Ice breaker games and activities are perfect and always helpful in cases where people have to be introduced and feel comfortable with each other and the environment of any event. These games maybe used in a corporate meeting, a team building session or even a casual occasion for everyone to be relaxed and prepared to mingle. And from simple and playful games to the ones that are aimed at making the participants reveal more about themselves, they help people to become more responsive. In this article, you will learn the 20 best ice breaker games and 10 best ice breaker activities for adults so that you can choose the best ice breaker activity for your group or event.
Top 20 Ice Breaker Activities/Games
1. Two truths and a lie.
How to Play:
• The activity where each participant is to state two true facts about himself/herself and a lie.
• In this group activity, members are given six statements, four of which are true while two are false and the group has to identify which two are false.
Rules:
• Each of the three statements to have to be disclosed to the group before it makes its guesses.
• The player who is stating his/her statements should only affirm the lie after others make their guesses.
Why it’s great:
It is one of the best ice breaker games because It is easy, creates interaction and people get to know new trivia about one another.
Video Guide
2. Human Knot
How to Play:
• Each of the participants forming a circle and holding hands with the two people next to him.
• All the members of the group must make efforts to solve the task of ‘the knot’ they have to be hold hands and try to loosen it.
Rules:
• It is all right to touch during the untangling process but no one can let go of hands.
• Both are required to speak to each other in order to work out the solution.
Why it’s great:
It builds team work spirit and is an inventive cranial and physical activity that helps in the discovery of solutions to problems. Very common in the list of ice breaker games it is.
Video Guide
3. Would You Rather?
How to Play:
• For instance, the facilitator puts a number of “Would you rather… ” questions to the participants (e. g., “Would you rather be invisible or fly?”.
• Each participant will select one of the options and state his or her reason for doing so.
Rules:
• The implication? That there are no choices that can be made and positions that can be taken that don’t place one on the right or the left: one with the revolution or one with the royals.
• They have to explain as to why they chose a particular answer or an option in the case of multiple-choice questions.
Why it’s great:
It does create discussions amongst participants and everyone gets to know what preferences exist with a fun atmosphere.
4. The Name Game
How to Play:
• In it, each person introduces himself or herself while stating an adjective that begins with the same initial letter as their name (for instance, ‘Joyful Julie’).
• The next person echoes the previous names and interjects some more names of his or her own.
Rules:
• Each participant must recall and recite all the names before saying his or her own name.
• The debaters attend the game until all those present have been introduced to everybody else.
Why it’s great:
It enables the members of a given group to learn each other’s names easily and it develop group memory skills. It is one of my favorite ice breaker games.
5. Speed Networking
How to Play:
• People are divided into two and can take turn introducing the person they are holding hands with for 2-3 minutes.
• As the end of the time expires the partners exchange over until everyone has met the other person.
Rules:
• Finally, due to the dynamics of the battles, a strict control of time is needed, especially during one’s turn.
• They should share some of their details from their personal lives or their work backgrounds in a short period.
Why it’s great:
It is fast and enjoyable for people of a big company to meet each other in the limited time. These type of ice breaker games are very good in practice to introduce newly join employee.
6. Balloon Pop – Best Ice Breaker Games
How to Play:
• Create question or task balloon that will provoke more questions or tasks to be done.
• Everyone bursts a balloon and the question or activity is indicated in the balloon must be answered or done.
Rules:
• We are able to make everybody to burst at least one balloon.
• All the participant must commit himself or herself to the task or the question that was asked.
Why it’s great:
This game orients people towards fun and adds dazzle, thus people dare to go out of their normal routine.
Video guide
7. The Marshmallow Challenge
How to Play:
• The materials used for this project are uncooked spaghetti strands, strings, adhesive tapes and a marshmallow.
• Their objective is to make a structure which should be taller than the other teams but be strong enough to hold marshmallow on top.
Rules:
• OMAE teams will have 15-20 minutes in total to come up with their structure.
• The structure should remain standing and the marshmallow must remain on the top of it.
Why it’s great:
It fosters creativity, one of the unique ice breaker games and innovation as well as fosters the solution finding process as well as fostering togetherness.
8. Find Someone Who
How to Play:
• Every subject is given a set of scenarios (for example “Look for a person, who has visited another country”).
• The geared role requires that the participants identify somebody in the room, which corresponds to the description on the card.
Rules:
• Another constraint allowed the participants to use each person only once in their description.
• If you tick all the items in your list then, you’re the winner.
Why it’s great:
It is fast and people can also have the opportunity of meeting new people and having something new to talk about.
9. Pictionary
How to Play:
• It is a most creative ice breaker games where one player writes down a word or a phrase while the other players from his/her team have to guess the word/phrase within a given period of time.
Rules:
• Absolutely no talking or incorporating letters and/or numbers in the drawing.
• It is played by teams, in each round teams either draw or guess what the other team is drawing.
Why it’s great:
It is as creative as a child’s drawing competition and as competitive as the games people engage in to guessing what the drawings are.
Video Guide
10. Memory Wall
How to Play:
• The participants are asked to record a special moment which they want to share or a fact about themselves on a wall. This ice breaker games I played several times one of my favorite
• This memory is taken and then looked at and discussed by the group.
Rules:
• Every participant is expected to bring a memory that they went through or a story they have heard.
• Do activities that promote formation of at least the ‘deepline’ so as to enhance the cohesiveness of the group.
Why it’s great:
It fosters emotional bonds and its most suitable for people or teams that are going to be in close contact.
11. Group Jenga
How to Play:
• You need to employ a large number of cards or questions written on each card such as questions of several levels or different challenges.
• It involves a pulling of a block by one participant and in the process he or she responds to the question or completes the challenge.
Rules:
• The tower must not be brought down.
• No inclinations or biases can be favored and all challenges or questions have to be responded to truthfully or with all the information that is available.
Why it’s great:
It involves some cardio exercise as well as something to talk about and that makes it exciting. It is little bit unique and different ice breaker games, you should try if you want to try something new.
Video Example
12. Emoji Storytelling
How to Play:
• Individuals choose line-up of emojis and write a story as to what the said emojis depict.
Rules:
• Program participants can use only a few of emojis (from 3 to 5, for example).
• The story has to be coherent; it should entail some element of connecting with the emojis selected.
Why it’s great:
It is a more sophisticated and friendly approach to engage participants into sharing their stories in as artistic manner. It is one of the best ice breaker games for now a days for youngsters. One can also generate emoji story online using emoji story generator.
13. Personality Bingo
How to Play:
• Design Bingo sheets consisting of characteristics or events (For example, “Has a pet’, ‘Likes hiking”).
• Finally, the participants must look for people that meet the descriptions in the card and complete it.
Rules:
• Ideally, one cannot use the same person for developing the content of more than one square.
• There is also a silly game where the first person to fill up his or her card wins the game.
Why it’s great:
It is a very informative approach to getting to know small personal details about members of the group and at the same time makes for a jovial social setting.
14. Charades
How to Play:
• Theanalogy, Onel, is a game wherein students act out words or phrases without talking but the other team has to identify.
Rules:
• Players are mute, and only gestures are allowed and this has to be done within theeldom of about five minutes.
• Marking is done according to the number of the guesses made with each correct guess earning the candidate some points.
Why it’s great:
It passes a message that makes people laugh, make them talk and even triggers collaborations within the team. It is one of the best old ice breaker games that is played for so many years.
15. 20 Questions
How to Play:
• Somebody puts an object into the container, and the totality of the group is given 20 questions with yes-and-no answers to guess what is inside.
Rules:
• No questions beginning with ‘how’, ‘why’, or ‘what’ are acceptable; only questions answering with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
• It ends anytime the other party guesses the object or when the maximum number of questions reaches twenty.
Why it’s great:
It is best ice breaker games for nerds, it challenges the strategic ability of the group of learners and at the same time fosters group cooperation.
16. Line Up
How to Play:
• Each participant has to stand in front of other participants in accordance to some parameter (e.g. height, date of birth) without speaking.
Rules:
• There should be no talking and the event should involve only gestures, facial expressions, mime and the like.
• The game used to stop when everyone is in the right order.
Why it’s great:
It is useful to establish non-verbal communication and coordination since people are able to work together using only hand gestures.
17. Scavenger Hunt
How to Play:
• The players are grouped in teams and presented with an objective of searching for the items or accomplishing the tasks on the list within a stipulated time only. It is one of the best ice breaker games for fun.
Rules:
• It must be noted that all things or tasks, it is up the individual, needs to be done within the allotted time.
• The team to which objects belong or executes most tasks is a winner.
Why it’s great:
As it can be seen below, it is a fun and unique method of ensuring the participants get down to the task while at the same time interacting with the environment.
18. The Paper Tower
How to Play:
• Student groups are provided with sheets of paper with which they have to create the tallest standalone structure possible in a certain amount of time.
Rules:
• There is no use of any other material other than the ones provided by the instructor.
• The tower has to be constructed and must remain only by ones own support for a least ten seconds.
Why it’s great:
It stimulates brainstorming, collaboration as well as adding the aspect of a good physical activity.
19. Doodle Relay
How to Play:
• It is a concept in which every participant is to complete a specific part of a picture and then hand it over to the next participant who adds something on the doodle. I also paly this ice breaker games for so many times and it is highly recommended.
Rules:
• You get so much time (for instance, 30 seconds ) in which you can add to the doodle.
• It’s about achieving a collective and comprehensive looking at something or a single goal.
Why it’s great:
It is fun, innovative and demonstrates how things that two people created individually can bring out a different and unique idea.
20. Desert Island
How to Play:
• Each participant answers the question: ‘Would you choose three things if you were stuck in a deserted island?’
Rules:
• Each participant is supposed to justify why one or another of necessary item should be brought.
• Let ideas flow out to support the unique or the enhanced informative answers.
Why it’s great:
It is thought-provoking and fun to engage in discussions that are personal in nature with the group.
10 Best Ice Breaking Ideas for Adults
Here are Top 10 Ice Breaker Activities for Adults that encompasses ideas beyond the typical icebreaker games that make the participants open up and engage with one another. These ice breaking activity is suitable for organization, Social and corporate gathering where one aims at creating a comfort zone with others.
1. Personal Fact Bingo
This activity mixes a Bingo game with personal questions to make the participants learn about each other even better.
How to Play:
• Make bingo cards with the following personal details in each square of the bingo card for example “traveled to more than 5 countries” “speaks more than one language”.
• Each card has some facts that participants have to look for people with the same facts in order to complete the card.
Why it’s great:
It fosters social interaction since the abilities level of the participants are a close as possible; It also helps individuals learn more interesting facts about one another since they are not competing against each other.
2. Life Timeline
This ice breaker activity makes participant to think about and share at least one event that is interesting in their lives.
How to Play:
• Make sure that you give both participants paper and some markers each.
• They should be asked to create a timeline illustrating three to five defining experiences in their life (eg/ achievements and life events).
• To achieve this, participants proceed to share their individual timelines with the rest of members.
Why it’s great:
It helps to establish trust with other participants while at the same time helping the group members to express their thoughts accompanied with experience that shaped their lives.
3. Group Storytelling
It also has the natural effect of easing tensions due to the group sharing nature of it as well as the fact that it is more often than not funny in nature.
How to Play:
• Then the facilitator begins a story with a single line and the next participants goes for another line.
• Everyone has his contribution in narration and with each turn, one sentence is contributed adding to the next.
• The speaker adds the story around the room until each and every one of the players has spoken.
Why it’s great:
They make participants to be creative, have a sense of humor and this also enhances team work as participants are let loose.
4. Desert Island Survival
Being a team building icebreaker for adults, the participants need to find ways on how to ‘survive’ as a team.
How to Play:
• Proceed to subgrouping of participants depending on their regional origin or any other factor of your choice.
• Specifically, one can ask them to write how they will answer (in detail) the following question: ‘Suppose you are on a deserted island, and you are given a list of items where you need to choose five items which can help you survive’.
• Whoever is in each group has to discuss and choose five items and then justify to the rest of the group.
Why it’s great:
It makes people to think, to communicate, and work together effectively as a team, and it is more fun that just having a simple icebreaker.
5. Speed Dating
Looking like an upgraded version of speed dating, this activity is perfect for organizing meetings for large groups and or for business events.
How to Play:
• Everyone finds two or three other persons and then everyone has to introduce themselves to each other within 2 to 3 minutes.
• After the time is up, they change partners, arriving in this way to other people for the desired amount of time.
Why it’s great:
It makes it a very efficient and dynamic method of making the participants to interact with each other as well as making them introduce themselves.
6. Common Ground
This activity helps the participants to look for the similarities they have in a bid to eliminate the gaps which might have been created in between them so that they can have friendship.
How to Play:
• Assign participants into small groups and let them spend 5-10 minutes trying to list down five things that they all share in common.
• That’s right, the more extraordinary, or less encompassing the similarities, the better!
• After that, every group reports what they have discovered to the whole group.
Why it’s great:
It is a great concept that doesn’t require much effort but can prove useful for making people find common topics for conversation in a very short amount of time.
7. Silent Line-Up
It is a good activity which helps during the ice breaker so that it could help to develop nonverbal types of interactions and cooperation.
How to Play:
• They should be requested to form a line in a specific fashion, for instance in a line by their dates of birth or size but without speaking.
• There will be no use of words and participants must use only gestures or even the position of their body or maybe items that they are provided with in the game.
Why it’s great:
It is a friendly and silly competition which can unify people and help them to come closer and to forget about differences including the language ones.
8. Team Mural
Participants of this artistic ice breaker are able to collectively work on a piece of art.
How to Play:
• Make sure that you have large pieces of paper and markers on hand.
• Consequently, encourage the participants to come up with a team mural, goals or any topic of their choice which they will have to complete in groups.
• Later, it is possible to tell people about a specific meaning of the mural that the members of the group created.
Why it’s great:
It encourages innovation and team work at the same time as the participants have an illustration of their social ties.
9. Trading Cards
Each participant designs his or her own “trading card” about himself or herself for distribution in the group.
How to Play:
• Handwrite or type each person a plain card and instruct the participants to write/ input any interesting fact about him/ her/ it ( c./ hobbies, talent, jokes, etc. ).
• Each participant is also given a blank card and the participants then ‘exchange’ the cards with others and as this is being done everyone gets to know the members.
Why it’s great:
This activity involves a nice element of creativity in the activity along with personal contact and is a good conversation piece.
10. Values Discussion
This ice breaker activity leads into further discussions because it involves the participants’ personal and professional values in their organizations.
How to Play:
• Prepare a list of values containing honest, creative, team work and etc., then let the participants select at least three values which they think fits them best.
• During the activity, participants get formed into small groups where they share with others the reasons why they have adopted certain values and how these values have influenced their lives as well as their working lives.
Why it’s great:
It creates healthy discussions, makes clients or students think critically and lets them develop social bonds.
My Personal Experience
Looking at the options, I had the opportunity to play ice breaker games such as “Two Truths and Lie” and “Desert Island Survival” that are fun and perfect to build better fellowship. Such activities facilitate idea and team work and one gets to know interesting facts about other individuals which otherwise would not be discussed. In business occasions or social gatherings, they ease people and create an environment where people can relate to each other making everybody to be comfortable.
Conclusion
These Top 10 Ice Breaker Activities for Adults have been created with barrier reduction, unity and effective communication in mind. No matter if you are planning a business-related seminar, informal party or team-train, this list of ice breaker ideas will provide a positive tone for the event with success. It may be lighthearted ice breaker games, or increased insightful activities; they leave the participants at ease and enable them to make friends in the Teams that can transcend past the event. Even you can ask ice breaking questions in first meeting to start the conversation.
