We’ve all been there: you arrive at an event without knowing anyone and hide in a corner with your drink, hoping that no one will notice you alone. Our top 12 icebreakers are here for you to play at your next event. Disclaimer: These games are guaranteed to make you laugh!
1. Knock Knock Game
Everyone tells their favorite knock-knock prank. The use of mobile phones for research is allowed. But laughter is required.
2. Shoe Time
Everyone should leave one shoe at the door. Re-distribute shoes so that everyone has a shoe they don’t own. Set a five-minute timer and ask everyone to locate the owner of each shoe. Then, have a two-minute conversation about something other than shoes.
3. The Marshmallow Challenge
Divide your attendees into four groups. Each group should receive 20 spaghetti sticks, 1m of tape, 1m of string, and one marshmallow. Ask each group to construct the tallest structure that can stand alone. Watch what happens.
4. Photo Mania :
Allow the group to browse through their photos on their phones and select an image they would like to share. The group can then share their picture with the group and explain why it was chosen. It will allow for some personality to shine through.
5. Would You Rather?
Ask a question to get people to pick a side. Here are some examples.
What is the better food: chocolate or lollies
Which would you prefer: a camping trip or a movie?
Which skill is more valuable, finance or creativity?
What is worse, being bored or too busy?
Divide everyone into two groups: chocolate lovers on the right and lollies lovers on the left. Allow them to chat with each group for a while before you ask another question.
6. Charades with Post-It notes:
Post-it notes can be used to write down common household items (or any other topic) that you would like. Each person gets a message and must stick it on their forehead without looking. Then, they have to go around the room and ask yes/no questions until they figure out what it is. You can do this with celebrities like heads of famous people.
7. Common Things:
Divide people into groups and ask them to discover how many things they share. It pays to be persistent and think about the things you have in common. Physical features and clothing colors do not count! Each group will tell the other groups what they share in common. Everyone else should raise their hands if they have something in common.
8. Name Bingo
You will need to create your name on the bingo sheet. This is a grid of 4 x 4, 5 x 5, or 6 x 6 personal statements. IE. “Has long hair,” “Has more than five siblings,” “Has travelled abroad,” etc. Give each person a bingo sheet and a pen. Then, send them out to find the people who fit into the gaps. Each player may only include another person on their sheet once. You can offer a prize to the first player to finish the grid.
9. Mix and Meet:
Grab some M&Ms for each person (but don’t eat them!). Each color has a different meaning:
Blue = Family
Green = school
Yellow = music/movies
Red = hobbies
Brown = Friends
The number of M&Ms in their hands is the number of facts they must tell. If they had three blue M&Ms, for example, they could find someone else in the group to tell three facts about them.
10. Ten Things in Common
Divide the attendees into small groups. (This could be based on their age, class, etc.) Ask the groups to find ten things they all have in common. (Apart from the obvious, like the fact that they’re human). You may find that an unusual number of people have visited a certain location, even though they don’t live near it, etc.
11. Human Rock Paper Scissors:
You’ve played the game at least once with a friend, even if you are a hobbit. You probably haven’t played it in a group setting. How it works is to divide the group into as many teams as you want. Everyone should come up with body signals (the more bizarre, the better) for each move. Each team should face each other in a series of five games to determine the winner.
12. Line up:
Choose a few topics. (Heights, house numbers, number of houses lived in, etc.) Ask each person to stand in line according to their case. (For example, for height, you would start at the front and go to the back.) It’s a fun way to learn some random things about people.
The conclusion of the article is:
Here are 12 fun games to play at your next event. You get bonus points if you can figure out how to play these games virtually while in lockdown. Please contact Events Outsourced if you need help planning your next networking event or event.