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!

  • Air Balloons

     

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

    Recommended ages:

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

    Recommended number of people:

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

    Materials needed:

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

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

    How to set up the game:

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

    How to play:

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

    Winning the game:

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

  • Magic Word Game

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

    Recommended ages:

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

    Recommended number of people:

    Good for large groups of 12+ people.

    Materials required:

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

    • Bead necklaces, Hawaiian leis, or plastic sunglasses

    How to set up the game:

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

    How to play:

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

    Winning the game:

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

  • Marshmallow Toss

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

    Recommended ages:

    This game works best for ages 12 and up.

    Recommended number of people:

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

    Materials needed:

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

    How to set up the game:

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

    How to play:

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

    Winning the game:

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

  • Hot and Cold Game

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

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

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

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

    How to play:

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

    Winning the game:

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

  • Collaborative Drawing

    Combine your artistic talents together to create the ultimate drawing without seeing what others have added before you!

    This icebreaker game is good for ages 10 and over. Collaborative Drawing must be played with a minimum of 4 people.  There is no maximum amount preferred.  If groups get unmanageable, subdivide into smaller sized groups.

    To play this game you are going to need the following items:

    1. Paper for all participants
    2. Writing utensils for everyone
    3. A timer or stopwatch

    Setup for Collaborative Drawing

    You won’t need to set anything up prior to starting this game!

    How to play Collaborative Drawing

    1. Distribute paper and writing utensils to everyone that will be playing. Make sure that the players are sitting in some sort of orderly fashion such as a circle or in straight lines.
    2. Instruct each person to fold their paper into four equal sections, as you would fold a letter. They should then unfold the paper so that it is flat again.
    3. Players are then told to draw a head for their drawing in the uppermost section. It doesn’t matter what kind of head they draw or where on the upper section it is, as long as the neck connects to the top of the second section on the paper.
    4. Instruct players to fold their paper over in order to hide the head they drew, leaving only the very bottom of the neck showing to help the next player in their drawing.
    5. All players pass their folded papers to their left and accept the paper being handed from their right side. Each time a new paper is given to each player, they must draw the missing section, connecting it to the other person’s previous section without actually looking to see what it looks like. This process will be repeated for all three of the other remaining sections: torso, legs, and feet. Make sure that all the players know to leave the very bottom of their drawing visible so that the next person can continue on. Each section should be timed to avoid spending too long on this game.
    6. Once the drawings are all completed, open up the papers and check out the crazy creatures or people that are featured there!

    Winning the game:

    This game should be used as a fun icebreaker. There is no way to win or lose the game. Its purpose is just for people to get together and have some funny drawing crazy creatures!

  • Human Rock Paper Scissors

    Human Rock Paper Scissors is a fun, quick ice-breaker that can be used for a medium-sized group of people. Many are familiar with the classic hand game, rock-paper-scissors, each of which conquers one another depending on the combination. This game is a play on the game, but requires people to get on their feet, move, and act as a team, rather than an individual.

    This ice-breaker is especially fun because it can be tailored to many different themes and variations.

    Setup for Human Rock Paper Scissors

    As a large group, decide a full-body pose that will signify each element (e.g. Rock – each person of one group will bend down and hug their knees and curl into a ball so they look like a rock, Scissors – each person of one group will stand with legs shoulder-width apart and both arms up and hands behind the head so they look like a scissor).

    Playing Human Rock Paper Scissors 

    After the poses are decided, break participants into two groups. For each round, each group will need to do one of the poses (everyone in each group will need to do the same pose). Each group will have 5 minutes to strategize. Once all of the groups have their poses ready, a facilitator will have the two groups face each other and count down from three (e.g. three….two…one….SHOOT). On “SHOOT” each group will need to strike one of the three poses. Rock beats Scissors, Scissors beat Paper, and Paper beats Rock. You can play however times you’d like. Best out of 5 rounds is a good number for a medium sized group.

    If you want to try some different themes of this game you can try some of the following themes or make up some of your own!

    • Lord of the Rings – Hobbit, Elf, Orc (Orc beats Hobbit, Elf beats Orc, Hobbit beats Elf)
    • Schools – Stanford, Cal, USC (Stanford beats USC, Cal beats Stanford, USC beats Cal)
    • Super Heroes – Batman, Spiderman, Green Lantern (Spiderman beats Batman, Batman beats Green Lantern, Green Lantern beats Spiderman)
    • Disney Villains – Maleficent, Ursula, Jafar (Maleficent beats Ursula, Ursula beats Jafar, Jafar beats Maleficent)

    This is a very fun activity that’s quick, high-energy and requires no pre-activity prep.

  • Secret Santa Gift Exchange

    Who is your Secret Santa? The Secret Santa Gift Exchange is a fun party game that involves buying a gift for somebody — and that person has no idea who!  It’s ideal for the holidays, especially during Christmas time.

    Setup for the Secret Santa Gift Exchange

    One person needs to be the Secret Santa coordinator.  This person needs to generate a list of all the participants for this activity.  He or she will then randomize who is assigned to whom.  Make sure no one is assigned to themselves.  Once everyone is assigned their Secret Santa, the coordinator tells everyone who they have been assigned.

    Playing Secret Santa Gift Exchange

    The coordinator emails everyone with the rules and explains to everyone the time limit to buy presents.  Two or three weeks is a good amount of time.  Each person must buy a gift and secretly deliver it to their assigned person.  To deliver the gift, you can give it to a third party or find another clever way to drop off the gift.

    Alternatively, you can also be a secret santa over a longer duration of time.  For example, you can be a Secret Santa for an entire month and give secret little gifts for a long time.

    It is up to you if you want to reveal your Secret Santa identity!  It’s not required although it might be more fun to eventually have your identities revealed.

  • Categories

    The Categories Game tests your ability to pull names of people and places, and other words, from your memory while under pressure in this simple quick-thinking game. Great for car journeys, and it can also be played as a drinking game (of course, only if you are of the proper age).

    4 to 10 is a good number of players for Categories. It can be played with more, though gaps between each player’s turn will become longer. Split into two groups if needed.

    With pen and paper

    Each player is given a pen and a sheet of paper.

    • A category is chosen. Just for example: names of counties, last names of celebrities, makes of car, or names of films.
    • A letter of the alphabet is chosen. The letters Q, U, V, Z, Y or Z can make the game too challenging, and mental blocks in this game will cause frustration and boredom, which is why those letters were removed from the dice in the similar game called Scattergories.
    • Set a countdown timer for one minute.

    Aim

    • The goal of the game is to score points by writing words that start with the given letter and fit into the given category.
    • You are rewarded for originality: a word is only worth points if other players have not also thought of it.

    Play

    • Start the timer.
    • Everyone spends the next minute writing down as many valid words (those that fit the category and start with the correct letter) as they can think of.
    • When the timer ends, everyone stops writing immediately.
    • Each player reads through their list of words out loud. If one of their words was also written by another player, that player should say so. That word scores no points for either player. Every word that only appears one one players list scores one point for that player.
    • If anyone thinks a word does not fit the category, all players can vote on whether to accept the word or cross it off. In the case of a tie, the word is disqualified.
    • The player with the most points wins.

    Without Pen and Paper

    This simpler variation removes the need for a pen and paper, or for points scoring. Instead, players take it in turn to give a valid answer, and if they take too long to think of one they are eliminated, or take a forfeit.  This version is great at times that you cannot write, such as during a car journey.

    Play

    • Everyone gathers into a circle.
    • Decide on a category and a letter of the alphabet, as above.
    • In clockwise order, starting with a random player, each player must give one valid answer.
    • If a player cannot think of any, or takes more than five seconds to give an answer, they are eliminated from the game.
    • A new category, letter, or both are decided upon, and a new round begins starting with the player to the left of the eliminated player.
    • The last player standing is the winner.

    Instead of eliminating a player, you can have them take a drink. It won’t improve their ability to give an answer in the next round, though!

  • Wink Murder

    Wink Murder is a fun party game in a secret “killer” winks at people in the eye in order to get them eliminated.  Try to identify who the wink murderer is before he murders everyone!

    Setup for Wink Murder

    This game requires no special materials at all, making it a very convenient game to play.  It can be played both outdoors and indoors.  Also, no materials are required to be purchased.  The only step required is to get everyone together and to have them arranged in a circle.   This game works best when there are at least ten people, but no more than thirty, as the game may take too long.

    Playing Wink Murder

    Each round, you need a way to determine who is to be the “wink murderer.”  You can use a moderator who secretly picks a person while everyone’s eyes are closed, or you can deal each person a card from a deck of cards and pick a card like the Joker to represent who is the wink murderer for the round.

    Once a wink murder has been selected and everyone is ready to play, the game begins.   Everyone stands up and wanders around the room, making conversation.  Each person must make eye contact with each other.  The wink murderer must try to wink at other people.

    If a person receives a wink from the murderer, that person must “die” by falling to the ground dramatically (in a funny way, such as clutching one’s heart or gasping with loud noises).  He or she is allowed to wait a few seconds in order to make it harder to tell who the murderer is.  The dead person must leave the game and play resumes.  If a living person thinks that he or she knows who the murderer is, he or she can raise their hand and say “I accuse!”  Another person must “second” the accusation.  If there is a second, the accuser yells the name of the person they suspect is the murderer.   The accused must say “yes” (they are the murderer) or “no” (they are innocent).   If correct, the the murder has been successfully caught and the round is over (a win for the people).  If the accusation is incorrect, the accuser must leave the game as penalty.  Alternatively, the group may gain a “strike” for a wrong accusation, with the third strike being a loss for the people.  The game continues until the killer is identified or there is only one mingler left.

    An optional rule for the game is that there is no talking.

  • Who Am I

    Who Am I? is a guessing game where you use the traits and characteristics of famous, historical, or company figures to break the ice with each other. Any sized group can play — you are only limited by your own imagination! Materials required are sticky nametags and a marker.  Self-adhesive white Avery labels work great.  This game works well for medium to extra large sized groups.

    Setup for the Who Am I Game

    Before your group arrives, prepare sticky nametags with the names of famous people (or any other people that EVERYONE in the group will know).  For example, you can write:

    SUPERMAN
    INDIANA JONES
    HARRY POTTER
    BATMAN
    PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
    BRITNEY SPEARS
    MICKEY MOUSE

    And so on.  If you like, you could also stick labels on each person’s forehead instead of their back.

    Playing Who Am I?

    Place one of the nametags on the upper back of each player.  Once everyone has a nametag on their back, explain the rules to everyone: each person must try to figure out which famous person that they are, only asking “Yes” or “No” questions to gain clues about the name that is on their back.

    For example, a player can ask questions like: “Am I an athlete?” “Am I a female?” “Am I a young person?” and so on.

    Timing: This game takes about ten minutes in a group of 50, less for smaller groups, but about the same for bigger groups. This is a great way to get people talking!