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!

  • Sardines (Reverse Hide and Go Seek)

    Sardines is an active game that is played like hide and go seek — only in reverse!  One person hides, and everyone else searches for the hidden person.  Whenever a person finds the hidden person, they quietly join them in their hiding spot.  Soon, the hidden group starts to look like a bunch of sardines!

    This game should be played in a large indoor area.  Be sure it is safe and that you are allowed to play in the area.  The ideal group size is 8-15 people.  This game is for ages 12 and up.  No special materials are required to play.

    Instructions for Sardines (also known as Reverse Hide and Seek)

    Gather everyone together and explain the rules and boundaries of the game.  Be sure to keep everyone safe and ensure no one wanders into areas that they aren’t supposed to be in.  When everyone understands the rules and boundaries, ask for a volunteer to be the first person to hide.  Give the person a set amount of time (e.g. a few minutes) to hide, while everyone else closes their eyes or sits in a neutral spot away from the playing area.

    When time is up, everyone splits up and tries to find the hidden person.  When someone finds the hidden person, the game is not over!  He or she quietly hides alongside the hidden person.  Over time, several people will be hidden together, resembling a bunch of sardines.

    The last person to find the hidden party loses that round.  He or she is the next person to hide.  Alternatively, you can reward the first person to find the hidden person by allowing that person to hide if he or she wants to.

    Variations 

    There are other variations to this game, such as playing it in pairs.  This adds a little more teamwork to the game.

  • 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.

  • 3 Active Games That Use Pedometers

    If you have a few pedometers or activity trackers, try these games. They will give you an intense workout while they gives the audience an intense laugh.

    1. Bobble Head

    Players of this game are trying to cheat some ultra-high scores out of their pedometers while the pedometer is attached to their forehead. How do they get the pedometer to register points? They shake and nod their head like crazy!

    You will need

    • A pedometer for each player
      A way to attach the pedometer to the player’s head. Finding a sweat band for each player, and tying or taping the pedometer to it, is a good solution.
    • A timer.

    Rules

    Make sure all pedometers are rest to zero. Attach them to all players heads.

    On the signal given, start the timer and have all players shake and bob their heads as quickly as possible.

    After one minute has passed, all players must stop moving immediately. Each player removes the pedometer from their head, careful not to jiggle it and influence their score. The player with the highest number on the display wins!

     

    2. Temper Tantrum

     

    This game uses the same idea as above. This time players will have a pedometer on each ankle, but they must try and get the best score possible while lying on their backs. To everyone else, it will look like they are madly shaking their feet and gritting their teeth in a fit of childlike rage.

    You will need

    • 2 pedometers for each player.
    • A way to attach the pedometer to the ankles of the players. Some pedometers come with wrist straps already. If not, you may be able to put the pedometer in a player’s shoes or socks, or simply tape the device directly onto each of the player’s shoes.
    • A timer.

    • Rules

      Make sure all pedometers are rest to zero. Attach one to both ankles of every player.

      On the signal given, start the timer and have all players shakes their legs in whatever style seems practical.

      After one minute has passed, all players must stop moving immediately. Now all players can check their pedometers, adding up the score for each ankle The player with the highest total wins!

    3. Nervous Nelly

    This game requires the most pedometers — a pedometer on each ankle AND each wrist — but is probably also the funniest AND the most exhausting.

    You will need

    • Four pedometers for each player
    • A way to attach the pedometers to the player’s wrists and ankles.
    • A timer

    Rules

    As usual, make sure all pedometers are rest to zero. Attach a pedometer to both wrists and both ankles of each player. If you don’t have enough pedometers, play this game in turns and record each player’s score.

    On the signal, start the countdown. All players are trying to get the highest score on ALL pedometers simultaneously, by whatever method possible. That means lightning fast tiny steps on the spot while shaking your arms like they’re covered in spiders.

    After a minute is up, all players must stop immediately (and, if they’ve been playing this game correctly, they will certainly want to). The player will the highest combined total on all four pedometers is the winner!

  • Rubber Chicken Game

    The Rubber Chicken Game is an active and fast paced game that is simple to play in any scenario. All the game requires is a rubber chicken—or any other object—and players! It’s great for those who are competitive and speedy. It requires all players to be attentive and ready to move at any given moment. The Rubber Chicken Game is best played outside or in large open areas, so that players can run around safely without crashing into anything. Groups of all sizes can play, but teams are better with between 5-10 players. Larger groups can play, but the overall game will take longer. Players are also able to steal the rubber chicken back from one another, but limits should be set to prevent injuries or excessive force.

    Set-Up and Materials

    • If the game is played outside, then check for any objects or holes that could cause injuries.
    • Assign one person to be the judge and give them a rubber chicken.
    • Take your players and split them into two even groups.
    • Set the groups parallel to each other and line each of them up.
    • Each line of players should be seated on the ground.

    How to Play the Rubber Chicken Game

    • Line each team up and have all of the players seated and facing the judge.
    • The judge will throw the rubber chicken wherever they choose behind all of the players.
    • On the judge’s command or whistle, the first seated player from each team will stand up and race to the chicken.
    • The players will then run back to their lines—the player with the rubber chicken should be protecting themselves, while the other player can try and steal the chicken back.
    • The player with the chicken will reach the line and toss the rubber chicken back strategically, so the next player on their team will have the advantage.
    • The next players from each team will run down again and race to the rubber chicken.
    • Both players will run back and sit down at the end of the line.
    • The game will continue until the whole line has run to retrieve the chicken.
    • Game Variations
    • The rubber chicken can be substituted for a ball, flag, doll, or any other object.
    • To make the game more challenging, you can set up obstacles that the players have to go through to retrieve the rubber chicken or to return back to their line—you can use a dizzy bat, hoops to jump through, cones to zigzag through, or other fun commands.
    • For additional challenges, you can also have players only use one arm to pick up the rubber chicken.
    • If the players are highly competitive or more physical, then they can use light force to take the rubber chicken from their opponent.
    • Boundaries can be set with paint or cones to keep the game area organized.
    • There can be more than two groups to increase the competition or groups can pair up with one another and battle each other.

  • Team Architect

    Team Architect is a game that requires both speed and precision. It’s a great way for players to unleash their creativity and work together towards a common goal. Team Architect is often played for team building or icebreaker purposes, but is entertaining enough to be played in any scenario. It’s best played with smaller groups, but there can be more than two groups playing at a time to increase the competition. Players of all ages will love this hands-on game.

    Team Architect simply requires each team to build something with a small amount of random materials. These materials aren’t usually useful and it’s not always clear how they can be used, which is why players have to get creative. For example, each team could be given Popsicle sticks and duct tape with the requirement to build a bridge that would hold a heavy book. Another example is giving each team string and newspaper, so they can make an egg support. The team’s creation must be able to support an egg when dropped from a specific height.

     

    Set-Up and Materials

    • Choose a designated area to play—inside or outside.
    • A timer—cell phone, egg timer, clock— is required and one person should be the designated timer to set reminders and countdowns.
    • Decide on the materials to be used in the game. They can be preselected or the players can just make use out of what objects are in the room.
    • For example, if you are playing this in an office, teams can use paper clips, tape, staplers, or any other objects found nearby.

     

    How to Play Team Architect

    • Sort out your groups—you can either have two small to medium-sized groups or multiple—three or four—small groups.
    • Assign a designated timer and the amount of time for the teams to craft their design.
    • Decide what each team will be building and what materials they can use.
      • For example, you will be building a tower out of marshmallows and toothpicks.
    • Set the timer and let the teams begin!
    • The first team who finishes or who has the better design that will be tested after the game can either determine the ending.
    • If testing the design, such as the egg drop example mentioned above, then the team who successfully protects the egg during the drop would win.
    • If there’s a tie, you can have a sudden death round where teams must add onto their creation or build a completely new object in a shorter amount of time.

     

    Game Variations

    • The overall goal can be adjusted, so teams can build a certain object—like a fort, build something functional—like a chair, or simply build the tallest building.
    • If playing outside, players can use natural objects like branches, leaves, or sand to build their creations.
    • Provide a shorter amount of time to increase competitiveness.
    • Teams could also be blindfolded during play for a real challenge while building or perhaps only use one hand each for building.
    • Teams can be in plain view of each other or hidden, so as not to copy the other team’s ideas.

  • 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.
  • 6 Skillful Silly Party Games With Ping Pong Balls

    6 Skillful Silly Party Games With Ping Pong Balls

    Want a great party? Check out these silly party game ideas — all you need are ping pong balls (also known as table tennis balls)!

    1. Junk In The Trunk

    You want to see your friends shake their hips, right? This is a game of vitality, constitution, and something that looks very much like twerking.

    What you need

    • An empty tissue box for each player.
    • Eight ping pong balls per player
    • Strong tape
    • Each player should wear a belt
    • Optional: Club music with a fast, heavy beat

    Set Up

    1. Use the tape to attach the tissue box to the back of each player’s belt. The box will sit just above the player’s buttocks, with the opening of the box facing away from the player.
    2. Put eight ping pong balls into the tissue box of each player.
    3. Have somebody not playing stand behind the players as the judge.
    4. Prepare the music.

    Rules

    All players should use the swinging and shaking of their hips to empty the tissue box of all ping pong balls as quickly as they can. This can take longer than you might expect. Cheering is encouraged to keep the twerkers working. 

    The first player to evict all balls from their box wins!

     

    2. Ponginator

    All the fun of bouncing ping pong balls without the paddles. This chaotic and fast paced game will have you bouncing balls into an egg box. It will leave a mess of balls all over the room, but you’ll be so focused until the end of the game you might not even notice.

    What you need

    • Ping pong balls. Lots of them! Each player should have a different colour.
    • An empty egg box. Check that vacant egg space will fit one of your ping pong balls.
    • A chair, stool or table for each player, plus one. Anything with with a hard flat surface will do. The final surface is to hold the egg box.

    Set-Up

    1. Place the egg box on one of your chairs/tables in the middle of the room.
    2. Place each of the other chairs an equal distance away from the egg-box, in a circle if possible.
    3. Give each player a bag, box, or bowl full of ping pong balls of one colour, giving a different colour of balls to each player
    4. Have each player stand behind one of the empty chairs/tables.

    Rules

    Players must bounce a ball off the chair/table in front of them so that it lands in the egg box. This is harder than it looks! Ping pong balls that hit the eggbox may tumble around like a rugby ball, and fall out onto the floor.

    All players play at the same time, and can work through their balls as fast as they like.

    The first player to land five balls of their colour in the eggbox wins!

    Tip: Consistency is key. You can’t control exactly how your ball is going to act if it hits the egg box, but if you hit the egg box more often than other players you’re more likely to get lucky. Find a technique that works for you and stick with it.  

     

    3. Bouncer

    This game uses the same bouncing mechanics as the game above, but the distances are shorter so players have more control over their ping pong balls. The skillful will prevail. It also takes up a lot less space, and does not require more than one colour of ball.

    You will need

    • A bunch of ping-pong balls for each player. Any color.
    • Four glasses for each player.

    Set-up

    1. Have each player stand facing the edge of a table.
    2. In front of each of them, about 40cm from the table’s edge, line up the four glasses parallel to that edge of the table.
    3. Give each player a bag, box or bowl of ping pong balls.

    Rules

    Players must bounce their ping pong balls off of the table’s surface and into the glasses in front of them. The ping pong balls must be bounced off the table before they go into the cup — they cannot be thrown directly into the cup.

    The first player to fill all of their cups wins!

     

    4. Whipper Snapper

    Here’s a fun use of a bath towel. If you ever tried to whip somebody in the school locker room, you know you can get a mean flick with a towel. Use that power to launch ping pong balls across the room into a goal.

    You will need

    • One tower per player.
    • A weight for each player. This is to hold one side of the towel down. A doorstop, dunbell, or particularly heavy book should do the trick.
    • Ping pong balls. Of course.
    • A box, bin or bucket for each player. These are the goals.

    Set-Up

    1. Lay down the towels on one end of the room.
    2. Hold down one end of each player’s towel with a weight.
    3. Place a ping pong ball on the other end of the towel, ready to be flung.
    4. Place the boxes, bins or buckets on the other end of the room, one opposite each towel.
    5. Players should kneel or stand at the end of the towel with the ping pong ball.

    Rules

    Players will fling the towels upwards and forwards to launch the ball towards the boxes.

     

    5. Puddle jumper

    Another nice quality to ping pong balls is that they float, and with a little force that buoyancy can allow them to jump out of the water. We can use that to play a game that requires a controlled use of a particular force that comes from your body. That force is the air expelled from your lungs, which we will use to propel ping pong balls from one glass of water to another.

    You will need

    • 6 glasses per player.
    • At least 3 Ping pong balls per player, and ideally a couple spare.

    Set-Up

    1. Fill each of the six glasses with water up to the top.
    2. We will set the glasses up in pairs: one where the ping pong ball starts, and another where it should end. The pairs should get harder as the player goes on, so we put them further apart. The distance between the leftmost glasses should be 10cm apart, the middle glasses should be should be 17.5cm apart, and the rightmost glasses should be 25cm.
    3. The three “starting glasses” should be in line with each other. Put a pnig pong ball in these glasses.
    4. Now you should have six glasses, in three increasingly difficult pairs, in front of each player, with a ping pong ball in each of the three glasses closest to the player.

    Rules

    Using only the power of blowing, each player must push the ping pong balls from the starting glasses into the target glasses. If you have spare ping pong balls, if a player’s ball misses the target glass they can take a spare ball and put it in the relevant starting glasses. Otherwise they will have to chase after the ping pong ball they just blew and use that instead.

    The first player to get ping pong balls in all of the target glasses wins!

     

    6. Blow Ball

    Another game that uses breath. You will be blowing some balls off of a dinner plate, while trying not to blow other balls. This one will require a gentle touch and a little thought about how and where you’re blowing.

    What you need

    • A dinner plate for each player.
    • Ping pong balls of one color. Enough to almost fill one plate, for each player.
    • Some ping pong balls of a second color. You only need three per player. These are the balls you want to stay on the plate at the end of the game.

    Set-Up

    1. Put the plates on a table, chair or stool. You will want to move to get to all sides of the plate. If you have to use a large table, put the plates in the corners of the table to make it easier to move around them.
    2. Fill the plate with ping pong balls, including the three balls that are a different colour to the rest.
    3. Players take a deep breath.

    Rules

    The aim is to blow all ping pong balls off the plate, except the three different-colored balls. If one of the different colored balls comes off the plate, it must be placed back on the plate before the player can continue blowing the other balls.

    The first player to be left with only the three different-colored balls on their plate wins!

  • iSpy Wedding Hunt

    iSpy Wedding Hunt is a combination between the typical iSpy game combined with a scavenger hunt that can be played at a wedding. This game is ideal for a wedding since it incorporates large amounts of players. Each of the players photos can be given to the bride and groom at the end, so they have unique photos and angles of their special day.

    Guests are provided with a checklist of items and different types of photos to take. They will carry this list around the wedding reception and hunt for the perfect pictures. Participants use their cell phone cameras or provided disposable cameras at a wedding to capture the items on the list.

    iSpy Wedding Hunt Set-Up

    Create a printable checklist before the wedding reception assigning the different tasks and place on each table.

    Organize how you will group people based on the amount of participating guests.

    The checklist can include:

    Someone holding hands, twirling on the dance floor, different generations together, a new friend you met at the wedding, the bride laughing, your favorite guest’s outfit, something old, something new, something blue, something sparkly, a piece of cake, a selfie with the newlyweds.

    • Cameras can be assigned individually or within partners.
    • Create teams for the hunt.

    Materials Needed

    You will need the following items to play the iSpy Wedding Hunt:

    • iSpy Wedding Hunt checklist
    • Writing utensils
    • Disposable camera/cell phone

    How to Play iSpy Wedding Hunt

    1. Divide the guests accordingly—as individuals, into pairs or groups. Also, determine who will be judging.
    2. Pass out a pen, checklist, and disposable camera—if necessary—or take out your cell phone.
    3. Read over the created checklist.
    4. Take 20-30 minutes during the reception to find the items or have the hunt be continuous throughout the reception.
    5. Take pictures of each item to bring to the judges at the end of the game.
    6. Have a small prize for the winners such as an extra party favor.

    Variations

    • The checklist can be customized to the themes, colors, guests, and any other aspect of the wedding. You can have your guests finding specific objects such as a champagne glass or have them find actions and special moments to capture like the father-daughter dance.
    • The teams can be organized in pairs or larger groups.
    • At a smaller wedding, individuals can each have their own cameras and play on their own.
    • The allotted time can be shortened to 20-30 minutes or last the entirety of the reception to include photos from the whole event.

  • The Priest of the Parish

    The Priest of the Parish is a call and response game, popular in youth groups across the world.  The game warms up player’s vocal cords, legs, and memory muscles.  It also goes by other names, including The Prince of Paris.

    This version of the game can be played with very large groups, even over one hundred (arranged into teams).  It can also be played individually with groups of ten or so. In both games the players must remember the script. One of the goals is to speak in unison with your team-members, fostering a sense of team spirit.

    Set-up

    1. Arrange the players into teams. There should be an equal number of teams. Five to ten players is a good team size. For example, six teams of five would work for thirty players, and for one hundred players pick ten teams of ten.
    2. Have all players stand in their teams in two rows a few meters apart, facing each other, so that each team faces another team.
    3. Give each team a number or name.

    The script

    • The organizer starts the round by stating:
      “The priest of the parish has lost his thinking cap. Some say this, and some say that, but I say it was Team [X].” (where [X] is one of the team names).
    • The announced team stands up, and that team and the organizer now follow this script:

    Team: “Who me sir?”
    Organizer: Yes you, sir.
    Team: Couldn’t be, sir.
    Organizer: Then who, sir?
    Team: Team [X], sir.
    Organizer: Team [X]?

    The newly team accused now has the same conversation with the organizer, and so on.

    • If a team speaks out of unison, fails to stand up, or if a team stands up when they should not have, that team is moves to one end of their row, and the other teams in their row move up to fill the gap.

    The goal of the game is to be as far from the “loser’s end” of the rows as possible — though don’t take this goal too seriously. The game is really about getting everyone speaking up, rushing and getting excited, making mistakes, and having a few laughs.

    Variations

    Many variations can change the dynamic of this game in interesting ways.

    If playing with individuals, you don’t need to gives numbers, but can just refer to everyone by name. This makes it a nice introductions game, as everyone must remember each other’s names.

    The script can become more complex, making it harder to remember and therefore easier to make mistakes. This is great when playing as individuals, instead of in teams, as the challenge of remembering the script and not getting tongue tied replaces the challenge of speaking in unison. One such more complex script that has been observed includes the following line in place of saying “Team [X], sir”:

    “I [player name], with an honorable flick to the front, do hereby accuse [another team or player]”. The player would additional salute as they say “an honorable flick to the front”. Failing to recite the accusation exactly prompted raucous cries of “Objection!” from the other players.

    Another variation, when playing in teams, would be to have the names or numbers assigned to the positions in the row, not the teams themselves. For instance, the third team in the row would start the game as team 3, but if they make a mistake and moved down the row they would become team 1, and two other teams would move up and their numbers would also change. The new challenge here is just to remember what your number is, and everyone will find great amusement watching the odd player jump up when it isn’t their turn because they forgot their number. Or when almost everyone in a team jumps up, but leaves one inattentive player sitting!

  • Who’s My Match?

    If you’re peanut butter, where is your jelly?  Which fictional police detective is the partner of David Starsky? Which royal is married to Kate Middleton? In this introductions game, the guests at your get-together take on the role of famous figures. Through the power of conversation they will figure out each other’s hidden identities, and try and find their match!

    This game will play everyone at the party.  Ten to twenty people or so will make for a good game — but it certainly works fine for larger groups.

    Set-Up

    1. As the host of the party, prepare a name-tag for each guest at your party by writing the names of famous figures from famous partnership on each name-tag. Both halves of the partnership should be represented on a name-tag. For example, you might have these eight name-tags: “Pinky,” (and his match) “The Brain,” “Beyonce,” (and her match) “Jay Z,” “Peanut butter,” (and its match) “Jelly,” “Romeo,” (and his match) “Juliet.”
    2. As guests arrive at the party, give them a random name tag. This is their hidden identity. You can try and give female identities to the women at the party and males names to men, but the game will be even funnier if you don’t worry about it!
    3. Tell the guests to read the name tag, then to put it in their pocket and not to tell other guests what is written on it!

    Play Who’s My Match?

    • As a player, the aim of the game is to find the guest who owns the name tag that matches yours. If you are Tom, you are looking for Jerry. You do this by talking to the other guests.
    • However — when answering questions about their hidden identity, players can only answer yes or no.
    • When asking questions players cannot ask directly ask about a character’s name. For example, questions like “Does you name start with a B?” or “Are you Beyonce?” are not allowed.

    If you think you have found your match, both players should go to an organizer to find out if they were correct or not. If you were correct, both players can now wear their name tags to show that they are “taken.”  This helps other players who are struggling to find their match. If you didn’t get it right this time, keep searching!

    Tips

    • When making the tags, throw some curveballs. A clever guest who gets the name Starsky might immediately know they are looking for Hutch, but you will make things harder for them if you also put in a similar pair, such as Cagney and Lacey. Now a question like “Are you a police detective?” isn’t so helpful.
    • Also, know your audience. You might want to focus on celebrity partners, or partners in literature, or partners in film, depending on the group you are organizing for.
    • When playing the game, ask other players about: their profession, their age, etc.

    The lovely advantage to this game is that it gets everyone at the party interested in each other. They know their partner is out there looking for them, and they just have to mingle to meet them. For this reason, it’s a real jewel at events where people haven’t yet met each other.

    When two players have found their match, ask them to pose as the people on their name-tags for a funny photo that you can put online.