Fun Icebreaker Ideas & Activities

Category: Medium Group

Icebreakers for medium groups. The following games work really well for a group size of 5-10 people. Check them out!

  • Bang / The Gun Name Game

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

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

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

    Rules

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

    Finale

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

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

  • Fake Artist

    Can you work out what is going on in another person’s mind just from a single line they have drawn? All players in this game are handed the same piece of secret information on slips of paper: a codeword. All players… except one. One player is given a blank slip of paper, and they are the spy. Everyone trying to work out who the spy is, while the spy tries to stay hidden. One problem: everyone can only communicate by drawing a single line on a shared sheet of paper.

    RULES

    1. An organizer, who is not playing, takes a number of slips of paper equal to the number of players. On all but one of these slips, they write the same word. This word is the codeword. The codeword could be an activity, a place, a person, or any noun. They leave one slip blank.
    2. One slip is dealt to each player. The player with the blank slip is the spy.
    3. The organizer gives the group a clue to the word, usually a category that relates to the word. For example, if the word was “dog”, the clue might be “pets.”
    4. Each player is given a pen or pencil. A piece of paper is placed in the centre of the table.
    5. A starting player is chosen randomly. They draw one line on the piece of paper, which should demonstrate to the other, non-spy players that they know what the word is, which will make it easier
    6. for everyone to identify the spy at the end of the round. However, they don’t want to give away too much information with their drawing, because the spy will have a chance to guess what the word is at the end of the round, and if they do, the spy will win.
    7. Play continues clockwise, each player drawing one line on the paper.
    8. When all players have had two turns, the drawing phase of this round is over.
    9. Everyone votes on who they think is the spy. Everyone raises their fingers and, on the count of three, points at who they think is the spy. When the votes are counted, the spy can reveal themselves.
    10. If more fingers are pointing to a player who is not a spy, the spy has won. If more fingers are pointing to the spy, the spy has one last chance to save themselves. They must guess the codeword. If they guess correctly, or close enough to satisfy the other players, the spy wins.

    Imagine that you have just been given that blank slip of paper. You hope your face gives nothing away as you nonchalantly place the slip of paper facedown again on the table. Behind everyone else’s eyes there are cogs turning as they think about what to draw based on the word they have just seen. You, too, furrow your brow, to look as if you have something to ponder, though you have nothing yet to work from.

    The first player takes their turn. It’s… a triangle? It means nothing to you. Some players aren’t sure either, but others nod, knowingly. You say nothing.

    The next player draws a circle a little way out from the triangle. A few players laugh: “What is that?” they ask.

    You take a chance. “I think I get it.” you say, though you still have no idea.

    “What is it, then?”, somebody says.

    “Well, I can’t give it away to the spy. Just look at it again.” They find this answer acceptable, and look again at the picture.

    The next player draws a line from the triangle. Again, the other players aren’t convinced. Feeling confident, you try to pin down a scapegoat: “Yeah, that could be anything. That’s pretty suspicious.”

    The line-drawer groans. “No, it makes sense. You just don’t get it yet…”

    There is one more player before you have to take your turn. What is this picture supposed to be? A boat? A landmark? A logo? You need to work out what that codeword is — and quickly!

  • Spoons

    Spoons is a game of speed, silliness, and having a sharp eye. It’s engaging, fast paced, and intense!

    The first thing you need to play Spoons is a pack of playing cards. The second thing you need is… spoons. To be precise, you will need one less spoon than the number of players who will play.  In other words, for seven players, you will need six spoons. Plastic spoons are totally fine.

    In the absence of spoons, please don’t attempt this game with knives or forks. Other than being inconsistent with the title of the game, it could actually cause injury. Still, if the scoopers cannot be acquired, play Spoons with sticks, beer mats, pens, or coins.

    The ideal number of players is the number that will fit comfortably in a circle around a pile of spoons — five to eight is ideal. The energetic nature of Spoons means it can be a favorite for any member of the family, except those with brittle knuckles.

    Set-Up:

    • All players sit in a circle.
    • Place one less spoon than the number of players (eg. for five players, place four spoons) in the centre of the circle, so that the pile is an equal distance away from all players.
    • Deal four cards to each player.
    • The dealer should keep the remainder of the deck near them to their left. The dealer will be the only player drawing from the deck.

    Rules:

    1. The dealer draws a card, then passes a card from their hand to the player on their left. When that player receives their new card, they must too choose a card from their hand to pass along to the left. Meanwhile, the dealer is simultaneously picking up a new card from the deck, and will then pass a card along. In this way cards a continuous flow of cards is created: as soon as a player has five cards, they must choose a card to pass to the left. The trick is to choose and pass quickly, so that there is a frantic pace of play.
    2. The player to the left of the dealer does not pass their chosen card to another player, but instead places it in a discard pile.
    3. When a player has a set of four matching cards, they may take a spoon.
    4. After one spoon has been taken, the race is on: all other players are allowed to grab for a spoon, and the player left without a spoon is the loser of this round.

    A player with four of a kind will usually make an immediate grab for a spoon, sparking an outburst of furious grabs and knuckles getting bruised.

    They could also make a more discreet acquisition while other players are paying attention to their cards. The spoon holder can then enjoy the ignorance of the rest of the circle (keeping their matching hand by always passing on all new cards given to him) until another player notices that a spoon is missing. In this way Spoons resembles the popular drinking game of observation and sneakiness, Thumb Master.

    Variation:

    If you have a little space (free of tripping hazards or antique vases — outside would be ideal), take the spoons some distance away from the players. No, instead of a grab, it’s a run and a dive!

  • 1000 Blank White Cards

    1000 Blank White Cards is a unique and hilarious game that involves zaniness and creativity.  Each person is handed ten blank white cards. These are the cards this game will be played with — but first, you have to write something on them to create interesting rules.  In other words, you have to decide the effect of the cards, how points are scored, what people do on their turn, and even how the game is won. Being presented with a blank canvas like this might be intimidating at first, but after you see how it works, everybody will be brimming with crazy new ideas.

    This is a game that takes on the personality of you and your friends — because it is created by you and your friends!  It can be simple, or if play with experienced gamers — the sort that play Hearthstone or Poker — you might end up with more complicated cards that favor combos, strategic thinking, and careful point scoring. Other groups will create cards that demand that players complete silly dares: “Speak like a pirate for one turn, then disc-ARRR-d this card.” or “Whilst this card is in front of you, you must do 10 jumping jacks before you take your turn.”

    Either way, as this is a game in constant flux it will surely be very unpredictable, chaotic, and hysterically silly. It can be played with two players — all the way up to large groups — but works best with four or five.

    Set Up For Your First Game

    You’ll need to have writing utensils and about 1000 blank white cards.  You can get white notecards, for example for about $10 at Amazon.  Hand out 10 blank white index cards and a pen or pencil to each player.  Each player should create cards that can be used to play this game. If this instruction sounds too vague — it’s supposed to be! — read the next section for more information on how the game is played. Then there are some guidelines below to help you get started.  Shuffle all the created cards that were created together, along with an additional 10 blank cards, to form a deck.  Deal out five cards to each player.

    Creating Cards

    A good guideline to follow is to give each card:

    • A title.
    • A picture.
    • An effect.

    Here are some examples of names and effects of card created by real 1000 Blank White Card players who have posted their creations online:

    • Bruce Willis Fails to Destroy the Asteroid and Everyone is Killed – everybody loses 1500 points.
    • Super Chewie – Can’t be discarded, ever! All cards featuring animals, breakfast food and stick figures are worth double points.
    • Winter Is Coming – Play in the center. At the end of each turn, discard the top card in the draw pile.
    • Grave Robber – Every turn, play the top card of the discard pile on yourself. +1000 points.
    • Sally’s Revenge – Play in the center. Any player called Sally draws three cards and puts them in play in the center. -500 points.

    Play

    1. On a player’s turn, they first draw a card from the deck. Then they play a card from their hand.
    2. Typically, a card is either played on oneself, placing it on the table in front of you, or played on another player, placing it on the table in front of them. For instance, you could play a card that said “+100 Points” on yourself, or play a card that said “-100 points” on another player. However, depending on what is written on the card, this might change. Cards could go into a discard pile, be played to the center of the table (which means they have an effect on all players), end up ripped up and thrown away after they are used — or anything else you can think of!
    3. Any player that wants to go first can start by drawing a card from the deck, starting their turn.
    4. If you have a blank card in your hand, you can write on it to turn it into a playable card at any time.
    5. After the first player has finished their turn, play continues clockwise, either until there are no cards left in the deck, or until some card effect has determined the end of the game.

    If you’re not sure what to write on a card, just ask yourself what cards you would like to see in the game. This might be a reaction to another card — for example, if one player makes a card that says “When this card is played, you win the game”, you might make a card that reads “Opposite day: If a player wins the game, play this card out of turn. That player loses the game.”.

    At the end of a game, you can discuss as a group which cards should be kept for play in future games (if you don’t want to keep them all). You might consider that the real aim of 1000 Blank White Cards is not winning, but making cards that get the approval of the group.

  • Sticker Ninja

    What is Sticker Ninja?  Well, it’s a game that requires stealth, agility, deception and the use of a hidden weapon to stick your opponents. Sticker Stalker makes for a nice, casual side-game at walk-around events where all guests are standing up and moving from group to group. Play it with any number of players — even as few as two, for a slightly absurd but intense competition. Stick another couple of tens of players in and that works well, too.

    Set-Up

    • You will need to purchase a set of sticker sheets — ten stickers per sheet is a quantity that works well.
    • As guests enter the event, give them each a sheet of stickers.  For “Pro” Sticker Ninja, give each player a different color or design of sticker, so you can verify a win (useful if there is a prize at stake). Regardless, some variety in the sticker stock will make this a more colorful game. Extra laughs if the stickers are absurd or childish; extra difficulty if they are large.  Explain the rules to everyone present before fidgety guests start sticking stickers on your TV set and pets.

    Rules

    Players must stick their stickers on other guests at the party.   Each of one player’s sticker must go onto a different guest, though oblivious guests might find themselves with a back full of stickers from several other players. If a player is “caught in the act”, by the guest they are targeting, that guest can remove the sticker and give it back to the player. However, if a guest doesn’t notice a sticker being placed on them immediately, they have to leave it — no removing stickers until the end of the night!

    The first player to get all of their stickers stuck to other guests can announce they they have won. That’s it! As mentioned, if you want to check that a winner hasn’t disposed of their stickers, you can ask that player to call all of their supposed victims to the centre of the party to be examined and shamed!

    You will never have had as many friendly “slaps-on-the-back” as you will at the start of this party, but if targets aren’t fooled by this tactic players will find more creative ways to prevail. A sticker on the back of the shoe, where the guest won’t feel the pressure of your fingers, is one possibility.

    If you managed to get a sticker onto the front of somebody’s belt buckle without them noticing, well, I think you should give yourself a pat on the back — though, if you don’t, I’m sure everyone else will be happy to “pat your back” for you!

  • Paper Snowball Fight!

    Paper Snowball Fight requires no real snow — it’s all about recreating a wintery fashioned snowball fight any time during the year! It is generally played in larger groups of friends but can be adjusted to fit a medium sized group as well. There are a few different you can play from the base game and it’s fun to mix things up. The snowballs are fun and easy to make on top of costing you next to nothing!

    Materials Needed

    • Paper
    • Paint or markers
    • Glue
    • Cardboard

    How To Set Up The Game

    Divide the player group into two teams. Afterward, use the resources to create a large pile of “snowballs” and select a large area to set up in. To create the snowballs take sheets of paper you have laying around and roll them into a ball, drop a little bit of glue in each one to ensure the snowball is held together well. Afterward use two different colors to mark the team’s snowballs and begin setting up the cover. If you don’t have natural cover use the cardboard to set up fake snow banks for the players to hide behind while planning their next move.

    How To Play Paper Snow Ball Fight!

    To play split the players up on the field and give both sides and equal allotment of snowballs.  The teams will have to stay behind a point or line that you can easily mark with a piece of cardboard at the start of the fight. Once started each team has to try to get the players out by hitting them with snowballs the team with the last player standing wins. If either team runs out of snowballs they will then switch colors as soon as the other team is empty or they stay in hiding for an amount of time that would force the game into a stand still.

    For a variation of this game, you can set up a capture the flag type scenario for your players.  To do this simply use paper and cardboard to make a mock flag and put it in the center of the field. The team who is first to successfully get the flag into the back of their base wins. To make the game run smoother don’t be afraid to place paper X’s where the flag goes.

    How To Win

    To win, simply take your time when in the game. Try to grab a stock of snowballs from the start and find cover, make sure to pay attention to your surroundings. If you can wait patiently for an opening then your team has a higher chance for success. If you find yourself playing capture the flag, then you may want to gauge who the most nimble member of your team is. Someone who is quick on their feet is less likely to get taken out by a snowball and return with the flag. Always be vocal with your teammates and make sure you are on the same page during and before the game for your best results.

  • Sequence

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

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

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

    Set Up:

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

    Rules:

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

    Play:

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

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

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

    Nightmare variant:

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

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

     

  • Hot Potato Camera

    Hot Potato Camera is like Russian roulette with selfies.  Not as fatal as the original game — but still pretty embarrassing — the loser will end up getting a naturally terrible photo that will have everyone laughing.

    This game will work with a regular camera as well. You just need to know how to use the timer function. You can play with two players up to many, but have a second camera sent around the circle if playing with more than ten.

    Set Up:

    • Grab a smartphone and open the camera app, or grab a dedicated camera.
    • All players sit in a circle, or around a table. They just need to be sat close enough together to pass the camera to their neighbor quickly.

    Rules:

    1. The player who starts with the camera sets the timer to whatever delay they want, whether a single second to half a minute. A longer timer will build more tension, but don’t set it so long that other players get bored.
    2. The player points the camera at themselves, smiles, then immediately passes the camera to the player on their left. The trick is to be quick about it. You don’t want to let any player look at the camera for more than a second, or they might accidentally get a good photo! If anyone tries it, give them a firm shove on the shoulder, and hope you hear a “click”.
    3. The player now with the camera repeats the previous step.
    4. Eventually, and without warning, the camera will go off! This will very rarely happen at an opportune moment, so you can enjoy many photos with your friends with half open mouths, awkward and anxious expressions, and unflatteringly blurred features.

    The magic of this game is that it makes use of a smartphone as a tool for having fun and interacting in-person, rather than through a phone network. This makes it equally appealing for smartphone-frustrated parents as it is for internet addicted teenagers. Play it with friends at a party, or with family in a lazy evening, and it is bound to be a laugh either way, and by the end you will have a whole album of horrible photos that everyone will be begging you not to put online.

  • 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…