Fun Icebreaker Ideas & Activities

Category: Party Games

These activities and games are useful for all kinds of parties. They are memorable, hilarious, entertaining, interesting… you name it. They are definitely not boring!

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Fun Physical Party Games

    Here are three games that have you and your friends using your bodies in unusual ways.

    Pass The Orange

    An orange, or a tennis ball, or a plastic bottle: grab one, and put it under your chin. Hold it there using your chin and neck, trapping it near your collarbone. Take your hand away. From now on, nobody in the room may touch the object with their hands until the game is won or lost.

    The group wins when everyone in the room has had possession of the “orange,” which means having it held under their chin, and it is then passed back to the starting player. The transfer must be made directly from neck to neck. You all lose if the orange is dropped, or anyone touches the orange with any other part of their body.

    This game gives your upper body a workout doing something it wasn’t exactly designed for. Everyone will be twisting and turning and rubbing cheeks in this fruity relay race. “Orange” you having a great time!

    Bend A Friend

    In Pass The Orange, you try and keep an orange from falling on the floor. In Bend A Friend, you are trying to keep yourself from falling on the floor — and this isn’t even a drinking game.

    To play, you will need an empty cereal box, and some scissors. Cut the flaps off from the box, and place it in a clear area, ideally one with a soft carpet.

    Each player can step up to the mark to attempt the challenge. They must pick up the cereal box with only their teeth. No part of their body except their feet may touch the ground, or be used for support. Your less flexible friends might quickly find themselves in trouble. Falling to the ground, or dishonorably giving up, means they are eliminated from the game.

    When everyone has had their attempt, those that succeeded proceed to the next round, which is the same as before but with an inch cut from the top of the cereal box. Continue with increasingly difficult rounds in the this way until everyone is eliminated. Those that picked up the smallest box are the winners. Those that fell over will be in good company, as everyone else will be rolling on the floor laughing.

    Suck and Blow

    From mouth to box, to mouth to mouth. This game requires a playing card.

    Put the card to your lips, and suck in air through your mouth. A mixture of the moisture on your lips and the suction of your breath should just, barely, keep the card in place there.

    Your challenge is now to pass this card to the next player. Of course they must only use the suction from their mouth to take the card. The person giving the card should blow a little to release the card. The confusion that results of somebody sucking when they should be blowing, or blowing too early, or blowing or sucking too much or too little, is part of what makes this game a laugh. And the innuendos, of course.

    Keep passing the card around in a circle until it is dropped, which eliminates the guilty player from the game. Everyone else continues, though they may be a little out of breath.

    When two players successfully make an exchange everyone else can helpfully tell the new card-holder: “You suck!”

    Variations

    Each of these can be played as drinking or forfeit games, where the person who drops the orange/touches the floor/releases the card must drink or take the forfeit.

  • 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.

  • Botticelli

    Botticelli is a strategic question game similar to other guessing games like 20 Questions. One player takes on the role of a famous person whom all players know reasonably well (when this game was conceived Sandro Botticelli, the Italian renaissance painter of The Birth of Venus, must have satisfied this requirements, hence the name of the game). Questions are asked to work out who this celebrity is, but with some quick thinking and general knowledge the choosing player can avoid answering the questions directly. This makes the game a little more tactical and complex than other guessing games, and great for long car journeys. Botticelli can be played with only two players, or as many as you can fit in a minivan on a road trip.

    Set-Up

    • One player, the chooser, privately chooses a famous figure/celebrity to take the role of. Let’s use Heath Ledger as an example. 
    • They announce the first letter of the celebrity’s name. If the person is best known by their second name or by a pseudonym, the first letter of that name can be used instead. In this example, the chooser tells the rest of the group that the person’s name begins with “H.”

    Play

    1. The other players take turns to guess other characteristics of the chosen person. They should first think of a celebrity for whom the answer to their question is “yes”. For instance, a question might be “Are you an actor?” and the asking player might have the name “Halle Berry” in mind.
    2. The chooser has the opportunity to make a counter-guess of sorts, to avoid answering the question. The are trying to guess the name that the question asker had in mind. The player would say “No, I’m not Halle Berry,” in which case the question asker confirms that was the celebrity he was thinking of, and the game continues. The chooser has therefore successfully avoided having to tell the group that his character was an actor. Note that at this point the player does not answer the question directly, but attempts to dodge it by answering a question that wasn’t asked.
    3. Let’s say that the player guessed incorrectly: they said “No, I’m not Harrison Ford.” At this point the question asker replies “I was thinking of Halle Berry.” Now, the question asker can ask a question (either the same question as before, or something different) that the player has to answer directly, with a yes or no. This way players can gain concrete information. 
    4. The player might not be able to suggest an alternative celebrity that fits the question. If the player doesn’t not know any other actors whose name begins with H, they say “I don’t know who you’re thinking of.” Now, as above, question asker can ask a question, and the player must answer it directly, with a yes or no.
    5. When the player has answered a question directly, the next player in order can ask a question that can be answered indirectly by the player, as in step 1, and the game continues.
    6. As more information about the celebrity is confirmed, the list of potential correct answers are narrowed down, but it might also become easier for the chooser to make a counter-guess.
    7. On their turn, a player can directly guess the name of the celebrity. If they are correct, the guessers win. If they are incorrect, their turn ends.

    Trivia Variation

    Another way to play this game is for the players to ask general knowledge questions that have answers that also begin with the first letter of the chosen celebrities name. For example, “What was the last state to join the USA?”. If the player knows the answer —Hawaii — the other players keep asking questions, but if the player is stumped, the question askers can ask a direct question about the celebrity, as above.

  • The Energy Game (Hands of Power)

    The Energy Game is a drama class warm-up exercise. One player starts by making a sound and a motion, such as a raising fist and growling, or spreading out their arms and roaring. In turn, each player amplifies the energy of this action, as it gets louder and louder around the group.

    Play the Energy Game

    • Everyone stands in a circle.
    • The first player makes a sound and a motion. For example, they might put their hand up and say “Umm”, or wrap their arms around themselves and shiver, or hide their head and whimper, or shake their finger and sigh. Everyone should be at ease doing whatever action and sound they feel like. This is an opportunity to be creative, but part of the beauty of the game is that the player who has the difficult job of starting things off only has to do so in a small and inconspicuous way. From here, things will only get louder.
    • The player to the right mimics the sound and the action of the first player, but they must increase the energy level of the action. The sound must be louder, and the gesture must be exaggerated.
    • Continue around the circle, with each player adding more energy. When everyone has had a turn, the starting player must do the action/sound combo once more at the highest intensity yet, to finish off the round.
    • Another player starts a new round with a new sound and gesture.

    Each player will naturally unleash the energy with a little of their own personality. This, combined with the increasingly absurd exaggeration and volume of the actions, can make for a very funny game. To outperform their peers each player will put aside any self-consciousness and be able to simply shout and show-off a little.

    When everyone has had a chance to be both loud and quiet, the group will be both more at ease with, and more receptive to, themselves and each other. This exercise gets endorphins flowing and smiles showing.

    Bonus Exercise: Hands of Power

    When your vocal cords have been stretched, take up this leading and following exercise for a different style of play. Also regularly deployed at the start of a drama lesson in schools, Hands of Power is a game of trust and awareness and is fun for all ages.

    Play

    • Make up pairs of players.
    • One player, the leading player, holds their hand in front of the other player’s face, so that the second player’s vision is obscured. The leading player starts moving around the room.
    • The second player must follow the first so that their face follows the first player’s hand. With a large group and lots of pairs moving around, this can get quite chaotic, and their are both concentration and trust elements to this game. It is the leader’s role to guide the follower safely around the room!
    • The leader might want to try raising their hand low and high or twisting their palm to see how their partner reacts.
    • After a minute or two, have the players switch roles in their pairs, so the leader becomes the follower and vice versa.

    There may be no winners in these exercises, but they’re still great fun.

  • 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. 

  • The Bests

    Perhaps you have seen those TV game shows where two team of friends or family members nominate people in their team to participate in a number of challenges. If you have ever thought it would be fun to try that out, The Bests is the game for you.

    What sort of skills will you be tested in? How about the longest stare? The quickest at looking up words in a dictionary? The fastest at walking backwards? Yes, this is a quirky game of unusual challenges. From the list of many challenge suggestions below there will be something for everyone, and even if you team loses, the pure silliness of it all will still keep things fun. This makes The Bests equally excellent for a laugh among friends, or to break the ice around strangers.

    This game works best with groups of 8 to 20 players of any age.  For extra large groups, choose a smaller group of volunteers to play at the front of the room while everyone else watches.

    Set-Up

    • As the organizer (who will not be playing) gather some or all of these items: paper cups (six or more), a dictionary, a coin, a tape measure, chewing gum, a tennis ball, and/or a stopwatch. Check the list of challenges below to find out how you will be using this strange assortment of items! You can also come up with your own challenges, and if so make sure to get hold of any equipment you will need. Also get a pen and paper to record the results.  Randomly put players into groups of four or five.

    Play

    The organizer should start each round by announcing the first part of the name of the challenge.  For example, he or she could say “The measurement..” but don’t announce what is being measured quite yet! For example, for “The Fastest Cup Stacker” round, simply announce that this round is for “The Fastest.”

    Each team now puts forward one of their players to compete in the round, who they believe will be “The Fastest…” though they don’t yet know what they need to be the fastest at! Every player needs to be picked once before anyone is chosen to participate in a second round.

    When you have a player from each team for this round, reveal the full title of the round and explain how to play.

    Give all players the equipment they need, and, if needed, tell them when to start. Meanwhile, you should referee the round to determine who wins.  The winner of the round gets one point for their team.  When all challenges have been completed, read out the scoreboard in reverse order, finally announcing the winning team. Then break out the champagne!

    Challenges List

    The quickest… at finding a particular word in the dictionary.

    The biggest… head circumference.

    The fastest… at walking backwards.

    The longest… time you get a coin to spin with one touch.

    The strongest… at speed arithmetic (ask 10 math questions, and the team who gives the fastest correct answers most often wins the point).

    The best endurance… in a staring contest.

    The shortest… time it takes to sing the Alphabet song.

    The widest… bubble blown with bubble gum.

    The greatest… at stacking paper cups (they must stack a pyramid of 6 cups, then put all the cups together again, in the shortest amount of time).

    The tallest… throw with a ball that is caught (both players have a chance to throw the ball into the air and try to catch it — the highest throw that is also caught wins).

    The most… hair.

    … and feel free to make up your own crazy rounds, too!