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!

  • Chariot Race

    “Chariot Race” is an exciting race on “chariots” to the finish line.  It’s a game about being a little ridiculous with your friends. The game is best done at a party or with a large sized group. This game is for developing team building skills and will bring the players closer together after the successful completion of a few rounds. You may have to collaborate with your group to acquire enough materials to play the game, but we promise the reward will be worth it!

    Materials Needed

    • Sleds or Wheelbarrows
    • Chalk
    • Sheets (optional)

    How To Set Up The Game

    For this game, you need sufficient wheelbarrows or sleds. Make a note counting the number of people who are coming and divide them into teams of 3 to 4 people (not including the player in the chariot). Once divided search out a safe place where multiple wheelbarrows could fit and use your chalk to draw a finish line.  Next mark measures out to the best of your ability a fair distance where each played will be waiting to swap the chariot, mark these locations with an X.

    For optional set-up, you can make the event toga themed, and use sheets to recreate a toga for each player.   You may wish to to secure all togas with a clamp or safety pin to avoid in-game accidents.

    How To Play “Chariot Switch”

    To play “Chariot Switch”  you need to distribute the teams and make sure everyone if familiar with one another.  Afterward, divide the team up to stand on the markers along the way to the finish and let them select a player to put into the chariot.  Make it clear that they have to use their hand to tag out by high-fiving the other player before the chariot can be switched over.  If togas are involved do a tug check to make sure all players are secured for the game.

    For added difficulty, you can make the paths less straight forward and draw arrows to make a winding path. If this happens make sure the paths you draw each have their own separate colors to ensure no one loses their way into another team’s lane.

    How To Win

    To have the best chance of winning in this game you can use quite a few different strategies to your advantage. When selecting the player to put in the wheelbarrow always go for the lightest teammate to increase your speed. When the player is the wheelbarrow have them balance out their weight or put it slightly more forward so that there is less resistance. When tagging your partner have them waiting with their hand already out so you can high five them and switch out quickly.

    If it turns out you have to use sleds try tieing the sled around your waist for easier pulling. Also, have the player sit directly in the middle of the sled so the weight will be evenly distributed. If your playing with a winding path pay close detail to the direction of the arrows to more quickly maneuver to the finish!

  • 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!

  • 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…

  • Art Effects

    The point of Art Effects is to build your group’s teamwork up with creativity and cooperation.  In this game, your group will give keywords to convey items to their partner to create an art masterpiece. This game is great for groups of all sizes and requires a little bit of setting up according to the size of the group. Be sure to have a critic overlooking your artists to make sure everyone is playing fairly throughout the game. There is both a competitive and non-competitive version of the game, so be sure to pick how you want to play!

    Materials Needed

    Materials needed to play Art Effects:

    • Paper
    • A surface to draw on
    • Pencils
    • Erasers

    How To Set Up The Game

    To set up the game start by getting a headcount of who all will be playing try to get an even number of people for teams and have an extra to be the critic. Write down random words that can be described — like goose or pizza — on slips of paper and hand them out as everyone comes in the door. Be sure to be stocked with a pencil sharpener and enough supplies for all the drawers.

    How To Play Art Effects

    Non-competitive:

    Pick out or have drawers volunteer from the group and then randomly select a partner for them to pair with. Each partner should have a few items to describe to their drawer. Once the partners are decided have everyone take a spot away from each other with the drawer and describer sitting back to back. Each pair will attempt to draw one item without the item being named, only described. Set a time limit or a word limit to keep the game interesting.

    If desired you can switch descriptors and drawers out in a rotation, so everyone will get a chance to work together during the game.

    Competitive:

    Set up the exact same way you would in a non-competitive game, but have a stricter time limit or word amount. Give each player in charge of descriptions at least five slips of paper. The drawer will then have to figure out each item and put them together in a creative light on paper. Whichever team has a more accurate drawing of the word chosen by the describer is the winner.

    *NOTE: The drawer can not ask questions in either version.

     

    How To Win

    If you choose to go the competitive route keep an open mind while your partner describes the item to you. If you have no pre-set ideas you are more likely to catch on to what they are trying to tell you.  When it comes to placing it all together take it easy and just go with the first things that come to your mind.

    If you are the describer use words that you would use to describe the item to a parent. The more clear descriptors for the item, the better the chance of the drawer catching on to your word. If you don’t know what the item is then ask to switch or quickly Google the item on your phone to get a grasp on its appearance.

     

  • Gone Fishin’

    Gone Fishin is a group game based on its board game counterpart of the same name. In this game, you will need to be the player who catches the most fish in order to win. This game will work best with large to extra large groups and will require players to switch roles frequently. This game may best be played at an event or party where space will be accessible.

    Materials Needed

    You will need to gather a few materials for this game  to make it work.  Materials needed to play Gone Fishin’:

    • Poles or sticks
    • String
    • A music player
    • A few rhythmic songs
    • A large area
    • Tape (optional)

    How To Set Up The Game

    First, start by picking a big open space that plenty of people can fit into; you’re going to need a lot of room to really make this work. Next, you need to create four fishing rods using the string and sticks, make sure that the string is tightly attached and won’t fall off when pulled on. Depending on the general height of your participants make the string long enough to reach from their waste to the floor. Finally, pick a song with a steady beat. It may help to put markers or tape x’s on the floor if your fish are younger so they know where to sit and fill in.

    *Make sure to have multiple songs on stand-by to change things up each round!

    How To Play Gone Fishin’

    Gather everyone together in a tight circle and pick four players to be the fishers. The rest of the players are going to be the fish for the game and you can rotate out these rolls as you go. Instruct the fish to open and close their hand to the beat of the music playing. The fishers have to get the string safely into the fish’s hands in order to score a point. When a player catches a fish the fish will then join them on their side of the room. The game will end when the song ends or when all the fish are caught.Lastly, the player can get as close to the fish as safely possible, but can not touch the string in any way other than indirect contact through the fishing pole.

    * Hard mode: Assign colors to the player and the fish. The player can now only catch a fish of the same color as theirs and can only win by catching all of their fish. For this version of the game, you may want to get the player to rotate occasionally throughout the song.

    How To Win

    Listen to the beat of the music and get your movements in sync. Pay attention to the players that are most in sync as well these will be the easiest fish to hook. If you are feeling to pushed you may not get many fish; relax and only throw your line in when you feel confident you will catch something. If you are matching colors be sure to visualize where all the players you need to catch are before you start casting your line.

  • Song Sync

    The object of the game is to get more in touch with your group’s music tastes by identifying songs they know or have listened to. This activity can be done anywhere that allows for clear communication between the group. The game is played in any size group and will require a lot of listening and a room that is quiet enough to communicate easily in. The game will allow for players to also inject some of their own personality into the way they say the song lyrics.

    Materials Needed:

    What you will need to play song sync:

    Music knowledge
    A phone or computer to check claims
    A timer

    • How to Set Up Song Sync Game

    Pick a word that you hear a lot when listening to music like the word “hey” or “love.” Let the other group members know this is your set word for the game and explain that you can’t use a variation of the word like “lover” or “loved”. Make sure to check and see if the word is widely used in songs by googling ” songs with ___ in it”; this will pull up sites that list songs with your chosen word in them. If you wish to play multiple games write down multiple words to use and let your guests choose which ones they want to try to play with first. If you want to make it a little more fun put the words into a hat and take turns drawing out of it after each game to give a sense of randomness to the players.

    How To Play Song Sync

    1. Go around the room in a circle giving everyone a chance to repeat song lyrics with your set word in them. If someone can’t think of a song then they sit out, repeat this until you have a winner. Be sure to have a set amount of time a player has to answer in as to not draw the game out for too long.
    2. Be sure to have a fact checker on hand like a phone or laptop to quickly google strange sounding lyrics. If a player is caught making up their own song then they are out of the game until you start again.  Be sure to use a site that checks all genres and not just the popular songs, you never know what music your potential friends may be into.
    3. Have fun with the game and be sure to ask questions about songs you’ve never heard before. To add an additional fun twist to the game you could even require the lyrics to be sung or said in the same tune as the song they are from.

    Winning The Game

    The game is based more on learning about someone’s music taste and sparking conversation than winning or losing. By naming different songs you will find out a lot about a potential friend’s personality and will have a great discussion point to start from. If you wanted to sprinkle some competitive elements into the game you can always add in small prizes like candy or inexpensive ribbons from a dollar store for the winner.

  • Air Balloons

     

    See which group has the strongest lungs by trying to keep your balloon in the air for longer than the other teams, using only your own air!

    Recommended ages:

    Air Balloons is an activity that is ideal for ages 10 – 25.

    Recommended number of people:

    This game is best played with groups of 8+ people.  It is not ideal for small groups.

    Materials needed:

    In order the play this game you will need the following materials:

    • Basic rubber balloons for air
    • A timer or stopwatch for each team
    • Optional: small paper or plastic fans

    How to set up the game:

    If you would like you can have each team blow up their balloons, but to make the game fairer it is better if you inflate all the balloons for each team ahead of time. Make sure to inflate extras in case of breaking balloons.

    How to play:

    1. Separate the group into different teams. Teams should be between 3-5 people ideally. You can play this game with as many teams as you’d like.
    2. Give each team a balloon to use as well as a paper or plastic fan (fans are optional, balloons are not).
    3. Choose a player from each team to be the time-keeper. Give them one of the timers or stopwatches to record the time that their team keeps the balloon in the air without touching it.
    4. Instruct players that the rules of the game are you cannot touch the balloon at all once it is in the air. Balloons must be kept in the air for as long as possible without being touched and without touching the ground at any time. Each time a balloon is touched by a member of the team or touches the ground, the time on the stopwatch must be reset back to zero. The only thing players are allowed to do to keep their balloons up is to use air either from their fans or by blowing on the balloon.Tip: try to give each team a different colored balloon so that there can be no mix-ups if the teams overlap at any point.

    Winning the game:

    The team that manages to keep their balloon in the air for the longest consecutive amount of time will be the winners. They should not sabotage any other competing teams during this time. Monitor the teams as they’re playing to ensure they are keeping time properly.

  • Magic Word Game

    Collect the most party favors from other people when they say your designated magic word – but be careful and make sure you don’t say the word yourself!

    Recommended ages:

    This activity is best for players who are ages 14 and up.

    Recommended number of people:

    Good for large groups of 12+ people.

    Materials required:

    For this game you will need various party favors for each person (or you can also use candy) as well as a list of “magic words.”  Words should be relatively commonly used to make the game more interesting. Words might include: “dog,” “cat,” “man,” “eat,” “boy,” “water,” etc.  For this game, good party favor items might include items like:

    • Bead necklaces, Hawaiian leis, or plastic sunglasses

    How to set up the game:

    Prepare your party favors/candy and list of magic words to be distributed upon the arrival of guests.

    How to play:

    1. As each person arrives, gives them a party favor and tell them what their magic word is. Make sure to instruct them not to use the word themselves. If everyone is already together, you can have people come up one by one to receive their party favor and magic word instead.
    2. Each person will go about the activities normally. If a player hears someone else use the magic word that was given to them, they may take the party favor of the other person. For example: If person #1 has the magic word “dog” and person #2 starts to talk about their pet dog, person #1 is allowed to take the party favor from person #2.
    3. Allow the game to continue throughout the entire party/event or else cut it off at a certain point in time. Whichever you choose, be sure to inform the participants about the choice so they will know when it stop playing the game. At the end of the game, count the number of party favors each player holds to determine the winner.Tip: You can penalize players who say their own magic word by making them give up one of their party favors to another player.

    Winning the game:

    The winner of the game is the one with the most party favors or candy by the time the game stops. Players can collect party favors from anyone involved in the game, even if they have already lost their own party favor, making this a fun way to battle to become the last man or woman standing. You can give away a small reward or prize if you choose to the winner of the game.  Have fun!

  • Marshmallow Toss

    Toss marshmallows to your teammates — as they try to catch as many as possible with their mouth in a set amount of time.

    Recommended ages:

    This game works best for ages 12 and up.

    Recommended number of people:

    Marshmallow Toss activity works well for groups of 8 or more people.

    Materials needed:

    • Marshmallows (large, not mini marshmallows)
    • Timer or stopwatch
    • Plastic bags (for clean up)
    • Masking tape or cones (for marking boundaries)

    How to set up the game:

    To set up for the marshmallow toss game you should make lines on the ground to set distance barriers. Use masking tape on a solid surface or plastic cones on a grassy surface. Set the distance so that it’s appropriate for the age group of the people who will be playing the game. They should be able to toss a marshmallow fairly accurately from one line to the other.

    How to play:

    1. Separate your group into pairs to compete in the game. Line each pair up so that one player is behind one marked line and the other player is directly across from them behind the other marked line.
    2. There are two different ways the game can be played. You can either have one player throwing to the other to see how many they can catch within the time period or else you can have the players alternate throwing back and forth to each other to get the longest streak of catches.
    3. Whichever method you choose to play, set your timer for around 1-2 minutes or any other time of your choice. Signal players when you start the timer and allow them to begin playing.
    4. At the end of the time, let all the players know that the time has expired and that they should stop throwing marshmallows. Any marshmallows thrown or caught after the time stops should not be counted in the total score for that pair.Tip: After each round of the game, have each player help to clean up the marshmallows that were dropped so that they don’t make a bigger mess later by getting stepped on or squashed around the area. This is where the plastic bags come in handy.Disclaimer: Like all food-oriented games, safety comes first! Be careful of choking hazards.

    Winning the game:

    The winner of the game is the pair that either catches the most total marshmallows or else has the longest back and forth streak of catches between one pair.

  • Hot and Cold Game

    The Hot and Cold game is a simple, crowd pleasing icebreaker game!  It gets the crowd going.  Simply choose a mystery action and have a volunteer try to figure it out.  The group cheers for them loudly when they are closer to doing the action and boos them when they are farther away.

    This game is best for ages 12+ and ideal for groups of 6+ people.  Large groups are okay.  Multiple groups can also play this simultaneously.

    Materials Required: No materials are required for this game, although you can use any props around the room that are available to you.

    How to set up the Hot and Cold Game:   You do not need to do anything to prepare for this game. All that’s needed is the group members themselves, although it may be wise to remove any unsafe objects that are present to keep players from using these during the game.

    How to play:

    1. Gather group members together in one room. It’s time to select the 1 or 2 people that are the “chosen players” for the first round. You can ask for volunteers or else choose the first players for yourself.
    2. Send the chosen players out of the room. Once they are out, have the group come up with an action they must perform when they come back into the room. Moderate this process to make sure an appropriate and safe action is chosen.
    3. Bring the chosen players back into the room and instruct them to try to figure out and do the mystery action. Other group members should be observing the chosen players and cheering or encouraging them when they are getting closer to doing the action (“hot”) and booing when they are getting farther from doing the action (“cold”). No words should be spoken by the group about the mystery action and no gestures should be used to indicate what needs to be done.
    4. The game is over once all the chosen players perform the mystery action. You may choose the next players by who was the most encouraging, who came up with the final action ideas, or any other criteria you see fit.

    Winning the game:

    Normally there is no winner or loser in this game as it is just a fun activity to help with group bonding.  Alternatively, you can divide the group into two or more sets of people with their own chosen player and mystery action. Set a timer and let the teams compete to see whose chosen player will complete their action first.  You can also time each chosen player to see how long it takes them to complete their mystery action. The one with the shortest time is the winner.