ICE BREAKERSfor LargeGroups

TableofContentsAutographBingo BigWindBlows BlanketNameGame CelebrityIDGame FirstImpressionsGame Giants,Wizards,Elves HumanKnot HumanSculpturesGame IDGuessingGame M&MGame NameGame NeverHaveIEver Pictionary ShoeIDGame SortsandMingle TelephoneCharades TwoTruthsandaLie WhoseStoryIsIt?

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AutographBingoGame Summary:AutographBingoisasimpleicebreakerthataskspeopletomingle andfindpeoplethatmatchinterestingfactslistedonabingocard.Thegame isuseulinthatitcausesplayerstodiscoverinterestingandhumorousfacts abouteachother. Ages:12andup.Recommended#ofpeople:Largergroupsof24+people. MessinessFactor:Noproblem.Materialsrequired:bingocardspreparedin advanceandwritingutensils.RecommendedSetting:Indoors. AutographBingo AutographBingoisafunwaytohelpbothnewacquaintancesandoldfriends discoverfactsabouteachother.Thegoalofthisicebreakergameistomingle andobtainthesignaturesofpeoplewhohavethefactslistedontheirbingo card.Justasregularbingorules,onceaplayersuccessfullyobtainsafullrow (5 in a row) on his or her Bingo sheet, whether obtained horizontally, vertically,ordiagonally,heorsheshoutsBINGO! Setup Prepareatablewith5rowsand5columns(55),withinterestingfactsinside theboxes.Thesefactscanincludehumorousorbizarrethings.Forexample youcanusefactssuchas:

Speaksmorethantwolanguages Enjoyswalkinginthunderstorms

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Likesanchovies HasbeentoAlaska Hasgoneskydivingbefore Hasmorethanthreesisters Hasgonewithoutashowerformorethanthreedays Trytobeascreativeasyoucan.Liketraditionalbingo,youcanmarkthe centersquareasaFreeSpace.Afteryouarefinishedpreparingthetable, printoutenoughcopies.Youarereadytoplay! InstructionsforHowtoPlay Passoutpensandthebingocardstoeachplayer.Explainthegamealong withthefollowingrule:eachpersonyoutalktomayonlysignyoursheet once(sothatpeoplecaninteractwithasmanypeopleaspossible).When everyone is ready, say Go! and begin the game!Once a player shouts Bingo!everyonereturnstothecenterandthepersonmustintroducethe peoplewhosignedhisorhersheet.Ifdesired,youcanaskeachpersonto explaintheirfact. TheAutographGameisagreatwaytolearnhumorousoruniquefactsabout people.Havefun!

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BigWindBlowsGame Summary:BigWindBlowsisagoodicebreakerthathelpspeoplegettoknow eachotherbetter.Playerssitinacircle,withonepersoninthecenterasthe big wind. This person says identifies a characteristic that is true about themselvesandthenallplayerswhosharethesamecharacteristicmustfinda newseat. Ages: All. Recommended # of people:Atleast6players.Messinessfactor: Slight running. Materials required: Chairs for each player, minus one. Recommendedsetting:IndoorsorOutdoors. TheBigWindBlowsGame Big Wind Blows is an icebreaker game that combines aspects of musical chairs with a gettoknowyou task. It can be humorous and entertaining, especially when you discover interesting facts that you might not expect aboutpeople. HowtoPlayBigWindBlows Tosetupthegame,arrangeseveralchairsfacinginwardintoamediumsized circle.Thereshouldbeonechairforeachplayer,minusone.Onepersonstarts astheBigWindinthecenterofthecircle,witheveryoneelseseated.The Big Wind raises both arms and spins around, while saying the following: TheBigWindblows_____. Theblankmustbefilledwithatruestatement about himself orherself,suchasTheBigWindblowseveryonewhohas beentoCanadaoranyothertruefact.Atthispoint,anyoftheplayerswho sharethischaracteristic(includingthepersonwhoiscurrentlytheBigWind)www.group-games.com 4

muststandupandquicklyfindanewseat.Foreachstatement,noplayeris allowedtositinthesameseatoraseatdirectlyadjacenttohisorherprevious seat.Onepersonwillbeleftwithoutaseat.Thispersonbecomesthenew BigWindforthenextround. Thisgameisespeciallyinterestingwhenplayersuseunique,unexpected,or funnystatements.Forexample,aplayercansayembarassingstatementssuch as,BigWindblowsthosewhohavegonewithoutashowerforthreedays. Havefunandremembertheobjectiveofthegroupgame:togettoknoweach otherbetter.

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BlanketNameGame Summary: A good gettoknowyouname identification game that can get prettyhilarious!Twopeoplestandfacingeachotherwithalargeblanketin between. The blanket drops, and the first person to correctly identify the otherpersonwinstheround. Ages: All. Recommended # of People: 1020. Messiness Factor: No Sweat. MaterialsRequired:Blanket.RecommendedSetting:Indoors. BlanketNameGameInstructions:TheBlanketNameGameisasimplename recognition/identification game. Go around the room and make introductions(shareyournameandotherinformationsuchasyourhobbies, major,etc.ifdesired.Separateintotwogroupsandhavetwopeopleholda large,thickblanketseparatingthetwogroupssothatneithergroupcansee theother.Whentheblanketdrops,thefirstpersontocorrectlycalloutthe nameoftheothergroupsdesignatedpersonwinstheround(whichtypically meanstheloseroftheroundmustleavethegame,thoughifyoupreferto avoid elimination then you donthavetodothis).The group may strike differenthumorousposestodistracttheattentionofothergroupsperson.As avariation,severalpeoplemaybefacingtheothergroupwithoneperson beingchosentocallouttheinformationoftheothergroupspeople.

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CelebrityIDGame Summary: An icebreaker where each person has a label with a famous celebrityorcharacternameontheirback.Everyonemingles,askingyesor noquestionstogaincluesaboutthenamepostedontheirbacks. Ages: All. Recommended # of People: 20 and over. Messiness Factor: No sweat. Materials Required: Several labels with famous names on them. RecommendedSetting:Indoors. CelebrityIDGameInstructions:TheCelebrityIDGameisagoodwaytoget alargegrouptomingleandbreaktheicebyinteractingwithlotsofpeople rapidly. To set up, the moderator prepares several labels with famous celebrityorwellknownnames(e.g.TomHanks,MickeyMouse,BarryBonds, etc.)Themoderatorsticksalabeloneachpersonsback.Then,themoderator announcesitistimeforthegametobegin.Atthispointeverybodymingles andintroducesthemselvestoeachother,andtheneachpersonasksyesorno questionstogaincluesaboutthename.Whenapersoncorrectlyidentifiesthe name, he or she removes the label and continuestomingleuntil apreset amountoftime.

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FirstImpressionsGame Summary:Anicebreaker(orpartygame)inwhichpeoplewritetheirfirst impressionsofeachotheronalargepapertapedtotheirbacks. Ages:13andup.Recommendednumberofpeople:Atleast10.Workswith very large groups and meetings. Mesiness factor: No mess, no stress! Materialsrequired:Alargepieceofpaperorposterboardforeachparticipant, pens/markers,sturdytape.RecommendedSetting:Indoorsoroutdoors. FirstImpressionsGame Thisisafungamethatinvolveswritingyourfirstimpressionofsomeoneyou meet.Ifsomepeoplealreadyknoweachother,thatsfinetoopeoplecan simply write some nice, encouraging words or adjectives to describe each other. This works well as an icebreakerformeetings,whentherearenew people present, or when people dont know each other well. It can be entertainingasapartygame,too. TosetupFirstImpressions,passoutthelargesheetsofpaperandwriting utensils.Haveeachpersonwritetheirnameonthetopofasheetofpaper. Tape each persons sheet to their back so that they cant see it. Instruct everyonetominglewitheachotherandtoconverse.Telleveryonetosayhello andtointroduceeachotherforafewmoments.Afteraminuteorso,askeach persontowriteanadjective(theirfirstimpressionofthepersontheyjust spokewith)oneachotherspapers.Thenhaveeachpersoncontinuemingling withnewpeople,repeatingtheprocess.After1020minutes(dependingon howlargeyourgroupisandhowlongyouwantthisactivitytorun),each personshouldhaveseveraladjectivesanddescriptivewordslistedontheirwww.group-games.com 8

backs. Go around the room and introduce each other, reading the words writen on your neighbors paper. This should be pretty humorous, and if people did this activity correctly, there should be lots of kind things said abouteachother. Important note: instruct everyone to write nice (or encouraging) words ONLY! Do not allow any mean, rude, or critical words tobe written. For example, one can write words such as beautiful smile, great sense of humor,smartandwittypersonality,giftedlistener,etc.

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Giants,Wizards,andElves Summary:Anicebreaker/actionorientedgamegoodformediumandlarge sizedgroups.Similartoagameofrock,paper,scissors,twoteamsfaceoff and decidetobecomeeithergiants,wizards,orelves.Giantsdefeat elves,elvesdefeatwizards,andwizardsdefeatgiants. Ages:10andup.Recommended#ofPeople:20andup(largegroupswork finetoo!).Messinessfactor:Mightbreakasmallsweat!MaterialsRequired: None.RecommendedSetting:IndoorsorOutdoors. Giants,Wizards,&Elves Giants,Wizards,andElvesisafun,sillyicebreakergamethatisagoodway tobreaktheiceatmeetingsorinclassrooms.Itsasimplegamebasedonthe classicgameofrock,paper,scissors. Setup Teacheveryonehowtobecomethreecharacters:thegiant,thewizard,and theelf.Eachcharacterfeatureshandmotionsandanoise. Forthegiant,eachpersonstandsontheirtippytoes,liftsuptheirarms,and makesanangrygrowlingnoise:Roooar! For the wizard, each person crouches a little bit, flutters their fingers as though they are casting a spell, and they make a magical noise: Woooo! Fortheelf,eachpersongetsdownverylowontheirknees,cupstheirhands aroundtheirears,andmakesahighpitchedelfnoise:Eeeeee!

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Practiceeachmotiontogetherafewtimes.Divideeveryoneintotwoteams andhavethemseparateintooppositesidesoftheroom.Thegameinvovles severalrounds.Foreachround,thefollowingtakesplace: Eachteamformsahuddleanddecidestobecomeagiant,wizard,orelf. Bothteamsthenlineupandfaceeachother,about5feetapart. Thefacilitatorsays3..2..1..Go! Each team acts out the giant, wizard, or elf (whatever they decided to become). Assoonastheyactouttheircharacter,thewinnertriestograbtheloserand pullsasmanypeopleovertotheirsideastheycan.Thelosertriesto runaway,backtotheirside,inordertobesafe.Thewinnerofeach roundisdeterminedbythefollowing.Thegiantdefeatstheelfbecause giants squash elves.Elves defeat wizards by outsmarting them, chewingattheirlegs.Thewizarddefeatsthegiantbyzappingthem withamagicspell.Identicalcharactersareadraw(noonewins).This processkeepsrepeatingformultipleroundsuntiloneteamisentirely consumed(orwhentimerunsout.) Variations Other variations of this game exist or you can make up your own. Be creative!

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HumanKnotIcebreaker Summary:Agoodicebreakerorteambuildingactivityfornewpeopletolearn toworktogetherinclosephysicalproximity!Thegoalistofigureouthow tountanglethehumanknotwithoutlettinggoofhands. Ages:12andup.Recommendednumberofpeople:7200(groupsizesof10 areideal).Messinessfactor:Mightbreakasweat(closeproximityhope yourenotclaustrophobic!).Materialsrequired:None.Recommendedsetting: Bothindoorsoroutdoors. HumanKnotGameGoalsoftheHumanKnotGame: Teambuildingandcommunication Problemsolving Icebreakerorgettoknowothersbetter SetupfortheHumanKnotGame: Thisgameisversatileinthatmultiplegroupsizescanplay.Formgroupsof about10peopleeach.Haveeachgroupstanding,facingtowardseachother, in a circle. Each person should be standing shoulder to shoulder. First, instructeveryonetolifttheirlefthandandreachacrosstotakethehandof someonestandingacrossthecircle.Next,haveeveryonelifttheirrightand reachacrosstotakethehandofanotherpersonstandingacrossthecircle. Make sure that no one is holding hands with someone standing directly besidetheperson.

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Toplay,thegroupsmustcommunicateandfigureouthowtountanglethe knot(formingacircleofpeople)withouteverlettinggoofanyhands.Ifyou wish,thisicebreakercanbeplayedcompetitively,inwhichthefacilitatorsays Ready..Set..Go!andhasallthegroupsracetobecomethefirstgroupto finish.Ifanygroupmemberletsgoofahand(breaksthechain),thenthe group must start from the beginning, or you could impose a penalty/punishmentforthatperson(e.g.wearablindfold). Thisgametypicallytakes1530minutestocomplete.Youcanimposeatime limitifyouwishtomakethegamemorechallenging.Whenyouaredone withthe HumanKnotactivity,youcanasksomedebriefquestionsifyou wish,suchasHowwelldidyougroupworktogether?Whatstrategiesdid yourgroupadopt?Howdiditfeeltosolvethegame?etc. Variations To increase the difficulty level, you can either (1) blindfold some of the playersor(2)requirethatthegamebeplayedsilently(notalking).

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HumanSculpturesGame Summary:HumanSculptures(alsoknownasHumanClay)isanicebreaker groupgamethatinvolvesposingpeopleintolargehumansculpturesbased onpredefinedtopics.Twoversionsexist:acompetitiveversionbasedona guessinggame,andaversionthatismoreaboutcomingupwithacreative interpretation. Ages:12andup.Recommendednumberofpeople:Groupsofatleastthree. Messiness factor: Minimal hold a pose for a few minutes. Materials required: Sheets of paper and pens. Recommended setting: Indoors or outdoors.

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HumanSculpturesGame HumanSculpturesisafungamethatbeusedasanicebreakeractivityorasa generalpartygame.Therearetwovariationsofthisgameoneversionisa competitiveguessinggame,whiletheotherversionisanbasedoncreative interpreptations of various topics. The instructions for both versions are below. HowtoPlayHumanSculptures:GuessingGameVersion Thefacilitatorshould announce a category (e.g. famous movies or famous songs the more specificthebetter).Allplayersarethendividedintosmallergroupsandone teamleaderisgivenapenandpaper.Eachgroupbrainstormsanideathat goesalongwiththetopicandeachteamleadermustwritedowntheideaon a sheet of paper and turn it intotheleader,whochecksthat theideais appropriateforuse.Eachgroupthencreatesasculptureusingtheirbodies. Every member of the group should comprise some part of the entire sculpture. After a predefined time limit (for example, five minutes), each teamlooksateachotherssculpture.Eachteamisallowedtwoguessesfor what the other team has formed. Whatever group guesses the the other groupssculpturetheclosestisthewinner. HowtoPlayHumanSculptures:NoncompetitiveVersion Theleadershouldannouncethatthegroupwillnowparticipateinahuman clayactivity.Playerswouldbeaskedtoprovidetheirowninterpretationor illustrationofsomecategoryofeventsorothertopics(preparedinadvanceby theleader).Someexamplesofcategoriesthatcouldbeused: Atopicrelatedtospecificsubjectmatterlearnedintheclassroomwww.group-games.com 15

Animportanteventorexperience Animportanteventinhistory Anfamousscenefromamovie Alinefromafamoussong Theleadershoulddemonstratefirst(tohelpputtheplayersatease,especially thosewhomightbereluctanttoactout).Thisnoncompetitiveversioncanbe agoodwaytoseehowpeopleillustratecontentlearnedinclass,orsomething personallymeaningfultothem.Havefun!

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IDGuessingGame Summary:Anicebreakerinwhichpeoplewritedowntwothingsthattheyve doneandonethingthattheyhaventonanindexcard.Thegoalistocorrectly guesswhowroteeachcard. Ages: All. Recommended # of people: 815. Messiness factor: No sweat. Materials required: Several pens and index cards. Recommended setting: Indoors. IDGuessingGame The ID Guessing Game is a good, simple gettoknowyou game that is especiallygoodforgroupswithnewpeople,orforwheneveryouwishto helppeoplegettoknoweachotherbettertobreaktheice. Instructions Passoutanindexcardandapentoeachpersonwhoisplaying.Theneach person has to write two thingstheyhavedoneandonetheyhavent.The moreuniqueandinterestingthebetter,buttheobjectittomakeithardforthe otherstoguessthatitisyourcard.Thenthecardsarecollectedandthegroup votesonwhothey think the card representsandwhichitemtheyhavent done.

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M&MGame

Summary:TheM&MGameisanicebreakerthatallowspeopletogettoknow eachother.EachpersongrabssomeM&Msandsharesfactsabouthimselfor herself. Ages:All.Recommendnumberofpeople:Groupsof312.Messinessfactor: No sweat. Materials required: A large bag of M&Ms or any candy with multiplecolors(e.g.Skittles). M&MGameThisicebreakerisasimplewaytohelppeopleintroducefacts

aboutthemselves.Itsveryflexibleandadaptableand(ifyouhaveasweet tooth) delicious too! The M&Ms Game goes by other names: the Skittles Game,theCandyGame,theColorGame,amongothernames. SetupPourM&Msoranyothermulticolorcandyintoabowl.Haveeveryone inthegroupgrabasmuchoraslittleastheylikefromthebowl.Makesure thatnooneeatstheircandyrightaway. HowtoPlayForeachpieceofM&Mcandytheytook,theywillhavetoanswer aquestion,dependingonitscolor.Forexample,youcandesignate:

Redcandy:favoritehobbies Greencandy:favoritefoods Yellowcandy:favoritemovies Orangecandy:favoriteplacestotravel Browncandy:mostmemorableorembarrassingmoments Bluecandy:wildcards(theycanshareanyonetheychoose)

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Youcanbecreativeandchooseanyquestionsyouthinkwouldbefittingfor yourgroup.Thefacilitatorwillthencalloutthecolortopicandeveryonewill goaroundtheroomsharing1answerperM&M.Asanexample:ifyouchose tworedpiecesofcandy,youwillhavetonametwoofyourfavoritehobbies. Aftertheindividualhassharedthatcolorwiththegroup,he/shemaythen eattheircandy.Continuetogoaroundtheroomuntileachcolortopichas beenshared.(ThisgamewasprovidedbyLeeLee1433.ThanksLeeLee!)

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NameGame Summary:Asimpleicebreakerusefulforintroducingpeopletoeachother andhelpingpeoplelearnnames.Thisgameisespeciallyusefulwhenthere arenewpeoplepresent. Ages:1021yearsold.Recommended#ofPeople:520.MessinessFactor:No Sweat.MaterialsRequired:Afunattitude.RecommendedSetting:Indoors. TheNameGameHowtoplay TheNameGame(alsoknownastheAdjectiveGame)startswithoneperson intheroompickingawordthatdescribeshimselforherselfasaperson.The catchis,thatthewordmuststartwiththefirstletteroftheirfirstname.For example,mystudentscallmeMissVelasquez.IwouldsayHello!Myname isVivaciousVelasquez.Thepersonaftermemustsaymyadjectiveandname before saying theirs. So they would go, Hello, Vivacious Velasquez, my name is Silly Sam. Then the third person would go, Hello, Vivacious Velasquez,andSillySam,mynameisEasygoingEdwin.Thiscontinueson until all of the students have gone. Being last is hilarious in this game, becausetheymustremembereveryonesnameANDadjectivebeforestating theirs.Additionalcommentsandsuggestions Iveplayedthisgameincollegeand,ofcourse,usedmyfirstname.Isaid, Hello,mynameisIloveyouIrene.Itwasfunnybecauseeveryoneafterme had to say Hello, Iloveyou Irene, Im (insert witty adjective and name here).Thisisneatbecauseyoudontnecessarilyhavetopickasingleword thatdescribesyou.Infact,itdoesnthavetobeanadjectiveatall.Notice, however,thatthefirstwordofmyphrasestartedwiththeletterI.Thisiswww.group-games.com 20

theonlyrulethatcannotbebroken.Themorecreativeyouarethebetterand morehumorousthegamewillbe.Thisgamewillhelpstudentsthatmaynot alreadyknoweachothertogettoknowoneanotherbetter.Whenstudents picktheiradjective(orphrase)itwillalsodoubleasagreattipforthenext personiftheygetstuckandcannotremembertheotherstudentsname.

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NeverHaveIEver Summary:Anicebreakerwhereplayerssitinacircleandtaketurnssaying interestingthingstheyhaveneverdone.Eachplayerstartswithtenfingers. Eachtimesomeonesayssomethingthatyouvedone,youdropafinger.The goalistobethelastplayerremaining. Ages: 8 and up. Recommended # of people: 1020. Messiness Factor: No Sweat.MaterialsRequired:None.RecommendedSetting:Indoors. NeverHaveIEver HowtoPlay Telleveryonetositinacircle.Eachplayerholdsoutalltenofyourfingers andplacesthemonthefloor.Onebyone,eachpersonannouncessomething thattheyhaveneverdone;forexample,theysay,NeverhaveIeverbeento Canada.Foreachstatement,alltheotherplayersremoveafingeriftheyhave donethatstatement.So,ifthreeotherpeoplehavebeentoCanadabefore, thosethreepeoplemustputdownafinger,leavingthemwithninefingers. Thegoalistostayinthegamethelongest(tohavefingersremaining).Thus, itisagoodstrategytosaystatementsthatmostpeoplehavedone,butyou havent.Thiscanbehumorous(e.g.NeverhaveIeverskippedaclassin schoolorNeverhaveIeversoiledmypants.)Thegameprovidesagood waytofindoutuniqueexperiencesandfactsaboutpeople.

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HomemadePictionaryGame Summary:Aclassicicebreakergameinwhichthegoalistogetyourteamto correctlyidentifysomethingthatisdrawnwithinthetimelimit. Ages:8andup.Recommended#ofpeople:Teamsof3+people.Messiness Factor: No sweat. Materials required: Several sheets or two large pads of paper,notecards,pens,astopwatch/timer.Recommendedsetting:Indoors. HomemadePictionary Pictionary is a classic game of drawing and guessing pictures. This game worksgreatwithlargegroupsasanicebreaker,aswellassimplyafungame toplayonalazySundayafternoonwithfriends. Setup In advance, a judge (someone who isnot playing) should prepare several words written on individual notecards. These are the words that will be drawn,andthatteammateswilltrytoguess.Eachword(s)shouldbelabeled asoneofthefollowingfivecategories(orbecreativeandcomeupwithother ones):

Person,Place,AnimalAperson,place,animal,orothercreaturethatis/was living(e.g.TigerWoods,abear). Action Something that canbedoneorperformed(e.g.ballet,shooting a basketball). ObjectSomethingthatcanbeseenortouched(e.g.atruck,achocolatechip

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cookie). ChallengeSomethingdifficult(e.g.TheGrandCanyon). All play A word from any of the above categories. Both teams draw simultaneously. Afterthejudgefinishespreparingseveralcards,heorsheshufflesthepile. Youarenowreadytoplay! HowtoPlay Divide the group into teams of at least three. Give each team a name. Distributealargepad(orsheets)ofpaperandapentoeachgroup.(Instead ofpaper,youcanalsodrawonchalkboardsorwhiteboards).Decidewhich teamgoesfirst. Onateamsturn,theychoosesomeonetodraw.Thejudgepreparesaone minutetimer(orstopwatch)andgivestheplayeracard.ThejudgesaysGo! andstartsthetimer.Theplayerbeginstodrawapictureoftheword(s).The goalisfortheteamtocorrectlyguesstheword(orbasicideaoftheword) withintheallottedtimelimit.Iftheteamcorrectlyguessestheword,they receiveapoint.Thenitsthenextteamsturn. Rules

Theartistmaynotmakeanyhandgesturesoraudiblenoises. Thepicturesdrawncannothaveanynumbersorletters. Afterateammembersuccessfullysayspartoftheword(s)onthecard,

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Variations

IntheoriginalPictionarygame,iftheteamcorrectlyguessestheword,they goagain. Youcanuseastandard6sideddietodeterminewhichcategoryateammust drawfrom.Forexample,1:Person,Place,orAnimal2:Action,3:Object, 4:Challenge,5:AllPlay,6:Wild(youchoose). Insteadofhavingajudgepreparethecluesinadvance,youcanhaveeach playerwriteafewcluesinthebeginningandthenshufflethemallup.

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ShoeIDGame Summary:Anicebreakerwhereallplayersthrowashoeintoabigpile.Grab arandomshoeandfindoutthreenewfactsabouttheperson. Ages:All.Recommended#ofPeople:10andover.MessinessFactor:Smelly. MaterialsRequired:None.RecommendedSetting:Indoors. ShoeIDGameTheShoeIDGameisafunalbeitsmellyicebreakergame. Instructions Everybodytakesoffashoeandthrowstheminalargepileonthefloor.On the count of three, each person grabs a shoe from the pile, then find the personwiththematchingshoeintheirotherfootandfindouttheirnameand threethingsaboutthemtheydidntalreadyknow.Worksbestwithlarger groups.Aftereveryonehasfoundtheirpersonandaskedthemthequestions, thengoaroundthecircleandhaveeveryoneintroducethepersontheytalked to and tell the three things about them.Thisgameisagood largegroup game,thoughitcanbesomewhatsmelly.

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SortsandMingle Summary:Anicebreakerthatgetsthegrouptomovetowardsvariouspartsof theroomandtofindotherswithsharedinterestsandpreferences,basedon variousinterestingcategories. Ages: 10 and up. Recommended number of people: 25and up. Messiness factor:Nosweat.Materialsrequired:None.Recommendedsetting:Indoors. SortsandMingle Instructions:ThefirstpartofthegameistheSortsgame.Youwillthrowout twocontrastingchoicesandthegrouphastomoveeitherEastorWestofthe room(e.g.DoyoupreferTargetorWalmart?).Thenyouthrowouttwo morechoicesandhavethemmoveSouthandNorth.Thatway,theyareall havingtomovesomewhereandcantgetlostinthecrowd.Sortsthatwork wellinclude:movie/book;salty/sweet;dressup/casual;inside/outside;be onthestageperforming/intheaudiencewatching,etc. The second part, the Mingle game,is also interesting and effective as an icebreaker;Youthrowoutageneralcategoryandthegrouphastomingle aroundtofindothersthathavethesameanswerandtheyclumpup.After aboutthirtysecondstooneminute,youthenhaveeachgroupcallouttheir answer. Its okay if someone doesnt have anyone else who has the same answer.Justtrytoavoidtwogroupswiththesameanswer(meanstheydidnt mingleverywell!)Someexamplesofmingles:yourfavoritedessert;thetype oftoothpasteyouuse;ifyoucouldattendonehugeevent(e.g.theSuperbowl, Oscars,WorldSeries,NascarOpeningDay,etc.)whatwouldyouchoose;your least favorite chore growing up asakid;if you could bethe very best at something,whatwoulditbe?www.group-games.com 27

TelephoneCharades Summary:Anicebreaker/stationarygameinwhichapersonactsoutan action only for the next person in line, who in turn acts out for the next person.Theactingtypicallybecomesdistortedovertimeandhilarious,asthe lastpersoninlinetriestoguesswhattheoriginalcluewas. Ages:10andup.Recommended#ofPeople:56.MessinessFactor:NoSweat. MaterialsRequired:None.RecommendedSetting:Indoors. TelephoneCharades HowtoPlay TheTelephoneCharadesGame(alsosometimescalledCharadesDownthe Line)isanicebreaker/stationarygamethatisahilariousblendoftheclassic telephonedownthelineandcharadesgame.Thisgroupgameisfairly simpletoplay.Selectfivetosixparticipantsandaskthemtoleavetheroom. Theaudiencechoosesanactionthatisspecific,silly,andobscuretoactout (e.g. a nerds romantic first date, washing an elephant, going skydiving,etc.).Oncethecluehasbeendecided,bringinalltheparticipants andinstructthemtofacetherightside.Themoderatorrevealsthecluetothe firstperson,whotapsthesecondpersonontheshoulderandactsoutthe topicusingcharadesrules(notalkingallowed,nonoises).Thesecondperson thentapsthethirdpersonandactsouthisorherunderstandingofwhatwas actedout.Thiscontinuesuntilitreachesthelastpersoninline,whomust guesswhattheactionis.Thisgameisfunnybecausetheactionmutatesand changesbaseduponeachpersonsinterpretationofwhatisgoingon,often leadingtoconfusionandsillymotions.www.group-games.com 28

TwoTruthsandaLie Summary:Aclassicgettoknowyouicebreakerinwhicheachpersonsays twotruthsandonelie.Thegoalistofigureoutwhichstatementisactually thelie. Ages: All. Recommended # of people: 610. Messiness factor: No Sweat. MaterialsRequired:None.RecommendedSetting:Indoors. TwoTruthsandaLie TwoTruthsandaLieistheclassicicebreakergameinwhichoneattemptsto identifywhichofthreestatementsisbogus. Instructions: Have everyone sit in a circle. Each person prepares three statements,twoofwhicharetrueandoneofwhichisalie.Inanyorder,the personsharesthethreestatementstotheentiregroup.Theobjectofthegame istofigureoutwhichstatementalie.Therestofthegroupvotesoneach statement,andthepersonrevealswhichoneisthelie. Variation: Two Truths and a Dream Wish. As an interesting variation to the classicTwoTruthsandaLieicebreaker,peoplemayalsoplayaversioncalled Two Truths and a Dream Wish. Instead of stating a lie, a person says somethingthatisnottrueyetsomethingthattheywishtobetrue.For example,someonethathasneverbeentoHawaiimightsay:Ihavevisited HawaiiwhenIwasyoung.Thisinterestingspinoftenleadstounexpected, fascinatingresults,aspeopleoftensharetouchingwishesabouttheirlives.

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WhoseStoryIsIt? Summary:Anicebreakerinwhichyoureadvarious(bizarre)storiesandtry toguesswhosetruestoryitis. Ages: All. Recommended # of People: 820. Messiness Factor: No Sweat. MaterialsRequired:Paper,pens,container.RecommendedSetting:Indoors. WhoseStoryIsIt? Thissimpleicebreakercanbeafunmethodtohearfascinatingtruestories aboutyourfriends. Instructions Passoutslipsofpaperandpens.Haveeveryonebrieflywritedownatrue story or experience that happened to them on the paper along with their name.Themorebizarre,thebetter.Foldtheslipsofpaperandputtheminto thecontainer,shufflingthemandmixingthemup.Amediatorpicksoutfour slipsofpaperandcallsoutthenamesofthepeople.Thesepeoplegoandsit onchairsoracouchapartfromthegroup.Themediatorreadsoffthestories andthenthegrouptriestofigureoutwhosestoryiswhose.Thegroupdoes this by asking different people to tell different stories. The people on the couchtrytoconvincethegroupthatthestorytheytellreallyistheirs.After everyoneonthecouchhastoldafewdifferentstories,thegroupvotes.This repeatsuntileveryonehasgoneup.Themaingoalofthegameistohavefun tellingstoriesandlearnafewinterestingorhumorousfactsabouteachother.

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