Why Ice Breaker Games Matter so much
Your event’s first activity will set the tone for the whole day. After the first two minutes, people are either excited or they’re checking how long it is till they can leave. This is why having a fun, memorable, interactive ice-breaker game is so important.
No one is getting excited about playing name bingo or bang for the third time this year.
You want people to start connecting, smiling, sharing and getting to know each other better.
I've played hundreds of get to know you games over the past 20 years. Here are some challenges you won’t find anywhere else on the internet that are super fun and help people connect the most:
1. Superlatives
Get people into groups of the same size, preferably at a table.
You start each round by announcing the topic of the challenge (using a superlative e.g. widest, longest, biggest.)
Then each team sends out one representative that will compete for the team based on what they think the challenge related to this word will be.
After all the contestants have come to the front, you then announce the full challenge. For example, “Who can smile the widest?”
You can score however you want. I recommend having a whiteboard on the side, and giving 3 points to the team that comes first, 2 points to the second and 1 point to the third.
You'll want to organise at least 5 different challenges.
I recommend budgeting at least 30 minutes for activity.
2. Beat the Toaster
Get everyone to sit in one big circle. If they’re adults please don’t make them sit on the floor, get them to make the circle with chairs.
Put a table with a toaster in the middle of the circle and put a range of different spreads on the table.
You’ll want some normal ones like jam or butter and some more controversial ones like Vegemite, anchovies, lambs brains etc.
Here’s what you’re going to do: You’re going to start the toaster and then ask a question and everyone needs to answer it (one by one). For example, you ask “What is your favourite movie?” you then go around the circle with everyone answering.
When the toaster stops, whoever is answering the question has to go up, get the toast and put a spread on it and eat it. Each time one spread is used, it can’t be used again.
When everyone in the circle has answered the question, you move onto a new one. And you keep going round until all of the spreads have been used.
If you don’t have a toaster, you can substitute it with a timer and drinks, snacks or whatever else your creativity leads you to.
3. Peg Thief
Give everyone 3 pegs.
Get them to put the pegs on their clothes somewhere.
The aim of the game is to end up with the most pegs after 3 minutes.
You do this by taking as many pegs from others as you can, while stopping others from stealing your pegs.
This game gets people moving around, but it’s important to remind people to be careful not to hurt anyone.
It works really well with a group of more active people but can be not so well received with people that don’t like moving so much.
If you like the idea of ‘pegging’ people, but have a crowd that might be less active. You can incorporate this idea into your event in a fun way by giving everyone two pegs when they arrive. Tell them to sneakily put the pegs onto other people’s clothes. Whether it’s a work conference or just a fun day out, it adds an element of fun to the entire day - as people think of sneaky, creative and fun ways to put pegs onto each other.
Regardless of the size of the event, you should put in the effort to make sure that everyone has a great, valuable time - because your people are worth it. If you don’t have the time, energy or expertise to organise and execute an event that’ll make your people glow and connections grow, you should get in touch with one of our event planning experts today.