are okay.  This increases the difficulty of the game by a lot, but it can be more hilarious.
    • Narrator explains the event before each person acts.

  • Sorts and Mingle

    Sorts and Mingle is an interactive icebreaker game that helps people recognize their common and unique interests and preferences.  The speaker calls out various categories and everyone moves toward various parts of the room, finding people with similar tastes as them.

    This game is classified as a get-to-know-you icebreaker with a little bit of active movement involved (walking around the room, meeting and talking to others).  The recommended group size is: medium, large, or extra large.  Can be played indoors or outdoors, but indoors is ideal.  No special materials are required.  No mess.  For ages ten and up.

    Instructions for Sorts and Mingle

    There are two parts to this icebreaker.  The first half is the “Sorts” game.  The moderator tosses out two contrasting choices and everyone must move either east or west of the room (for example. “Do you prefer Nature or Cities?”) Then the moderator shouts out two more choices and everyone moves north and south of the room.  In this way, each person must move to somewhere and can’t get “lost” in the crowd.  Some sorts that work well include: dogs vs. cats, books vs. movies, sweet vs. salty, casual vs. dress up, inside vs. outside; be on the stage performing vs. in the audience watching, and so on.

    The second half of the icebreaker, the “Mingle” game, works as follows:  The moderator shouts out a general category and the group is asked to mingle around to find others that have the same answer and they clump up to form a larger group. After about thirty seconds to one minute, the moderator asks each group call out their answer.  If a person is unique and is the only one with an answer, that’s okay.  Examples of mingles: your favorite place on Earth; your favorite dessert; the kind of animal you like best; if you could have dinner with someone, who would you choose; your favorite hobby; if you could be anyone, what would it be?

    Both halves of this game help people introduce themselves in a fun, interactive format. Give it a try!

  • Unique and Shared

    Unique and Shared is a get-to-know-you icebreaker game as well as a team-building activity.  The game helps people see that they have more in common with their peers than they might initially realize, while highlighting their own individual strengths that they can contribute to the group.  Perhaps the icebreaker can help people learn empathy skills.

    An indoor setting is preferable.  Participants will split into groups of about five people, so this activity works fine with medium, large, and even some extra large groups.  Each group of five needs paper and a pen.  This activity is for all ages.

    Instructions for Unique and Shared

    Ask participants to form groups of five people with the people around them.  Pass out sheets of paper and writing utensil.  The first half of the activity is the Shared part.  Instruct a notetaker for each group to create a list of many common traits or qualities that members of the group have in common.   Avoid writing things that are immediately obvious (e.g. don’t write down something like “everyone has hair” or “we are all wearing clothes”).  The goal is for everyone to dig deeper than the superficial.  Allow about five or six minutes and then have a spokesperson from each subgroup read their list.  If there are too many groups, ask for a few volunteers to read their list.

    The second half is the Unique part.  Keep the same groups or, optionally, you can ask everyone to rearrange themselves into new groups.  On a second sheet of paper have them record Unique traits and qualities; that is, items that only apply to one person in the group.  Instruct the group to find at least two unique qualities and strengths per person.  Again, strive for qualities and strengths beyond the superficial and past the obvious things anyone can readily see.  Allow another five or six minutes.  When time is up, share the unique qualities in one of the following ways: (1) each person can share one of their unique qualities themselves; (2) have each person read the qualities of the person to their right; or (3) have a spokesperson read a quality one at a time, and have the others guess who it was.

    Unique and Shared is a valuable team-building activity because it promotes unity as it gets people to realize that they have more common ground with their peers than they first might realize.  As people become aware of their own unique characteristics, they can also help people feel empowered to offer the group something unique.

  • Defend the Egg

    Defend the Egg (also known as the Great Egg Drop) is a teambuilding activity that involves collaboration, problem solving, and creative teamwork.  Groups build a structure out of ordinary materials and try to protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from a high elevation.

    This exercise in teambuilding can be messy, so choose an appropriate setting where making a mess is acceptable.  The recommended group size is: teams of four or five people.  Several materials are needed: raw eggs, several plastic straws, masking or scotch tape, newspaper, and other materials of your choice.  This activity is for people ages 14 and up.

    Setup for Defend the Egg

    This game works well with teams that are not too large.  A good team size is four or five people.  Pass out one egg and a limited supply of materials (e.g. four straws, a three foot strip of Scotch Tape, one section of a newspaper, etc.)  This activity is more challenging with less materials provided, so decide how challenging you wish to make it.

    Gameplay for Defend the Egg

    Explain the rules: the mission is to protect the egg from cracking using teamwork, creativity, and a good design.  You will drop each structure at least fifteen feet, and so the goal is for each structure to be able to withstand such a fall.  Each team will only be given limited resources, and so they must be wise with what they have.  They may not use any other resources other than what is given to them.  Optionally, you can have other criteria for judging including:

    • most creative design
    • most stylish/visually appealing
    • (any other awards you wish)

    Decide on an appropriate amount of time (e.g. 20-25 minutes) and then instruct them to begin!  Tell them to place their egg inside their structure.

    Be sure to supervise each team as they build their structure.

    When time is up, collect all the structures.  Now is dramatic finale in which the structures are dropped (or thrown!) from at least 15 feet in elevation and then carefully inspected to see if the eggs survived. The winners are the groups that successfully protected the egg.  If you chose to have other awards, announce those winners also.

    This activity is useful to illustrate the importance of teamwork.  Ask everyone to reflect on how their group accomplished the task, what worked, what was challenging, etc.

    Variation

    A much more challenging variation of this activity is to provide no materials (other than the egg) and ask the participants to find materials from outdoors.

    To order materials for Defend the Egg and other teambuilding supplies, visit our online store.