Name Games and Icebreakers for Groups of 6 to 60 Adults

One name game for 6 to 60 adults, with steps to read aloud, a group size, minutes and props.

Name Games and Icebreakers for Groups of 6 to 60 Adults

  1. Name Bingo, Called From a Hat1. Everyone writes their first name on a slip for the hat and takes a blank grid of nine squares. 2. Walk around and meet people; each person you meet writes their own first name in one of your squares. 3. With nine names collected, sit down. 4. The leader draws slips and reads them out; cross off a name when you hear it. 5. Three in a row wins, and the three people named stand up and wave. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: a three-by-three grid and a pen each, name slips and a hat. Seated: no.
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How it works

These name games and icebreakers are written for adults: a class, a workshop, a volunteer team or a first staff meeting. Each press deals one game with steps to read aloud, a group size, minutes and props.

Read the full guide

Fit the game to your head count

After the first press an Any group size box appears under the button. Choose your band, such as 16 to 25 people, and only games that run with every head count in that band are dealt. The whole list is printed under the tool, sorted into four kinds.

Icebreakers and name games for a shy room

More filters, the last entry in the group size box, opens three choices. Nobody on the spot keeps the games where no one has to recall a name alone in front of the room, Staying seated suits a lecture hall, and No props needs nothing fetched.

Tips
  • Hand out name tags anyway. Most games run with them on, and one that covers, removes or remakes them says so in step 1.
  • Past 30 people, skip the circle chains: of the games said out loud, only Stand for Your Letter runs to 60.

Questions and answers

What are good icebreakers for names when nobody knows anyone?

Ones where nobody is tested. In Say It With Me each person says their own name and the group says it back, and in Table Chorus a whole table speaks together. Choose Nobody on the spot under More filters for the rest.

How do you learn names in a large group?

Choose 41 to 60 people. Stand for Your Letter and Table Chorus each take a full room through its names in about four minutes, and Use It Three Times puts the names to work in pairs. The circle chains stop at about 25 people.

What is a quick name game with no props?

Neighbors First. Each person introduces the neighbor on each side and then themselves, so every name is heard three times from three voices. Allow about five minutes for up to 25 people. No props under More filters lists the others.

Where are the name toss and the name games for teenagers?

Name Toss With Three Balls, Name and Motion and six more are on youth group ice breaker games, written for teenagers, so this list does not repeat them. Name Tag Swap is on party games for large groups.

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All 30 games

Say it out loud 9

  • A Hook for Each Name 1. Sit in pairs. 2. Partners swap first names and invent a hook for each one: a rhyme, a picture or a link to something the person has just said, such as Dana from Denver. 3. Each pair joins another pair and passes on both hooks. 4. Back in the full group, anyone who likes tells the room one hook they expect to remember tomorrow. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
  • Adjective Name Chain 1. Sit in a circle. 2. The first person gives their first name with a describing word that starts with the same letter, such as Careful Carol. 3. The next person repeats it, then adds their own. 4. The chain keeps growing around the circle, so the last person says every name. 5. The circle helps anyone who stalls. Players: 6 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
  • Call Me This, Not That 1. Go around the room once. 2. Each person gives the name on the list, the name they like to be called, and one they would rather not hear: "Katherine on paper, Kate in person, never Kathy." 3. The group answers with the name to use. 4. The leader goes first, and anyone with nothing to add just says their name. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
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Say it out loud, continued

  • Hello Left, Good Morning Right 1. Sit in a circle and check the names on both sides of you. 2. The leader turns left and says "Hello, Sam." Sam turns left and greets the next person by name, and so on. 3. At the same moment the leader turns right and says "Good morning, Dana", which travels the other way. 4. The two greetings cross halfway round and both come home to the leader. Players: 8 to 25. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
  • Me, Then You 1. Stand in a circle after the names have been said once. 2. The first person says their own name, then the name of the person on their left. 3. That person does the same, and the pair of names runs around the circle. 4. On a double clap from the leader, the direction reverses. 5. Stop after three laps. Players: 6 to 20. Time: 3 min. Props: none. Seated: no.
  • Neighbors First 1. Sit in a circle and give everyone thirty seconds to ask the name of the person on each side. 2. The first person points left, then to themselves, then right: "This is Luis, I am Priya, this is Sam." 3. Go around the whole circle. 4. Each name is heard three times, from three different voices, before the lap is over. Players: 6 to 25. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
  • Picnic Basket Names 1. Sit in a circle. 2. The first person says their name and something they would bring to a picnic that starts with the same letter: "I am Dana and I am bringing dates." 3. The whole group answers together: "Welcome, Dana, with the dates." 4. Go around once. 5. Go around again with names only, and the group calls out each basket. Players: 6 to 15. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
  • Say It With Me 1. Sit so that everyone can see everyone. 2. Each person says their first name the way they want it said, slowly, twice. 3. The group says it back together, and tries once more if the owner asks. 4. Anyone may add what the name rhymes with. 5. Write the sound under the spelling on a name tag if tags are in use. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
  • Stand for Your Letter 1. Everyone starts in their seat. 2. The leader calls a letter, such as E. 3. Everyone whose first name has that letter in it stands and says their name, one after another, then sits. 4. Call six letters: E, A, R, N, S and T reach nearly every name in an English-speaking room. 5. Ask who has not stood yet, and hear those names last. Players: 6 to 60. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Seated: no.

Lines and circles on your feet 5

  • Alphabet Corners 1. Hang a sign in each corner of the room. 2. Everyone walks to the corner that holds the first letter of their first name. 3. Each corner swaps names and lines up in alphabetical order. 4. One corner at a time, each person says their name down the line. 5. A corner of one or two people joins its neighbor, and the neighbor makes room in the line. Players: 16 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: four signs: A to F, G to L, M to R, S to Z. Seated: no.
  • Facing Lines Name Quiz 1. Stand in two lines facing each other. 2. Each pair has twenty seconds to swap first names and say them back. 3. On the signal, one line takes a step to the right, and the person at the end walks around to the start. 4. After every third move, tell your new partner the names of the last three people you met. 5. Those three are still in the line facing you, and each one waves at their name. Players: 10 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Seated: no.
  • First-Letter Line, No Talking 1. Ask the group to line up in alphabetical order of first names, A at one end, without a word. 2. People show the first letter by drawing it in the air or with their fingers. 3. When the line settles, each person says their name down the line. 4. Anyone out of order steps to the right place, and the line says the names once more. Players: 8 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: no.
  • Short Name to Long Name 1. Ask the group to line up by the number of letters in their first name, shortest at one end. 2. Talking is allowed, so everyone has to ask for names and spellings. 3. Ties stand side by side. 4. Each person says their name and its letter count down the line: "Al, two." "Maria, five." Players: 8 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: no.
  • Walk to a Name 1. Stand in a circle. 2. The first person looks at someone, says that person's name and starts walking toward their place. 3. Before the walker arrives, the named person says another name and sets off, leaving the place free. 4. Keep it going with no place empty and no two people walking for long. 5. If a name will not come, ask for it out loud and carry on. Players: 8 to 20. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: no.

Mixers with a job to do 8

  • Alphabet Collector 1. Everyone takes a card and a pen. 2. Walk around and collect first names, each written by its owner, that start with as many different letters as you can. 3. Two names with the same first letter count once. 4. After three minutes, the person with the most letters reads the names out in alphabetical order, and each owner waves. Players: 10 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: an index card and a pen each. Seated: no.
  • Initial Clusters 1. Everyone finds the other people whose first name starts with the same letter, by calling the letter out. 2. A person alone with a letter joins the nearest letter of the alphabet. 3. Each cluster learns its own names and picks one word that starts with its letter. 4. Clusters take turns saying the word, then each member says their name. Players: 16 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Seated: no.
  • Introduce the Card You Hold 1. Everyone writes their first name and one thing they like doing on a card. 2. Walk around, meet someone, introduce yourselves and swap cards. 3. At the next meeting you introduce the person on the card you hold: "I have Dana, who bakes bread." Then swap again. 4. After four swaps the leader calls time, and everyone returns the card they hold to its owner. Players: 10 to 40. Time: 10 min. Props: an index card and a pen each. Seated: no.
  • Name Bingo, Called From a Hat 1. Everyone writes their first name on a slip for the hat and takes a blank grid of nine squares. 2. Walk around and meet people; each person you meet writes their own first name in one of your squares. 3. With nine names collected, sit down. 4. The leader draws slips and reads them out; cross off a name when you hear it. 5. Three in a row wins, and the three people named stand up and wave. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: a three-by-three grid and a pen each, name slips and a hat. Seated: no.
  • Pass-Along Introductions 1. Everyone pairs up and swaps first names. 2. Each pair walks to another pair, and every person introduces their partner, not themselves: "This is Ahmed." 3. Swap partners inside the four and move on to a new pair. 4. Three moves is enough for most rooms: by then each person has said three other people's names aloud. Players: 8 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: no.
  • Scrambled Name Tags 1. Everyone writes the letters of their first name on a label in a mixed-up order, in capitals, and wears it. 2. Walk around and unscramble the tags you meet out loud. 3. The wearer says yes or gives the first letter as a hint. 4. When time is up, everyone writes the real name underneath. Players: 8 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: sticky labels and markers. Seated: no.
  • Spell a Word From Initials 1. The first letter of your first name is your letter. 2. On go, form groups whose letters spell a real word of three letters or more. 3. Groups stand in the order of the word. 4. Each group spells its word out loud, one name a letter: "T for Tom, E for Elena, A for Ahmed." 5. Play again, and nobody may stand with the same people twice. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Seated: no.
  • Use It Three Times 1. Pair up with someone whose name you are not sure of. 2. Talk for one minute about anything, such as the trip here this morning. 3. Each of you has to say the other's name three times before the minute ends. 4. On the signal, find a new partner. 5. Run four rounds. Players: 6 to 60. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Seated: no.

At tables, with pens and name tags 8

  • Draw the Table From Memory 1. After one round of names at the table, everyone covers their name tag or turns the tent face down. 2. Each person draws the table as a shape and writes a first name at every seat, from memory. 3. Uncover the tags and compare sheets. 4. Fill in the gaps by asking, not by copying. Players: 6 to 60. Time: 5 min. Props: paper and a pen each. Seated: yes.
  • Name Acrostic Card 1. Everyone writes their first name down the left edge of a card, one letter to a line. 2. Beside each letter goes a word or phrase that starts with it and is true of them, such as S for Saturday hiker. 3. Read the cards aloud around the table. 4. Stand the cards up as place cards for the rest of the meeting. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 10 min. Props: an index card and a pen each. Seated: yes.
  • Name Rebus Tag 1. Everyone draws their first name as a picture puzzle on a label: a bill for Bill, a rose for Rose, a sun and a knee for Sunny. 2. A name that will not draw gets a picture for its first sound and the rest in letters. 3. Around the table, people guess each tag. 4. Write the name under the drawing and wear it. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: sticky labels and markers. Seated: yes.
  • Name Tent With Three Corners 1. Fold the card in half so that it stands like a tent. 2. Write your first name large in the middle of both sides. 3. In three corners write a place you would like to visit, a food you would never turn down and something you do on a free afternoon. 4. Tables go around once: say your name and read one corner. 5. The tents stay up all day. Players: 6 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: a sheet of card and a marker each. Seated: yes.
  • The Story of Your Name, in Pairs 1. A room of forty cannot go around one table, so sit in pairs or threes. 2. Each person has two minutes to say as much or as little as they like about their first name: who chose it, what it means, a nickname that stuck. 3. Listeners ask one question. 4. Back in the full group, anyone who likes passes on one sentence about a partner's name, if the partner agrees. Players: 6 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
  • Swap Seats, Name Your Left 1. After names have gone around once, the leader says "swap". 2. Everyone moves to a different seat, not next to either old neighbor. 3. Each person says the name of whoever is now on their left. 4. A name that will not come is asked for and repeated. 5. Swap three times. Players: 6 to 30. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Seated: no.
  • Table Chorus 1. Each table swaps first names and practices for one minute. 2. Tables take turns. The first person points to themselves, and the whole table says that name together, then the next person, around the table. 3. The room answers with a wave. 4. Nobody speaks alone, so it works on a first morning in a large room. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Seated: yes.
  • Tags Off, Tables Compete 1. Ten minutes into the meeting, everyone takes their name tag off. 2. Each table has two minutes to write down the first names of people at other tables. 3. Tables read their lists in turn, and each named person waves. 4. The longest correct list wins. 5. The tags go back on. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 5 min. Props: name tags, and a sheet and a pen for each table. Seated: yes.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-01 for adults and mixed adult groups of 6 to 60: a class, a workshop, a volunteer team, a club or a first staff meeting. Every set of steps is our own wording of a traditional name game or introduction exercise. None of these games has a single rule book and house rules vary, so each set of steps is one good way to run the game, not the official one. Checked on 2026-10-01 against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebreaker_(facilitation): introductory icebreakers that ask each person for a name, pairs who introduce each other to the group, and the caution that an icebreaker in a professional setting should not require personal information or touching, which is why no game here has contact or a forfeit, and nothing asks for more than a name, a like or an everyday fact. In the name story each person says as much or as little as they like. Player ranges and minutes are planning estimates, not measurements. "Nobody on the spot" means that no one has to recall another person's name alone in front of the whole group and no one performs alone. "Staying seated" means that nobody leaves their chair. A game carries a group size only when it runs with every head count in that band. The eight name games written for teenagers are on the youth group ice breaker games page and are not repeated here. Licence: own work