Click to hide HTML preview
Various Games and Icebreakers.PDF
Icebreakers and Games
The Superlative Game (Game)
Duration: 20 minutes
Context: Party Game
Description:
This is an icebreaker we used at a progressive dinner party to get a crowd laughing. First,
divide the Group into 2 or 3 teams.
Between each round, the host should ask for volunteer from each team. Preferably a
different volunteer each time. The host should mention the category, but not the task
when asking for volunteers.
For example "we need 3 volunteers for `Longest'"
Keep score, and make up additional funny categories as you desire.
Sample categories:
Category
Challenge
Widest.......................spreading your feet
Longest....................Tongue
Shortest....................amount of time saying Peter Piper picked
Longest....................holding your breath
Most .........................number of buttons
Highest.....................raising of eyebrows
Weirdest...................facial expression
Biggest.....................Smile
In the Manner of the Adverb (Game)
Duration: 15 minutes - 90 minutes+
Context: Party Game
Description:
This is a group game that is fun for any setting.
The leader should ask for one person to leave the room. The rest of the group decides
upon an adverb that the person who left will try to guess. Once a consensus is reached,
the leader brings the volunteer back into the room. The volunteer then proceeds to guess
the word by asking different people in the room to do different tasks "in the manner of the
adverb." He/She can ask each person one time, and when everyone has performed, if
they have not guessed the adverb, the game is over.
The guesser chooses any task s/he can imagine. It can involve other people in the room.
When the guesser asks a group member to perform the task, the group member does so in
a way that is consistent with the adverb that is trying to be guessed.
For example: the secret adverb is "sleepily." The guesser may say, "John, do a dance in
the manner of the adverb" or "Susan, give Tom a kiss in the manner of the adverb." At
this point, John would get up and dance around the room in as sleepily a manner as he can,
and the guesser then takes a stab at the word.
The game is over when the guesser gets it or has asked everyone in the room to perform a
task.
Repeat the game with a new volunteer.
Titanic (Icebreaker)
Duration: 20 minutes
Context: Large Group Setting.
Description:
Divide the group up into small groups of 4-5.
Ask each person in the group to introduce themselves, and list the 3 thing that they would
take on a ship if they were immigrating to the US and were allowed ONLY those three
items.
After sufficient time for discussion, tell the group: "Unfortunately, the ship you are taking
is the Titanic. It's gonna sink in 20 minutes. You have to throw one away. Which one
do you chose, and why
The 4 corners Game (Icebreaker)
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Context: Large Group, particularly first-time with lots of new people
Description:
This game is a great get-to-know-you game that can be used at a first Large Group
meeting. The primary purpose is to share things about yourself. The leader should stand
in front of the group tell people that they are to form groups of 4 ONLY, and that they
need to do so quickly after a category is given. In each segment, the idea is for people to
quickly find a group of 4 different people, based on a criteria (listed below), and share
with others who have joined them in their group. Part of the fun is in the mass chaos that
ensues right after the category is said, as people mingle and yell to find a group of exactly
4 people, one from each category. The game should have a bit of a "contest" feel to it,
but the object is not so much to score points, but to meet people. I like to tell people to
do it as fast as they can, and then point out who the first and second group to find
someone from each category are. After several groups have formed, I ask people to share
something related to the category (see below). (Or course, the numbers don't always
work out, so after there are several groups that are formed, you are likely to have too
many from one category wandering about. If that is the case, just encourage them to split
up and join other groups that are already formed...play it by ear a bit). You can make up
additional interesting criteria based on common thing that are fairly easily divisible into 4
categories. After about 5 minutes or so of sharing, the leader should ask everyone to stop,
give the new category, and send people off to form different groups.
Sample Categories/Criteria:
1. Regions of the Country - (Roughly, the North, South, East, West. If people seem
confused, you can say that Kansas City is the intersection point of the quadrants). If you
have lots of Internationals, they can join whichever region of the country they most closely
associate themselves (where they are going to school, where they have family, etc.), or
they could be their own group, in which case the goal would be for each group to have 5
individuals, 1 form each region and 1 international.
- Form groups of 4 with one person from each region.
- Share one reason with each other why your region RULES
2. Birth dates (1 person from each quarter of the year - Jan to Mar, Apr to June, etc.)
- Form groups of 4 with one person from each quarter
- Share a favorite birthday memory
3. Number of siblings (0, 1-2, 3, 4 or more)
- Groups of 4 with different categories
- Share a favorite memory about a sibling and a most traumatic moment
USA Icebreaker
Duration: 10-15 minutes
Context: Large Group Setting
Description:
This game is similar to the "4 corners" icebreaker. The leader asks people to divide into
four groups, one in each corner, corresponding to the REGION of the country each
person is from (or if they are international, which region they most closely associate with,
i.e., have relatives, go to school in, etc.). There is no limit to the number of people in a
group - everyone should go to one corner or the other. Ambiguous states need to chose
(like, for example, is Michigan considered East, or North?) Once everyone is formed,
ask the group to have a seat and discuss the following questions. Someone may want to
take mental notes, because, we will have the regional groups share with "the rest of the
country."
1. One kind of food that is representative of your region.
2. One kind of activity that characterizes your region
3. Reasons why your region rules? (is the best!) - try to sell your region to the
rest of the country
After about 5 minutes or so, a representative from each region should share the group's
findings with the rest of the large group.
Click to see HTML preview
