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!

  • Strange Disease Diagnosis Game

    Strange Disease Diagnosis Game

    Uh oh, for some reason the patient is is acting really strange!  We’ll need to guess what illness does he or she have?  The Strange Disease Diagnosis Game (which also goes by several other names, including the Mysterious Illness Game, Doctor Game, Psychiatrist Game, or Diagnosis Game) is a fun party game that involves some acting and guessing.  It involves some improvisation and silliness.  It works in different sized groups, although smaller groups of about 5-10 people is probably best.

    Setup for the Strange Disease Diagnosis / Doctor Game / Psychiatrist Game

    This is a relatively easy acting oriented game which may be improvised or may involve some rehearsal or preparation if you so wish.  The easiest way to play this game is to have one person playing the doctor and the other people play the patients.  The doctor is asked to leave the room and the patients decide what disease, illness or syndrome they all have.  For example, the patients comes up with a strange syndrome or disease that they all think they are chickens, that they are Sarah Palin, that they are secret agents, or so on.

    Playing the Strange Disease Diagnosis / Doctor Game / Psychiatrist Game

    The doctor must figure out what is wrong.  He or she may ask any player a question, but everyone keeps track of the number of questions.  After each question, the doctor can make a guess (diagnosis) of what he or she thinks is wrong.

    Of course the patient cannot just say what their condition is; they need to give clues in their performance. A person who thinks they are a chicken will suddenly cluck without reason. If they think they’re a famous politician they might try to get them to vote for them. If they think they are being spied on they may look under the table, and so on. A doctor needs to ask questions, but need to do so in the role of a doctor.

    When the doctor has correctly guessed the name of the condition (or close enough) or alternatively has given up and the patient has revealed it the patient and the doctor should change places and it’s the other person’s turn to guess.

    If you want to play it in teams of two, one team could be doctor and patient while the other team could try to guess the syndrome. Then the teams switch places.

  • Ultimate Ninja Game

    Ultimate Ninja Game

    Ultimate Ninja is one of the fastest, most hilarious party games out there.  The primary goal to be the quickest ninja warrior by hitting another player’s hand — while dodging other player’s ninja attacks!  This activity works best with about ten people in a group.  If you have a very large group, subdivide into groups of ten.  Ensure you have plenty of space to play this game.

    Materials required:  None — just a large enough space to play!

    Setup for Ultimate Ninja

    Have all players stand in a circle, facing each other, in the middle of a room.   To begin, have everyone say together, “Ultimate Ninja!”  And then everyone can freeze in a ninja pose.  At the beginning of the game, everyone must remember their turn order.  Turns go clockwise; thus a person should remember who was before and after them.

    Playing the Game

    The goal of the Ultimate Ninja game is to be the last ninja standing.  To stay in the game, you must not let anyone hit your hand.  If someone hits your hand, you are “out” and must leave the game.  Each player takes turns.  On a player’s turn, he or she is allowed one motion: one smooth motion to attack another player, or one smooth motion to move somewhere (to jump or take a large step in any direction).

    Attacking another player

    When you attack another player, you try to hit their hand with one smooth motion.  When you attack, another player is allowed one smooth motion to try to dodge your attack, even if it is not their turn.  That is, he or she can react by moving their arm or hand away; however, he or she must hold this new pose.  If you have a successful attack (i.e., if you hit their hand successfully), that person must leave the game.

    As soon as a player takes his or her turn, the next person in order may immediately take their turn.  He or she does not have to wait.

    The last person remaining wins.  Have fun — may the best ninja survive!

  • 6 Challenging Party Games With Paper Cups

    1. Yank Me

    A game of steady-handed stacking and precision demolishing of paper-cup towers. Can be played solo, as a race, or in teams.

    You will need:

    • Three medium sized index cards per player. They need to be big enough to fit a paper cup on top of. If you can’t find index cards, try and find A4 paper of a similar weight that you can cut up into thirds across the width. You want fairly thick paper, at least 150gsm, or it won’t hold the cup.
    • Four paper cups per player

    Rules

    The challenge for each player is this:

    1. build a tower of upside-down cups that is four cups high, with an index card between each cup.
    2. from top card to the bottom, remove the index cards so that the cups fall onto each other in a stack.

    If you stacked the cups poorly, or you don’t pull the cards in the right way, the cups will tumble off the tower and you will have to stack them back up to their full height before you can try again.

    The first player to build and collapse their tower is the winner!

    To play this as a team race, get into teams of two and assign one person as the builder (who builds the tower) and another as the collapser (who removes the index cards). If the collapser causes cups to fall away from the tower, the builder must take over again to restack the tower to it’s full height before the collapser can try again. The first team to finish wins!

     

    2. Moving On Up

    A game that asks player to try to be a little ambidextrous, as they alternate hands to hastily cycle through a tall stack of cups.

    You will need:

    • Lots of plastic cups! 40 per player, in fact.
    • One cup of each 40 should be a different colour to the others. If you don’t have multiple colours of cup, you could simply colour one of the cups with marker pen.

    (To save on plastic cups, instead of having everyone play simultaneously, you could use only one stack of 40 cups and time each player when it is their turn.)

    Set Up

    For each player, stack all 40 cups with the differently colored odd-cup on the bottom. Give one stack to each player to hold at the bottom with one hand.

    Rules

    Players will take the cup from the top of the stack and move it to the bottom of the stack. With their other hand, they will now reach again to the top of the stack and move that cup to the bottom. This continues, with players alternating hands with each cup moved, and the odd-cup slowly moving up the stack.

    The winner is the first player to get the odd-cup to the top of the stack and move it back to the bottom, completing the cycle.

     

    3. Flip Your Lid / Cup Ballet

    Here’s a challenge with a plastic cup and a bottle that is very satisfying to pull off.

    You will need:

    • One bottle (glass or plastic) per player.
    • One plastic cup per player.

    Set up

    1. Place the bottles about 30cm away from the edge of the table.
    2. Turn the plastic cup upside down and place it over the edge of the table, so about one third of the opening hangs over the edge. Each player should have a plastic cup set up in this way facing their bottle.

    Rules

    Use your fingers to flip the plastic cup into the air towards the bottle. The first player to get their cup on top of the bottle (upside down) wins!

    You can also play in teams. Have one player hold the bottle. They will stand on the opposite side of the table. The player flipping the plastic cup will now have further to flip it, but their teammate will actively move the bottle to try to “catch” the cup. The first team to do so, wins!

     

    4. Pass The Water

    A relay race of passing water from cup to cup. The twist? You pass the water over your head, without looking. If your teammates get overexcited this could be a wet game.

    You will need:

    • A plastic cup for each player.
    • Water.

    Set-up

    1. Split your group in half. Arrange them into two lines, all players facing the same direction, one behind another.
    2. Give each player a cup.
    3. For the player at the front of the line, give them a cup that is filled to the brim with water.

    Rules

    Without turning, the players at the front of the lines must raise their cup over their head, then pour the water in the cup backwards, while the player behind them will (hopefully) catch as much of the water as they can.

    Repeat until the water has reached the last player in the line. The team with the most water left in the last player’s cup wins!

     

    5. This Blows

    Commit the air from your lungs to a balloon then skillfully wield it, like Storm from the X-Men, to topple paper cups. Or waste it as your balloon pathetically deflates.

    What you need:

    • A balloon per player.
    • 15 cups per player.

    Set-up

    1. Place the plastic cups in a line at about 15cm from the edge of the table. Each player should have their own separate line of 15 cups.
    2. Take hold of your balloon and prepare yourself.

    Rules

    Inflate the balloon, then hold the opening closed with your finger. Face the opening towards the first cup in the line on the table. Release the air from the balloon so that it pushes the cup, until the cup falls off the table. Repeat with the next cup in the line. You should be able to get several cups off the table before you have to reinflate the balloon.

    The first player to blow all 15  cups off of the table wins.

    6. Cup Stacking

    This game, that seems the simplest in the list, is in some ways the most competitive. There are even cup stacking championships. The world record for “sport stacking” is 1.33 seconds. How fast can you do it?

    What you need:

    10 cups per player. That’s it!

    Rules

    The challenge for each player is this:

    1. Build a pyramid of cups. Start with a line of four to make the base. On top of these, above the gap between the cups, place another three cups, each resting on two cups below. Repeat this with a line of two cups on top of that, and a final cup at the top.
    2. Collapse the pyramid into a single stack of cups. Instead of doing this one cup at a time, you can take the top cup and carefully work it down one side of the pyramid, collecting one cup at each level, then take that stack back up to the new top cup continue collecting cups. You can collapse a pyramid of cups very quickly this way, but don’t go so fast that you knock the whole thing down.

    The first player to collect all their cups back into one stack wins.

    Competitive cup stacking uses more complex patterns, but the challenge above is a good place to start. If you want to learn more about cup stacking, speedstacks.com/learn/ might be a good place to start.

  • Late Arrivals Game

    The Late Arrivals Game is an entertaining word/talking game.  It is a parlor game that was featured on Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue in the United Kingdom.  Each player takes a turn as the toastmaster of a fancy ball, introducing the guests of the ball.

    This game can serve as an icebreaker or party game.  It can be silly and works best with people 16 and up.  The game works best with groups of about 6-8 people.  The game involves some creativity, so you may form pairs or groups of three as well.

    Setup for Late Arrivals Game

    First, the facilitator (host) of the game must decide what the late arrivals have in common — in other words, what the theme of the ball is.

    Ideas for a round could include:

    • Late Arrivals at the Builders’ Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Cake Eaters’ Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Churchgoers’ Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Policeman’s Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Animal Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Gardeners’ Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Undertakers’ Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Cheesemongers’ Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Dog Lovers’ Ball.
    • Late Arrivals at the Foodie’s Ball.

    Each player takes it in turn to be toastmaster announcing fictional people to the ball, all of which need to have something to do with the theme of the ball and hopefully be amusing.

    Typically, each person will follow the model: “I’d like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. X and their son/daughter…[clever name]”

    An example could be from the Animal Ball, “Mr and Mrs Raffe and their daughter Jay!”  (sounds like Giraffe).

    “Mr and Mrs Debeest and their son Will!” (Wildebeest)

    “Mr and Mrs Raree and their daughter Saffy” (Safari)

    and so on.

    At the hairdresser’s ball, clever names might include something like the “The artist formerly known as Rinse.”

    There is not really any right or wrong answer for this game — allow players to be funny and creative as they wish.

    Because of the difficulty of coming up with answers off the cuff, it is probably better to have prior warning of this game, and maybe play in teams of about three or so. This should mean that at least you come with some ideas. Each team could have a different theme or ball.

    Keep playing and take turns coming up with additional names until each group cannot come up any more.

    The winner may be the one who continues when the other players/teams have given up or when the host or all players determine who was the funniest.

     

     

  • Wedding Shoe Game

    The Wedding Shoe Game is a great way to create laughs and memories after the ceremony. The shoe game is ideal for a wedding because it allows the whole audience to participate, while still focusing on the newlyweds. There is no limit to the amount of players that can participate. Guests can get to know the bride and groom more through their comical shoe responses and inevitable disagreements.

    Set-Up

    Ask the tables or individuals to submit ‘who’ questions before the wedding to use.

    • The questions should focus on the couple and be easy enough to answer with a raised shoe.  For example: Who is the better dancer? Who is more likely to do the dishes? Who is more likely to make the dishes? Who said I love you first? Who is more likely to get sunburnt? Who wears the pants in the relationship?
    • Seat the newly married couple in front of or in the middle of the room, dance floor, etc.
    • Have all the guests seated around the couple, so that everyone can see/hear them.
    • The teams will be set up based on the table seating. Each table of guests will be one group that can contribute a question to ask.
    • Select one individual such as the DJ or someone from the wedding party to ask the questions.
    • The bride and groom should each take one of their shoes off to use for the game.

    How to Play the Wedding Shoe Game

    • Seat the bride and groom in the front or middle of the room.
    • Have the bride and groom seated back to back, so they can’t see each other’s responses.
    • Select someone to read off the ‘who’ questions from the guests.
    • Whenever the question applies to the person, they will raise their shoe in the air.  For example: “Who is a morning person?”   The bride might raise her shoe and not the groom.
    • There can be some disagreements when asking questions like, who is funnier? Both the bride and groom might raise their shoe in the air.

    Variations

    • This game can be played at any point during the wedding, but it is most commonly played during the reception before food is served.
    • Instead of using one person to read the questions, the bride and groom can read them off to each other.
    • Family members and friends can also ask the questions.
    • Give each table five minutes to come up with one question together during the wedding.
    • The couple can raise any object in the air—their hands, a wand, a balloon.
    • The couple can switch shoes—the bride holds a dress shoe, while the groom holds a heel.

  • Sparkle Game

    Sparkle is a great group game that can be done as a warm up to get the brain thinking. Traditionally, it is played as a spelling game, but you can also do it with math problems, a memory verse, or focus on a specific subject instead. It’s a fun way to study previously learned or new information. The game is fast paced — with players constantly listening and ready to speak at any moment!

    Sparkle Set-Up

    This game is ideal for medium to extra large groups of people, and there is not a limit on the number of players.  It can be played in both indoor and outdoor settings.  The setup is fairly easy:

    • Create a circle or line standing up.
    • Assign one person to provide the words throughout the game.
    • That person can either create a pre-made list of words or think of the words during the game.

    How to Play the Sparkle Game

    1. Explain a memory verse, name a word, or a math problem—depending on which type of game selected.
    2. Arrange everyone in a circle or line, standing up, and facing the same direction.
    3. Choose one person to start the spelling.  For example, if the word is ‘LEADERSHIP’, the first player would say the letter ‘L,’ the second player would say ‘E,’ the third player would say ‘A,’ and this pattern would continue until the word ‘LEADERSHIP’ is fully spelled.
    4. After the word has been spelled, the next person must say ‘Sparkle.’
    5. The player next to the person who said Sparkle must sit down.
    6. If at any point in the game someone says the wrong letter, then they must sit down. The person next to them will continue the spelling.
    7. If you are sitting, then that means you are out of the game.
    8. After a word is finished, a new one will be selected to spell.
    9. This pattern continues–spelling and sitting– until one person is left standing, who is the winner!

    Variation

    • Instead of spelling words, players can use math problems or memory verses.
    • For a memory verse or song, teach the material first, and then assign different stanzas that players will have to memorize.

    For a song example,

    1. ‘Twinkle twinkle little star”
    2. “How I wonder where you are”

    Each player would sing one stanza until the song is complete.

    • Follow a theme when selecting words — for example, leadership, accountability, marketing, brand, and feedback. All of these words relate to the topic of business.
    • In a classroom setting, Sparkle can be played for students to memorize new vocabulary words in any subject.  For example, if students are studying history, Sparkle can be combined with quiz questions, such as:
      • Who was the first president of the United States?
      • The students would have to know whom the president was and how to spell his name.
      • G, E, O, R, G, E   W, A, S, H, I, N, G, T, O, N

  • 3 Games of Intimate Cooperation

    1. Pucker Up

    You won’t kiss anyone in this game, but you won’t be far off. The game challenges you to carry a tennis ball between the mouths of two players. Get in sync with your partner or risk dropping the ball and ruining the mood.

    You will need

    • 3 tennis balls per team
      A glass for each team
      A bowl for each team

    Set-up

    1. Put the glass and bowl, which are your start point and endpoint respectively, on opposite sites of the room.
    2. Place the tennis balls near the glass.
    3. Arrange players into pairs. v

    Rules

    One teammate will place a tennis ball on top of the glass. This is so you have easy access to all sides of the ball. Both teammates now lower their faces to the tennis ball and place their mouths on opposite sides of the ball.

    Now that the ball is trapped between their faces, they should now be able to lift and move the ball. With ball only in contact with both player’s mouths, the teammates will transport the ball to the bowl on the other side of the room, and drop the ball in the bowl.

    Return to the other side of the room, and repeat for the other two tennis balls to finish the challenge. The team that finishes first, wins!

     

    Ready Spaghetti

    A similar concept to above. There’s no Lady And The Tramp spaghetti action here, but you will be holding a piece of uncooked spaghetti lengthways between two player’s mouths. They use this rigid pasta prop to transport soda cans, threading the pasta through the can’s ring pull.

    You will need

    • A strand of uncooked spaghetti per team.
    • 3 empty soda cans per player. Pull the ring pulls on all cans into a vertical position.

    Set-up

    1. Place the soda cans on one end of the room.
    2. Designate an “target area” on a surface at the other end of the room.
    3. Arrange players into pairs. The two teammates will start by standing on opposite sites of the soda cans.

    Rules

    One teammate places one end of the spaghetti in their mouths, so that it is pointing away from them. Without using any other part of their body point the spaghetti towards the can, and thread it through the ring pull. The other player now uses their mouth to hold the other end of the spaghetti.

    The team can now lift the spaghetti supported can between them. Take the can to the target area. One player now releases the spaghetti so it can be freed to use for the next can.

    Go back to the cans and repeat twice more. The first team to transport all three cans wins!

     

    Belly Balloon Break

    Use the power of hugging to violently burst as many balloons as possible between you and your teammate’s bellies. Don’t get too affectionate — this is squeezing is for competitive purposes!

    You will need

    1. 10 baloons for each team.

    Rules

    Arrange the players into pairs. Players must pick up a balloon, hold it between the bellies of themselves and their teammates, then remove their hands so that the balloon is supported only by belly pressure.

    Together, the teammates squeeze the balloon between them until it pops! Take another balloon and repeat the process.

    The first team to pop all ten of their balloons wins!

  • Quick Questions

    This simple game involves creativity, silliness and the ability to get to know one another’s way of thinking!

    What will you need?

    Pen and paper for each player, and a timer

    How to play Quick Questions

    1. Have each player write down three “would you rather” questions that involve no physical activity or movement – just creative imagination. For example: Would you rather fly a dragon or talk to a unicorn? Would you rather live in an underwater castle or on top of a mountain? Would you rather be a bear that no one wants to be around, or a popular spider?

    2. Gather players in a circle and give each player one minute to answer the questions they wrote down. 

    3. After everyone has shared their answers, have players take turns asking others in the circle their “would you rather” questions. The person who is being asked the question must answer before they can ask someone else’s question. You may also pass.

    4. Once all players have gone around with their questions, set the timer for two minutes. During this time, any pair of players can ask and answer as many “would you rather” questions as possible within the time limit! 

    5. At the end of two minutes, whoever answered the most “would you rather” questions wins!

  • Funny Icebreaker Questions

    Funny Icebreaker Questions

    What are some funny icebreaker questions that you can use for your classroom or work event? Check out this guide for several excellent (and hilarious!) questions that you can use.

    Here are several discussion starters that you can use to break the ice! These questions are sure to make your group laugh and giggle, especially when players get creative with their answers! You can award bonus points at the end (or via group vote) for the silliest or funniest answers. We’re pretty sure that these open ended questions will get people to chuckle or crack up; more importantly, they can make it easier for your students or teammates to feel at ease with each other after they’ve had some funny moments together.

    Funny Icebreaker Questions

    See below for over 30 questions that you can choose from. Some are random and silly, while others involve a bit more sharing or some thoughtfulness that might reveal something about one’s personality, preferences, memories or interests. Enjoy!

    Silly, Zany and Wacky Questions

    1. If you were an animal, what animal would you be (which represents your personality best?)
    2. If you could be any food, what would you be and why?
    3. What is something shocking that you wish you could do before you die?
    4. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
    5. If you had to be one body part, what would it be and why?
    6. If you were to be a superhero, who would you be and what super power would you have?
    7. If you had to live in another planet with the aliens, what job would you have?
    8. If you had to rename yourself into a strange word, what would your name be?
    9. If you could only have one sense (sight, taste, hearing, touch, smell) for the rest of your life, which one would you choose and why?
    10. If you had to change something about yourself, what would you change?
    11. If you had three wishes but had to wish them on someone else, what would you wish for?
    12. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life (every day), what would it be?
    13. If you were an ant, what would you do first?
    14. If you had a time machine and could go back in time, what would you change in history?
    15. If you were a pet, what would you want to do to your owner?

    Embarrassing Moments and Other Funny Things to Share

    1. What was one of your most memorable embarrassing memories in your life?
    2. What was the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?
    3. What was your craziest experience you’ve ever had?
    4. What was the happiest memory you’ve ever had?
    5. What was the most interesting food you’ve ever eaten (this one might surprise folks)?

    Would You Rather Questions

    1. Would you rather be a giant that everyone always can see, or a microscopic size that no one can see, and why?
    2. Would you rather be a cat or a dog?
    3. Would you rather live in the ocean or in deep outer space?
    4. Would you rather be loved by someone special (but hated by everyone else) or liked by everyone (but never loved)?
    5. Would you rather live forever but have a boring life or live a short but amazing life?
    6. Would you rather be chocolate or vanilla ice cream and what does that say about your personality?
    7. Would you rather be a hero but have no one notice or a zero but have everyone think you’re a hero?
    8. Would you rather be invisible or always visible?
    9. Would you rather be the best at everything but have everyone dislike you, or the worst at everything but have everyone like you?
    10. Would you rather be a fruit or a vegetable?

    If you like these questions, we also recommend you check out similar activities, like our original icebreaker questions, and even more good icebreaker questions.

    Love these funny icebreaker questions? Let us know what you think!