Fun Icebreaker Ideas & Activities

Category: Large Group

Large group icebreakers. Is your group between 10-30 people? The following games below should work great. Try them out and see for yourself!

  • Trust Walk Teambuilding Activity

    The Trust Walk is a popular teambuilding activity that helps people practice trusting each other.  A leader guides his or her blindfolded partner around obstacles using verbal or nonverbal instructions.

    This activity is an active teambuilding activity that requires a great deal of space.  An outdoor setting with some obstacles (but nothing too dangerous!) is ideal.  The recommended group size is: small, medium, or large.  Participants will form pairs.  Materials required include blindfolds and any props that you can set up as minor obstacles.  This activity is for ages 14 and up.

    Instructions for the Trust Walk Teambuilding Activity

    The Trust Walk Activity is an effective team building activity involving leadership and building trust, as blindfolded participants must rely on instructions given to them in order to avoid various obstacles.

    As the faciliator of the Trust Walk Teambuilding Activity, be sure to scout out a safe area in advance.  Safety comes first!  Large fields or the woods may be good places to try.  Minor obstacles (trees, branches, small hills) are okay, but do not play this game in a dangerous environment (for example, anywhere with very steep ledges or sharp protruding objects).  Once you have found a safe, large area, you can prepare additional obstacles if desired (cardboard boxes, balloons, etc.).

    Start in a nearby location.  Ask participants to arrange themselves into pairs.  Instruct one partner to be the guide (navigator) and the other to be blindfolded.  Once the blindfolded partner is ready, slowly spin the person around a few times so that they are unsure which direction they are headed.   Guide the participants to the field with obstacles.  From this point on, the guide should not touch the partner at all, but rely solely on verbal cues (e.g. “In approximately five steps ahead, there will be a tree branch.  Go ahead and step over it slowly.”)

    Remember that the guide is solely responsible for his or her partner’s safety.  He or she try their best to steer their partner away from obstacles.  Valuable lessons can be learned to teamwork and unity.  For example, the guide will learn about the challenge and responsibility of caring for another individual’s well being, while the blindfolded partner learns to trust and rely on another person.

    Reflection of the Trust Walk Activity 

    If desired, ask participants to reflect and share what they learned from this experience.  The following are some sample questions to ask following the Trust Walk team building activity:

    • What was it like to be the “guide,” being fully responsible for the safety of your partner?
    • What do you think was the purpose of this team building activity?
    • Did you have any difficulty trusting your partner while blindfolded? Why or why not?
    • Why is trusting your teammates important?
    • Afterwards, how did it feel when you and your teammate successfully trusted each other to accomplish something challenging?
    • How does this relate to _______ (here you can fill in the blank with the current scenario of the participants, such as class, a sports team, employees working together on a project, etc.)?

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • String Game

    The String Game is an introduction-based icebreaker game and simple conversation starter that allows people to  tell others about themselves.  It’s a simple game and can be adapted according to your needs.

    This getting-to-know-you game usually does not take long, unless you choose to run it that way.  The recommended group size is small and medium groups, although with careful planning it might be possible to do this activity in a large group by splitting it into smaller groups.  An indoor setting is ideal.  This icebreaker is recommended for young children up through eighth grade.  It’s well suited for classrooms, camps, or other settings where people may not know each other very well yet.

    Instructions for the String Game 

    This icebreaker activity needs a little bit of preparation work.  Purchase a big roll of yarn or string.  You can buy any color, or multiple colors if you wish.  Take a pair of scissors and cut strings of various different lengths — as short as 12 inches, and as long as 30 or more inches.

    When you are finished cutting the string, bunch all the pieces up into one big clump of string.

    To play, ask the first volunteer to choose any piece of string.  Have the person pull on it and separate it from the other pieces of string.  Ask them to introduce themselves as they slowly wind the piece of string around their index finger.   The funny part of this icebreaker game is that some of the strings are extremely long, so sometimes a person must keep talking for a very long time!  This is a good way to get everyone to start talking.  People might find out something interesting or new about each other!  Feel free to adapt this game according to your needs.  Have fun.

  • 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.

  • Lost on a Deserted Island

    Lost on a Deserted Island is a valuable teambuilding activity that also helps people share a little about themselves.  Given the scenario that everyone is lost and stranded on a deserted island, each person describes one object that they would bring to the island and why.

    This game is a teambuilding and get-to-know-you icebreaker.  The recommended group size is medium, although small and large group sizes are possible too.  An indoor setting is ideal.  No special props or materials are required, making it easy to play.  This icebreaker works well for any age, including adults and corporate settings.

    Instructions for Lost on a Deserted Island

    The situation is dire — following a shipwreck, everyone has been stranded on a deserted island!  Each person is allowed to bring one object to the island — ideally something that represents them or something that they enjoy.  The first part of this icebreaker is simple: each person is asked to describe what object they would bring and why.  This need not be realistic; if someone loves music, he or she might choose to bring a guitar, or an animal lover might choose to bring a dog, a food lover might choose to bring sirloin steaks, and so on.  Encourage people to be creative.

    After everyone has introduced their object and why they have chosen that object, the teambuilding portion follows.  Divide into smaller groups and ask everyone to work together to improve their chances of survival by combining the various objects that they introduced.  If necessary, you can add more objects, but be sure to use all the objects that everyone mentioned.  If you wish, you can reward the most creative group with a prize.

    Lost on a Deserted Island is an approachable way to get people to open up and share a little bit about themselves and what they enjoy or value.

  • Personal Trivia Baseball

    Personal Trivia Baseball is an icebreaker game that involves guessing facts of various difficulty levels to obtain singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. This game helps people discover facts about each other in a fun way.

    This get-to-know-you game is played with two teams of about six to eight people each. The recommended location for this game is indoors. Materials required are: several sheets of paper and pens. Personal Trivia Baseball is playable by ages 10 and up, including college students and adults in corporate settings.

    Setup for Personal Trivia Baseball

    This game should be played with two teams. Divide the players into two teams of about six to eight people — other team sizes are possible but less ideal, as the game may be too short or too long. You can increase or decrease the number of sheets accordingly, depending on how long you want the game to last.

    To prepare for the game, pass out four sheets and a pen to each player. Instruct each person to write “S” on the first sheet, “D” on the second, “T” on the third, and “HR” on , the fourth. These letters stand for single, double, triple, and home run, respectively. On each of these sheets, each person writes an interesting fact about themselves. Do not write any names on the sheets, because the goal of the game is to guess whose fact is written on each sheet. The fact written on the single (“S”) sheet should be the easiest to guess; the double (“D”) sheet should be a little harder to figure out; the triple (“T”) even harder; and the home run (“HR”) should be the hardest.

    Once everyone is finished writing their clues, collect them and sort them into four piles per team: singles, doubles, triples, home run. Shuffle all the papers and arrange the piles into four different corners of the room, in the shape of a baseball diamond (see image below).

    Baseball Diamond

    Playing Personal Trivia Baseball

    The way Personal Trivia Baseball is played is similar to normal baseball rules. Each team has three “outs” per inning and tries to score as many runs as they can. On a turn, a player chooses to go for a single (easiest), double, triple, or home run (most difficult). He or she picks a sheet from the other team’s piles, reads it, and then guesses which of the people on the other team wrote the fact. Once he or she makes a guess, the guessed person on the other team simply says “yes” or “no”. If the guess is correct, the person successfully gets on base with a single, double, triple, or home run and moves to that part of the room. If the guess is incorrect, then the team adds another “out”. Move on to the next batter and repeat until there are three outs. Once there are three outs, change to the other team and repeat. Keep track of the number of runs each team has scored.

    Keep playing until all the clues are revealed, or for a shorter game, set a time limit or a set number of innings. The winner is the team with the higher score at the end.

  • Who Done It (Whodunit)

    Who Done It? is an icebreaker that reveals interesting (and sometimes incredible!) things people have done. It’s a simple guessing game that is straightforward to play.

    This game is a get-to-know-you style icebreaker in which players try to guess which person corresponds to each item written on notecards.  The recommended group size is a medium sized group of about eight to sixteen people, although the game can be adapted to accommodate other sized groups.  Playing this icebreaker indoors is most ideal.  Materials required are: several notecards and pens. Who Done It? is playable by all ages, including college students and adults in corporate settings.

    Setup and Gameplay for Who Done It (Whodunit?)

    This game can be played individually or with two teams.  For extremely large groups, choose ten volunteers and split them into two teams of five.  To set up the game, pass out an index card and a pen for each participant.  Ask each person to write down something interesting they have done.  Examples include the following:

    • I went skydiving once.
    • I got arrested before.
    • I once drank a gallon of milk.
    • I lived in seven different states.
    • I ate bugs before.

    Try to instruct people to write a fact that most people don’t already know – the sillier (or more unbelievable) the better.  Collect all the cards (separate them into two piles if two teams are playing).  Shuffle the cards and then pass them back out.  Each person (or team) takes turns reading aloud their card and then the reader must guess whose fact he or she read. After he or she guesses, the guessed person simply says “yes” or “no”.  If the person guesses correctly, the guessed person can briefly explain what they wrote (if desired).  The guessing continues until all cards are exhausted.  Everyone reveals who wrote which card at the end.

    The Who Done It? game is a good, simple get-to-know-you game that is especially good for groups with new people, or for whenever you wish to help people get to know each other better to break the ice.  Sometimes humorous facts can be revealed, leading people to exclaim, “You did WHAT?”

  • Fear in a Hat

    A good activity to run at the beginning of a class semester, Fear in a Hat (Also known as Worries in a Hat) is a teambuilding exercise that promotes unity and group cohesion. Individuals write their personal fears (anonymously) on sheets of paper which is then collected in a hat and read aloud. Each person tries to describe his or her understanding of the person’s fear. This leads to good discussion centered around the fears.

    This teambuilding exercise requires writing utensils, sheets of paper, and a hat. Allow about five minutes of writing time, plus one to two minutes per participant. The recommended group size is at least eight, but no larger than 20. It’s possible to run this activity with a large group, if the group is divided into smaller groups and if there are enough facilitators. This activity is for people ages 14 and up.

    Setup for Fear in a Hat

    Distribute a sheet of paper and a writing utensil to each person. Instruct them to anonymously write a fear or worry that they have. Tell them to be as specific and as honest as possible, but not in such a way that they could be easily identified. After everyone is done writing a fear/worry (including the group leaders), collect each sheet into a large hat.

    Running the Fear in a Hat Teambuilding Activity

    Shuffle the sheets and pass out one per person. Take turns reading one fear aloud, and each reader should attempt to explain what the person who wrote the fear means. Do not allow any sort of comments on what the reader said. Simply listen and go on to the next reader.

    After all fears have been read and elaborated, discuss as a whole group what some of the common fears were. This teambuilding exercise can easily lead to a discussion of a team contract, or goals that the group wishes to achieve. This activity also helps build trust and unity, as people come to realize that everyone has similar fears.