M&M Game Summary: The M&M Game is an icebreaker that allows people to get to know each other.

Each person grabs some M&Ms and shares facts about himself or herself. Ages: All. Recommend number of people: Groups of 3-12. Messiness factor: No sweat. Materials required: A large bag of M&Ms or any candy with multiple colors (e.g. Skittles). M&M Game This icebreaker is a simple way to help people introduce facts about themselves. Its very flexible and adaptable - and (if you have a sweet tooth) delicious too! The M&Ms Game goes by other names: the Skittles Game, the Candy Game, the Color Game, among other names. Setup Pour M&Ms or any other multicolor candy into a bowl. Have everyone in the group grab as much or as little as they like from the bowl. Make sure that no one eats their candy right away. How to Play For each piece of M&M candy they took, they will have to answer a question, depending on its color. For example, you can designate:

Red candy: favorite hobbies Green candy: favorite foods Yellow candy: favorite movies Orange candy: favorite places to travel Brown candy: most memorable or embarrassing moments Blue candy: wild cards (they can share anyone they choose)

You can be creative and choose any questions you think would be fitting for your group. The facilitator will then call out the color topic and everyone will go around the room sharing 1 answer per M&M. As an example: if you chose two red pieces of candy, you will have to name two of your favorite hobbies. After the individual has shared that color with the group, he/she may then eat their candy. Continue to go around the room until each color topic has been shared. (This game was provided by LeeLee1433. Thanks LeeLee!)

Human Knot Icebreaker Summary: A good icebreaker or teambuilding activity for new people to learn to work together - in close physical proximity! The goal is to figure out how to untangle the human knot without letting go of hands. Ages: 12 and up. Recommended number of people: 7-200 (group sizes of 10 are ideal). Messiness factor: Might break a sweat - (close proximity - hope youre not claustrophobic!). Materials required: None. Recommended setting: Both indoors or outdoors. Human Knot Game Goals of the Human Knot Game:

Team building and communication Problem solving Ice-breaker or get to know others better

Setup for the Human Knot Game: This game is versatile in that multiple group sizes can play. Form groups of about 10 people each. Have each group standing, facing towards each other, in a circle. Each person should be standing shoulder to shoulder. First, instruct everyone to lift their left hand and reach across to take the hand of someone standing across the circle. Next, have everyone lift their right and reach across to take the hand of another person standing across the circle. Make sure that no one is holding hands with someone standing directly beside the person.

How to Play the Human Knot Game To play, the groups must communicate and figure out how to untangle the knot (forming a circle of people) without ever letting go of any hands. If you wish, this icebreaker can be played competitively, in which the facilitator says Ready.. Set.. Go! and has all the groups race to become the first group to finish. If any group member lets go of a hand (breaks the chain), then the group must start from the beginning, or you could impose a penalty/punishment for that person (e.g. wear a blindfold). This game typically takes 15-30 minutes to complete. You can impose a time limit if you wish to make the game more challenging. When you are done with the Human Knot activity, you can ask some debrief questions if you wish, such as How well did you group work together? What strategies did your group adopt? How did it feel to solve the game? etc. Variations To increase the difficulty level, you can either (1) blindfold some of the players or (2) require that the game be played silently (no talking).

First Impressions Game

Summary: An icebreaker (or party game) in which people write their first impressions of each other on a large paper taped to their backs. Ages: 13 and up. Recommended number of people: At least 10. Works with very large groups and meetings. Mesiness factor: No mess, no stress! Materials required: A large piece of paper or posterboard for each participant, pens/markers, sturdy tape. Recommended Setting: Indoors or outdoors. First Impressions Game This is a fun game that involves writing your first impression of someone you meet. If some people already know each other, thats fine too people can simply write some nice, encouraging words or adjectives to describe each other. This works well as an icebreaker for meetings, when there are new people present, or when people dont know each other well. It can be entertaining as a party game, too. To set up First Impressions, pass out the large sheets of paper and writing utensils. Have each person write their name on the top of a sheet of paper. Tape each persons sheet to their back so that they cant see it. Instruct everyone to mingle with each other and to converse. Tell everyone to say hello and to introduce each other for a few moments. After a minute or so, ask each person to write an adjective (their first impression of the person they just spoke with) on each others papers. Then have each person continue mingling with new people, repeating the process. After 10-20 minutes (depending on how large your group is and how long you want this activity to run), each person should have several adjectives and descriptive words listed on their 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 about each other. Important note: instruct everyone to write nice (or encouraging) words ONLY! Do not allow any mean, rude, or critical words to be written. For example, one can write words such as beautiful smile, great sense of humor, smart and witty personality, gifted listener, etc. (Credits: This game was brought to you by osu_fan. Thanks, osu_fan!)

Autograph Bingo Game

Summary: Autograph Bingo is an icebreaker that asks people to mingle and find people that match interesting facts on a bingo card. The game causes players to discover interesting and humorous facts about each other. Ages: 12 and up. Recommended # of people: Larger groups of 24+ people. Messiness Factor: No problem. Materials required: bingo cards prepared in advance and writing utensils. Recommended Setting: Indoors. Autograph Bingo Autograph Bingo is a fun way to help both new acquaintances and old friends discover facts about each other. The goal of this icebreaker game is to mingle and obtain the signatures of people who have the facts listed on their bingo card. Just as regular bingo rules, once a player successfully obtains a full row (5 in a row) on his or her Bingo sheet, whether obtained horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, he or she shouts BINGO! Setup Prepare a table with 5 rows and 5 columns (55), with interesting facts inside the boxes. These facts can include humorous or bizarre things. For example you can use facts such as:

Speaks more than two languages Enjoys walking in thunderstorms Likes anchovies Has been to Alaska Has gone skydiving before Has more than three sisters Has gone without a shower for more than three days

Try to be as creative as you can. Like traditional bingo, you can mark the center square as a Free Space. After you are finished preparing the table, print out enough copies. You are ready to play! Instructions for How to Play Pass out pens and the bingo cards to each player. Explain the game along with the following rule: each person you talk to may only sign your sheet once (so that people can interact with as many people as possible). When everyone is ready, say Go! and begin the game!Once a player shouts Bingo! everyone returns to the center and the person must introduce the people who signed his or her sheet. If desired, you can ask each person to explain their fact. The Autograph Game is a great way to learn humorous or unique facts about people. Have fun!

Two Truths and a Lie

Summary: A good get-to-know-you icebreaker in which each person says two truths and one lie. The goal is to figure out which statement is the lie. Ages: All. Recommended # of people: 6-10. Messiness factor: No Sweat. Materials Required: None. Recommended Setting: Indoors. Two Truths and a Lie Two Truths and a Lie is the classic icebreaker game in which one attempts to identify which of three statements is bogus. Instructions: Have everyone sit in a circle. Each person prepares three statements, two of which are true and one of which is a lie. In any order, the person shares the three statements to the entire group. The object of the game is to figure out which statement a lie. The rest of the group votes on each statement, and the person reveals which one is the lie. Variation: Two Truths and a Dream Wish. As an interesting variation to the classic Two Truths and a Lie icebreaker, people may also play a version called Two Truths and a Dream Wish. Instead of stating a lie, a person says something that is not true yet something that they wish to be true. For example, someone that has never been to Hawaii might say: I have visited Hawaii when I was young. This interesting spin often leads to unexpected, fascinating results, as people often share touching wishes about their lives.

Sorts and Mingle

Summary: An icebreaker that gets the group to move towards various parts of the room and to find others with shared interests and preferences, based on various interesting categories. Ages: 10 and up. Recommended number of people: 25 and up. Messiness factor: No sweat. Materials required: None. Recommended setting: Indoors. Sorts and Mingle Instructions: The first part of the game is the Sorts game. You will throw out two contrasting choices and the group has to move either East or West of the room (e.g. Do you prefer Target or Walmart?). Then you throw out two more choices and have them move South and North. That way, they are all having to move somewhere and cant get lost in the crowd. Sorts that work well include: movie/book; salty/sweet; dress up/casual; inside/outside; be on the stage performing/in the audience watching, etc. The second part, the Mingle game, is also interesting and effective as an icebreaker; You throw out a general category and the group has to mingle around to find others that have the same answer and they clump up. After about thirty seconds to one minute, you then have each group call out their answer. Its okay if someone doesnt have anyone else who has the same answer. Just try to avoid two groups with the same answer (means they didnt mingle very well!) Some examples of mingles: your favorite dessert; the type of toothpaste you use; if you could attend one huge event (e.g. the Superbowl, Oscars, World Series, Nascar Opening Day, etc.) what would you choose; your least favorite chore growing up as a kid; if you could be the very best at something, what would it be? (Contributed by Amy R.) Thanks Amy!

Simon Says
Summary: A classic kids icebreaker/stationary game in which the leader, Simon, instructs people to do various actions. The goal is to only do something when Simon says so, and to do nothing when he doesnt. Ages: All ages. Recommended number of people: Any size group, including large groups. Messiness factor: No sweat. Materials required: Nothing. Recommended setting: Indoors. Simon Says Game Simon Says is a classic game that is traditionally played by kids and families, although it can also work with college students and adults as a lighthearted icebreaker. How to Play Simon Says One person plays the role of Simon, and he or she stands facing the crowd. Simon explains the rules: I am Simon. I will give you instructions to do various actions, and you must imitate my actions. I will instruct you to do various things by saying Simon says, do something, where something is an action like touching your head, waving your hand, and so on. If you do something without me saying Simon says, then you are eliminated for that round. Simon (the game facilitator) then proceeds to say various commands (while demonstrating the action), sometimes beginning them with Simon says, and other times not. These commands can include the following (be creative!):

Pat your head Smile Wave hello Flex your biceps Touch your toes Turn around

Strategies for Simon A good way to get many people eliminated at the very beginning of the game is to explain the rules, and then say: Ready to play? Okay, everybody stand up. Whenever many people stand to their feet, they will all be eliminated for that round, because Simon did not say Simon says stand up to your feet.

Another way is to give commands very quickly and to try to catch people off guard by not saying Simon says on occasion.

Homemade Pictionary Game

Summary: A classic icebreaker game in which the goal is to get your team to correctly identify something that is drawn within the time limit. Ages: 8 and up. Recommended # of people: Teams of 3+ people. Messiness Factor: No sweat. Materials required: Several sheets or two large pads of paper, notecards, pens, a stopwatch/timer. Recommended setting: Indoors. Homemade Pictionary Pictionary is a classic game of drawing and guessing pictures. This game works great with large groups as an icebreaker, as well as simply a fun game to play on a lazy Sunday afternoon with friends. Setup In advance, a judge (someone who is not playing) should prepare several words written on individual notecards. These are the words that will be drawn, and that teammates will try to guess. Each word(s) should be labeled as one of the following five categories (or be creative and come up with other ones):

Person, Place, Animal - A person, place, animal, or other creature that is/was living (e.g. Tiger Woods, a bear). Action - Something that can be done or performed (e.g. ballet, shooting a basketball). Object - Something that can be seen or touched (e.g. a truck, a chocolate chip cookie). Challenge - Something difficult (e.g. The Grand Canyon). All play - A word from any of the above categories. Both teams draw simultaneously.

After the judge finishes preparing several cards, he or she shuffles the pile. You are now ready to play! How to Play Divide the group into teams of at least three. Give each team a name. Distribute a large pad (or sheets) of paper and a pen to each group. (Instead of paper, you can also draw on chalkboards or whiteboards). Decide which team goes first. On a teams turn, they choose someone to draw. The judge prepares a one-minute timer (or stopwatch) and gives the player a card. The judge says Go! and starts the timer. The player begins to draw a picture of the word(s). The goal is for the team to correctly guess the word (or basic idea of the word) within the allotted time limit. If the team correctly guesses the word, they receive a point. Then its the next teams turn. Rules

The artist may not make any hand gestures or audible noises. The pictures drawn cannot have any numbers or letters. After a team member successfully says part of the word(s) on the card,

Variations

In the original Pictionary game, if the team correctly guesses the word, they go again. You can use a standard 6-sided die to determine which category a team must draw from. For example, 1: Person, Place, or Animal 2: Action, 3: Object, 4: Challenge, 5: All Play, 6: Wild (you choose). Instead of having a judge prepare the clues in advance, you can have each player write a few clues in the beginning and then shuffle them all up.

Shoe ID Game
Summary: An icebreaker where all players throw a shoe into a big pile. Grab a random shoe and find out three new facts about the person.

Ages: All. Recommended # of People: 10 and over. Messiness Factor: Smelly. Materials Required: None. Recommended Setting: Indoors. Shoe ID Game The Shoe ID Game is a fun albeit smelly icebreaker game. Instructions Everybody takes off a shoe and throws them in a large pile on the floor. On the count of three, each person grabs a shoe from the pile, then find the person with the matching shoe in their other foot and find out their name and three things about them they didnt already know. Works best with larger groups. After everyone has found their person and asked them the questions, then go around the circle and have everyone introduce the person they talked to and tell the three things about them. This game is a good large group game, though it can be somewhat smelly.

Never Have I Ever

Summary: An icebreaker where players sit in a circle and take turns saying interesting things they have never done. Each player starts with ten fingers. Each time someone says something that youve done, you drop a finger. The goal is to be the last player remaining.

Ages: 8 and up. Recommended # of people: 10-20. Messiness Factor: No Sweat. Materials Required: None. Recommended Setting: Indoors. Never Have I Ever How to Play Tell everyone to sit in a circle. Each player holds out all ten of your fingers and places them on the floor. One by one, each person announces something that they have never done; for example, they say, Never have I ever been to Canada. For each statement, all the other players remove a finger if they have done that statement. So, if three other people have been to Canada before, those three people must put down a finger, leaving them with nine fingers. The goal is to stay in the game the longest (to have fingers remaining). Thus, it is a good strategy to say statements that most people have done, but you havent. This can be humorous (e.g. Never have I ever skipped a class in school or Never have I ever soiled my pants.) The game provides a good way to find out unique experiences and facts about people.

Action game Pulse Game

Summary: An action oriented icebreaker that works especially well with large groups of people. A game of quick reflexes and passing on the pulse!

Ages: All. Recommended # of People: At least 40 people. Messiness Factor: Might break a small sweat. Materials Required: A coin, a chair, and any small object like a tennis ball. Recommended Setting: Indoors. Pulse Game The Pulse Game (also known as the Electric Current Game or the Electricity Game) is a great way to break the ice, especially if you have a large group people. In a fast paced action game, two long lines of humans resemble a fast moving electric current! Setup To set up the Pulse Game, you need to form two teams of equal size. The easiest way to do this is probably to have each player pair off with another person. When youve divided the group evenly, have each team member face the same direction, and have each team facing each other. Instruct each team to hold hands to form two long human chains. At the end of the two lines, place a chair with a small object (e.g. a tennis ball) on it. The referree stands at the front (see picture below).

Playing the Pulse Game To play the pulse game, have the two players at the front of the line watch the referee. Have everyone else close their eyes and face downward. Instruct everyone to be silent. For each round, the referee does the following: Flip a coin and quietly show it only to the first two players at the front of each team. Whenever the coin shows Heads, the two people at the front of the line must squeeze the hand of the next person in line as quickly as possible. Whenever that players hand gets squeezed, he or she quickly continues to pass the electric current by squeezing the next persons hand, and so on. As the electric current transfers along the line, the goal of the game is to be the first team to grab the object (the ball) on the chair. If heads was flipped and a team successfully grabs the ball, that team wins a point. On the other hand, if the team grabs the ball but heads was not flipped, then the point goes to the other team. After each coin flip, wait several seconds and then flip again. Keep flipping until the coin shows Heads. For a short game, the winner is the first team to score 10 points. For a longer game, you can increase the number of points. Have fun playing this fast paced, quick reflex action game.

Trust Walk Activity

Summary: A team building activity centered around trust. A leader gives verbal or nonverbal instructions to navigate a blindfolded partner to avoid obstacles. Ages: 14 and up. Recommended number of people: Pairs. Messiness factor: Might break a small sweat. Materials required: Blindfolds. Recommended setting: Outdoors, in a location with no dangerous obstacles. Trust Walk Activity The Trust Walk Activity is a team building activity involving leadership and lots of trust as people navigate each other around obstacles.Instructions

Find a good location with some obstacles, but nothing dangerous. Some good locations may include the woods or a large field. Form pairs. Ask one partner to be the navigator (guide), and the other to be blindfolded. When the blindfolded partner is ready, slowly spin the person around a few times so that they do not know which direction they are headed. From this point on, the guide should not touch the partnert at all, but rely solely on verbal cues (e.g. About five steps ahead, there is a branch. Step over it slowly.) The guide is solely responsible for his or her partners safety. He or she should be navigated to avoid obstacles. In this way, participants learn valuable lessons related to teamwork: the guide learns about the challenge and responsibility of caring for another individuals well being, while the blindfolded partner learns to trust and rely on another person. Ask participants to reflect and share upon their experiences. Sample Questions to Ask During Debrief To help participants reflect and learn upon their experiences, the following are some good sample questions to ask following the Trust Walk team building activity:

What do you think is the purpose of this team building activity? What was it like to be the guide, responsible for the safety of your teammates? Did you have any difficulty trusting your partner while blindfolded? Why or why not? Why is trust in your teammates important? How did it feel when you and your teammate successfully trusted each other to accomplish something challenging? How does this relate to _______ (fill in the blank with the current scenario of the participants, such as class, a sports team, employees working together on a project, etc.)?