Ice Breaker Activities and Games

1. Diversity Bingo: Bingo help participants to get information on each other in a fun, competitive way. Participants will have 10 minutes to mingle around, introducing themselves to each other and try to find someone for whom the statement in each of the squares is true.

2. Group Map: A great way to get to know each other is to have participants place themselves on an imaginary map laid out in the room representing the state / country according to where they grew up. Share one internal value they got from that place, and why is that important for them, share a short story if they want.

3. Tic Tac Toe: The goal of Tic Tac Toe icebreaker game is to help the participants to get to know each other at the beginning of an event or to help identify their values during the later part of a training session.

4. Trading Card: Team meeting ice breakers that focus on breaking apart traditional group silos among varying teams are well worth the time you spend on them. Trading Card works great because it lets people self-define, gives them a “personality” outside the typical work environment.

5. Name Game: The first person says their name. The next person continues, but after saying their own name, they repeat the first person’s name. This continues with each person repeating one more name. People don't know each other as it helps to learn names of each other.

6. Marshmallow Challenge: Teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of sticks of spaghetti, and marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top. It emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, collaboration, innovation and problem solving strategy.

7. Crazy Handshake: This ice breaker helps people ease in a group and brings out their creativity without a lot of effort. Each pair develops a creative handshake and each individual partners with another group member teaches each other the original handshakes and together creates a new one.

8. Sound Ball: This a simple icebreaker activity that energizes participants, and it’s also suitable for highlighting spontaneity and teamwork. The activity involves participants standing in a circle and throwing imaginary ball to each other in increasing pace.

9. Unique and Shared: Groups discover what they have in common, along with interesting characteristics that are unique to a person in the group. This icebreaker promotes unity as it gets people to realize that they have more common ground with their peers than they first might realize.

10. Coat of Arms: If entire company or department was stranded on a desert island. Challenge team to determine the top 10 things they would absolutely need to survive and safely get back. Everyone must agree on the final list and solution!

11. Line Up: This is a quick ice breaking game where players have to form an orderly line by predetermined criteria without any discussion. This icebreaker helps develop team collaboration and non-verbal communication.

12. Whisper: This fun ice breaker begins with everyone getting in a line. The first person in line whispers a sentence to the person behind them. The person who received the message must then tell the person behind them. At the end of the line, the last person shares what was said to them. It’s hilarious how much the message has been distorted.

13. Ten Things in Common: Participants find they have something in common with someone, they write it down on the paper along with their name. Participants are not allowed to use one person for all ten things, nor can they use the same question for everyone, such as finding ten people in the room who have Money Plant.

14. Cartoon Name Tags: Participants need to choose the the cartoons placed that best fits them and write their name below the character’s name and leave the name tag on for the rest of the event.

15. Flashcard: Participants will be given a list of flashcards and followed by rapid-fire questions that they have to answer with one of the cards.

16. Jigsaw Puzzle: Jigsaw puzzles of different sizes and difficulty which roughly equates to the number of participants attending the event. Each attendee randomly gets a puzzle piece. Any extra pieces can be left on the tables as starter pieces. Everyone must then work together to assemble the puzzle by meeting others and seeing who has which pieces and completing the puzzle in the fastest time. This activity is a good way to mix people up into random teams and avoid cliques.

17. One Word: The One Word ice breaker allows you to provide initial context into a meeting's topic, and get everyone in the right mindset for discussion. This activity encourages everyone to think about a certain topic in smaller groups ahead of time, which could increase participation during the meeting.

18. Fun Questions: Asking fun questions is an easy and effective ice breaker game. Going around the room and ask each person provide an answer to a fun question. Fun Questions encourage conversation on topics typically reserved for outside the office, which enables members of the team to get to know one another on a deeper level.

19. Personality Quiz: This ice breaker can promote team bonding. Once everyone has completed the personality assessment, have each colleague mention one thing they agree or disagree with in their results. This game allows your team members to gain a new perspective on their peers, and it's also a fun and easy way to get an interesting conversation started.

20. Scavenger Hunt: It's fun and encourages collaboration, but additionally, it can help employees learn their way around the office. Scavenger hunt is also an exceptional opportunity for cross-department interaction. Consider reaching out to managers' from other departments, and creating groups of employees who don't often get to work together.

21. Embarrassing Photo: Everyone bring in an embarrassing photo and tell the story behind it. Also, participants can have people guess whose photo it is before the team member shares their story.

22. Tall Tales: One person starts with “Once upon a time” and tells a small portion of a story. When the group leader buzzes arbitrarily to decide that time is up, the next person must continue the story.

23. Object Stories: This puts a spin on the Tall Tales game, and requires that each storyteller pulls an object out of a paper bag and quickly incorporates it into the story.

24. Charades: Charades is a hilarious icebreaker in which a person acts out a charade only for the next person in the line, who in turn acts out for the next person. The last person standing in line attempts to guess what the original clue was.

25. Memory Name Game: Each person says his first name with an adjective in front of it. At the end of the intros, ask a few brave souls to go around the room and attempt to remember each person’s adjective-name combo.

26. Seasonal Intro: Participants introduce themselves, ask if they prefer summer, spring, fall or winter — and why. The answer is a window into the human psyche.

27. Crossword Puzzle: Using a large piece of paper, whiteboard or smart board, spontaneously come up with a crossword puzzle of everyone’s first name. The “questions” for the crossword puzzle are specific to each person.

28. Paper Airplane: Each person writes a quick, anonymous intro on a piece of paper. Walk everyone through making a paper airplane out of the paper, then throw the airplanes across the room. Folks go pick up an airplane and read the intro to the class. Everyone has to guess who it is.

29. Birth Map:With the large map of the world on the wall participants are allowed to them pin the location of their birth on the map and get introduced to others

30. Name Aerobics: Name Aerobics icebreaker is a fun and interactive way to learn everyone’s name. The group stands in a circle facing each other. Choose a person to start by introducing themselves by doing an action for each syllable of their name. The entire group repeats the name and motions. This continues until everyone has introduced themselves.

31. Hummers: This icebreaker works to form pairs or teams. Facilitator distribute common song titles to each participant and make sure they do not reveal it to others. Participants hum their song and find others humming the same song.

32. Word and Songs: This icebreaker is used to energize participants. Facilitator suggests a word, each group alternates turns singing a song that contains that word. The game continues until a team cannot think of any more songs.

33. Snap, Clap, and Slap: From a seated circle, one person begin by snapping their fingers. One by one, the rest of the circle follows suit. Once you have returned to the original snapper, the original snapper will change the sound to clapping hands. The clapping of hands continues around the group. Next, the leader slaps their legs, with the rest of the circle follows suit.

34. Rock, Paper, and Scissors: The group paired off and once the winner and loser are established, the loser must follow the winner around for the rest of the activity chanting the winner’s name.

35. Chainlink: One Participant start out by introducing himself to the group and another person within the group hears something that they have in common with the person speaking, they will walk over to them and link arms. They will then say their names and what they have in common. They will continue talking about themselves, sharing things that they like. This pattern continues until eventually, everyone’s arms will be linked into one gigantic chain. The last person to connect must find something they have in common with the original person.

36. Human Knot: Everyone raises their right hand in the air, then grabs the hand of someone standing across the circle from them. Then, the team needs to work together to untangle everyone without letting go of the hands they’re holding.

37. Ha, Ha: One Participant start the game, saying “ha” once and the person standing next says “ha” twice. Following this pattern, the third player says “ha” three times. Facilitator eliminate anyone who laugh or make noise when it is not their turn. The participant who avoids laughing throughout the game wins.

38. Hula Hoop Relay: Each group create a chain by linking arms. Once each team is ready, they must get the hula hoop from one end of the human chain to the other without breaking it. The first team to accomplish this wins.

39. Ride Em' Cowboy: It’s great for bringing everyone out of their shell, but we do recommend using it at the end of a meeting as participants will feel more comfortable performing once they have spent some time together. It is high-energy and gives each group a chance to entertain the rest of the participants.

40. Baby Photos: To get employees to guess which baby photo is of who. This is a favourite icebreaker games because it gets laughs and gets employees to feel closer to each other. Super super simple, and super super fun!

41. Speed Networking: Speed networking icebreaker doesn’t just have to be for networking or new people. It also can be for groups that want to get to know each other. This can even be a group activity for large amounts of people, as long as you have a big open space.

42. Exquisite Corpse: Facilitator divide a piece of paper in three, and then three people must draw the head, torso and legs, respectively, without seeing what the person before them drew. Inevitably, the final drawing is a hoot. Then, break the group up into threes and have them get drawing as you set up the meeting. Who cares if they draw well or not? The worse they draw, the more hilarious the outcome.