Make Your Partner's Name Tag1. Hand out sticky labels and markers, and pair each person with someone they do not know.2. Partners ask each other for a first name, how to spell it and one thing they like doing.3. Each person writes their partner's name on a label in big letters and draws that one thing in the corner.4. Partners check the spelling, then everyone wears their tag all night.5. The drawings give the room a first question to ask.Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: sticky labels and markers. Noise: medium. First night: yes.Learn names
Bring Me Someone Who1. Sit in teams of five or six, with a leader standing at the front.2. The leader calls "Bring me someone who" and a fact, such as "plays an instrument" or "has a birthday this month".3. Each team sends one person it is true for, at a walk.4. Every team with someone at the front inside ten seconds scores, and two or three of them say their name and the detail.5. Nobody goes up twice until the whole team has been. Play ten calls.Players: 12 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: a list of ten calls. Noise: loud. First night: yes.On your feet
Pick a Picture1. Spread 40 or more pictures on a table: old postcards, calendar pages, magazine photos.2. Everyone picks the one that best matches their week, or their summer on a first night.3. In groups of four, each person holds up their picture and says in one sentence why they chose it.4. Collect the pictures and reuse the set all year.Players: 8 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: a stack of pictures. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.Sitting down
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All 41 games
Name games 8
Bumpity Bump Bump1. Stand in a circle and learn the name of the person on each side of you. 2. One player in the middle points at someone and says "left" or "right", then "bumpity bump bump". 3. The person pointed at must say that neighbor's name before the phrase ends. 4. Too slow, and the two swap places. 5. Every few turns, everyone finds new neighbors. Players: 8 to 25. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: save it for later.
Make Your Partner's Name Tag1. Hand out sticky labels and markers, and pair each person with someone they do not know. 2. Partners ask each other for a first name, how to spell it and one thing they like doing. 3. Each person writes their partner's name on a label in big letters and draws that one thing in the corner. 4. Partners check the spelling, then everyone wears their tag all night. 5. The drawings give the room a first question to ask. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: sticky labels and markers. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Name and Motion1. Stand in a circle. 2. The first person says their name and adds a small motion, such as a wave or a jump shot. 3. Everyone repeats the name and the motion together. 4. Go round the whole circle. 5. Finish by doing every motion in order with no names, then every name with no motions. Players: 8 to 20. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First night: save it for later.
Show all 41 games (38 more)
Name games, continued
Name Chain, Five Back1. Sit in a circle. 2. The first person says their name and a breakfast they like. 3. The next person repeats that, then adds their own. 4. Each new person repeats only the five people before them, so the last seat is no harder than the sixth. 5. Anyone who gets stuck may ask the circle for help. Players: 8 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Name Crossword Wall1. Tape a large sheet of paper to the wall and write one leader's first name in the middle in capitals. 2. One at a time, each person adds their first name so that it crosses a letter already there, like a crossword. 3. They say their name aloud while they write. 4. Leave the sheet up and add newcomers as they join. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 8 min. Props: a large sheet of paper and markers. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Name Toss With Three Balls1. Stand in a circle with one soft ball. 2. Say the name of someone across the circle, asking for it first if you need to, then toss the ball underhand. 3. Nobody catches twice, and the last catcher sends it back to the starter. 4. Send the ball along the same route again, calling each name, a little faster. 5. Add a second ball a few throws behind the first, then a third. Players: 8 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: three soft balls. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Rhythm Names1. Sit in a circle and start a slow beat together: two pats on the knees, then two claps. 2. On the claps, the first player says their own name and then someone else's. 3. That person answers on the next claps with their own name and a new one. 4. When someone misses the beat, the group starts again, a little faster each time. Players: 8 to 20. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: save it for later.
The Seat on My Right Is Free1. Sit in a circle of chairs with one extra, empty chair. 2. The player with the empty chair on their right says "The seat on my right is free, and I would like Maya to sit in it." 3. Maya walks over, which leaves a new empty chair, and the player to the left of it calls next. 4. Nobody is called twice until everyone has moved once. 5. Speed up once the names come easily. Players: 8 to 25. Time: 6 min. Props: a chair each and one spare. Noise: medium. First night: save it for later.
Mixers on your feet 13
Bear, Hunter, Ninja Team Face-Off1. Split the room into two teams facing each other across a line. 2. Each team huddles and picks one pose: bear (claws up), hunter (hands as binoculars) or ninja (frozen on one leg). 3. On three, both teams strike their pose. The hunter beats the bear, the bear beats the ninja and the ninja beats the hunter. 4. First team to five points wins. This is a team version of the back-to-back game for pairs. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: save it for later.
Bring Me Someone Who1. Sit in teams of five or six, with a leader standing at the front. 2. The leader calls "Bring me someone who" and a fact, such as "plays an instrument" or "has a birthday this month". 3. Each team sends one person it is true for, at a walk. 4. Every team with someone at the front inside ten seconds scores, and two or three of them say their name and the detail. 5. Nobody goes up twice until the whole team has been. Play ten calls. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: a list of ten calls. Noise: loud. First night: yes.
Egg, Chicken, Dinosaur1. Everyone starts as an egg, crouched low. 2. Find another egg and play rock paper scissors. The winner becomes a chicken and flaps; the loser stays an egg. 3. Play only someone at your own stage. A chicken who wins becomes a roaring dinosaur, and a dinosaur who wins stands at the wall in a superhero pose. 4. Lose as a chicken and you drop back to egg; lose as a dinosaur and you drop back to chicken. 5. Stop after five minutes. Many groups call this game Evolution. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: save it for later.
Find Someone Who Bingo1. Give everyone a 5 by 5 grid of lines such as "plays an instrument", "has a younger sister" or "has moved house". 2. Players walk around and collect one signature per square. 3. Nobody signs the same card twice, and leaders can be asked too. 4. The first full row, column or diagonal wins, and the winner reads out who signed what. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: a printed grid and a pen each. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Guess Three Favorites1. Everyone walks around until the leader calls "pair up", then turns to the nearest person and swaps names. 2. The leader names three topics: a pizza topping, a season and a school subject. 3. Each partner guesses the other's favorite in all three before any answers are given. 4. Trade the real answers and count the correct guesses. 5. Play three more rounds with new partners: an ice cream flavor, a holiday and a sport; then a breakfast, a color and an animal; then a fruit, a day of the week and a board game. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Human Map1. Tell the group the floor is a map: point out north and stand where your own town sits. 2. Ask everyone to stand on the farthest place from home they have ever been, and give neighbors a minute to compare. 3. Move twice more: the home of a team you cheer for, in any sport, then a place you want to see. 4. Each time, ask two or three people standing far out where they are. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Mingle, Mingle, With a Question1. Everyone walks around the room saying "mingle, mingle, mingle". 2. The leader shouts a number, and players stand in groups of exactly that size. 3. Nobody is out: leftovers join the nearest group. 4. Each group answers one quick question. Five to read out: the best snack at a movie, the worst chore, a show you have watched twice, the best pizza topping, the first thing you would buy with 100 dollars. 5. Finish on the number that makes the small groups you need next. Players: 12 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: yes.
One to Ten Line1. Call one wall "1" and the opposite wall "10". 2. Read a scale question, such as "How much of a morning person are you?" 3. Everyone stands where their number falls and checks it against the people next to them. 4. Ask for one sentence from a volunteer at each end. 5. Run six rounds: spicy food, scary movies, early alarms, long car rides, snow days, surprise parties. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Silent Birthday Line, Names at the End1. Point to the wall where January 1 stands and the wall where December 31 stands. 2. Without a word, everyone lines up in birthday order, showing the month and the day on their fingers. 3. When the line stops moving, go down it: each person says their first name and their birthday, and anyone out of place slides to the right spot. 4. No race and no score on a first night. A leader writes down this month's birthdays. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
This or That, Cross the Room1. Everyone stands along the middle of the room. 2. The leader reads a pair, such as sunrise or sunset, and points to a wall for each answer. 3. Players walk to their side, turn to the nearest person and give a one-sentence reason. 4. Read eight to ten pairs and keep them light. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: a list of pairs. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Three Greeting Partners1. Everyone finds a partner, learns their name and invents a high five together. That is their high-five partner. 2. Find a second person and agree on a wave, then a third and agree on a salute. 3. The leader calls "wave partner", and everyone hurries back to that person to answer one question together. Three to use: the best breakfast, a game you never lose, a chore you would trade away. 4. Call the three greetings in any order, faster each time. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: yes.
Three Things in Common1. Form groups of four with people from different schools or grades. 2. Each group has three minutes to find three things all four share that nobody could see by looking. 3. "We all go to school" does not count: push for a food, a middle name, a sport everyone quit. 4. Groups report their strangest find, then re-form with new people and play again. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Torn Card Partners1. Before the meeting, cut old postcards or greeting cards in two, each with a different zigzag. 2. Hand one half to each person at the door. 3. On "go", and without talking, everyone finds the person whose half fits theirs. 4. Partners sit down, swap names and answer one question together: the best meal of the summer. 5. Keep the pairs for the next game. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: cards cut in two. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Circle games 10
Common Thread Circle1. One leader stands alone in an open space and lists everyday facts about themselves, such as "I have two brothers" or "I cannot stand olives". 2. The first person who shares one calls "me too", says their name and stands beside them. 3. That person lists their own facts until someone joins, and so on down the line. 4. Other leaders join last, so no teenager is left standing alone. 5. The last in line finds a fact in common with the first, and the line closes into a circle. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 10 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Count to Twenty Together1. Sit or stand in a circle with eyes on the floor. 2. The group counts aloud from 1 to 20, one voice per number, with no set order and no signals. 3. If two people speak at the same moment, start again from 1. 4. Nobody may say two numbers in a row. 5. Expect several restarts before the group reaches 20. Players: 6 to 25. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Eye Contact Swap1. Stand in a circle, and nobody talks. 2. Catch the eye of someone across the circle, nod, and swap places with them at a walk. 3. Several pairs can cross at once, so watch where you are going. 4. Round two: say your own name to your partner as you pass in the middle. 5. Round three: say their name, not yours, and ask for it as you pass if you have not caught it yet. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Look Down, Look Up1. Stand close together in a circle. 2. On "look down", everyone looks at their shoes. 3. On "look up", everyone looks straight at one other person and holds it. 4. Two people who meet eyes both cheer, leave and start a second circle beside the first. 5. Keep calling for both circles, so nobody is ever out, until the first circle is down to two. Players: 8 to 40. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: yes.
Pass the Clap1. Stand in a circle. 2. Turn to the person on your left and clap at the same moment as they do, eyes on each other. 3. They turn and pass it on the same way, all round the circle. 4. Once it flows, push the pace until the clap races round. 5. Add a second clap going the other way, and let a double clap send it back where it came from. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Pterodactyl1. Stand in a circle with your lips pulled over your teeth, so no teeth show. 2. Go round the circle, each person saying "pterodactyl" to the next without showing teeth. 3. At any turn, a player may screech and flap like a pterodactyl instead, which sends play back the other way. 4. Show your teeth by laughing, and you step back and try to make the others laugh from outside the circle. Players: 8 to 20. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: save it for later.
Question Ball Toss1. Write 12 to 15 light questions all over a beach ball with a permanent marker. 2. Stand in a circle and toss the ball to someone, saying their name or asking for it first. 3. The catcher answers the question nearest their right thumb, or the next one along if they would rather. 4. Keep tossing until everyone has caught it once. Players: 8 to 25. Time: 8 min. Props: a beach ball and a permanent marker. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Sound Ball1. Stand in a circle. 2. One player throws an imaginary ball to someone and makes any sound as it leaves their hands, such as "whoosh" or "boing". 3. The catcher repeats that sound as they catch it, then throws to someone new with a sound of their own. 4. Keep the pace quick enough that nobody has time to plan. 5. Add a second ball, then let the ball change size and weight. Players: 8 to 20. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: save it for later.
Splat1. Stand in a circle with one player in the middle. 2. The middle player points at someone and says "splat", and that person ducks. 3. The players on each side of them turn, point at each other and say "splat". The slower of the two crouches down, and so does anyone who forgot to duck. 4. Crouched players stay in the circle and judge the close calls. 5. Stop at the last four or after three minutes, whichever comes first, and everyone stands for a new round. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First night: save it for later.
Yarn Web, Then Rewind It1. Stand in a circle. The leader holds the end of a ball of yarn, says their name and answers one question, such as the best thing they ate this week. 2. Keeping hold of the strand, they toss the ball across the circle. 3. Each catcher says their name, answers, holds on and tosses to someone new. 4. When everyone is holding the web, send the ball back the way it came, saying the name of the person you throw it to. Players: 8 to 25. Time: 10 min. Props: a ball of yarn. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Seated and low-pressure 10
High, Low, Buffalo1. Sit in a circle, or in circles of six to eight with a leader in each. 2. Each person shares a high from the week, a low, and a "buffalo": anything random. 3. Anyone may say "pass" on the low. 4. Nobody comments or tries to fix anything. The group says "thanks" and moves on. 5. Leaders go first to set the length: three sentences. Players: 6 to 40. Time: 10 min. Props: none. Noise: quiet. First night: save it for later.
Paper Shield in Four Boxes1. Everyone draws a large shield on a sheet of paper and divides it into four boxes. 2. Draw, without words: something you are good at, a place you love, a food you would eat every day and one thing you want to try this year. 3. Stick figures count, and four minutes is enough. 4. Show the shield to one neighbor, not to the whole room. 5. Pin the shields up with names on the back for a guessing round next week. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: paper and markers. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Pick a Color, Tell a Fact1. Fill a bag with slips of paper in four colors. 2. Post what each color means: red for a food, blue for a place, green for something you are good at, yellow for anything you like. 3. Pass the bag round the circle, and each person draws three slips without looking. 4. Go round again, and each person tells one fact per slip. Paper slips stand in for the candy some groups use, so allergies are not a worry. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 10 min. Props: paper slips in four colors and a bag. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Pick a Picture1. Spread 40 or more pictures on a table: old postcards, calendar pages, magazine photos. 2. Everyone picks the one that best matches their week, or their summer on a first night. 3. In groups of four, each person holds up their picture and says in one sentence why they chose it. 4. Collect the pictures and reuse the set all year. Players: 8 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: a stack of pictures. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Roll a Question1. Sit in groups of four to six with one die per group. 2. Post six numbered questions where everyone can see them, from "a food you would never give up" to "the best thing about your street". 3. Players take turns rolling and answer the question with that number. 4. Roll a number your table has already answered, and you may pick any question. 5. Swap in six new questions halfway. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: one die per group and six posted questions. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Table Tally1. Sit at tables or in clusters of four to six. 2. The leader calls a total to work out. Six to use: pets owned, states visited, schools attended, brothers and sisters, instruments played, letters in your first names. 3. Each table adds up its members' numbers out loud, and one person stands to call the total. 4. The highest table scores a point, and on the next call the lowest does. 5. Six calls make a game. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Take As Many As You Need1. Pass a box of paper clips round the circle and say only: "Take as many as you think you need." 2. When everyone has some, explain the catch: one fact about yourself for every clip. 3. Cap it at five facts for anyone who took a handful. 4. A fact can be as small as a favorite cereal. 5. Link the clips into one chain as you go. Players: 8 to 25. Time: 10 min. Props: a box of paper clips. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Two Truths and a Lie, Read by the Leader1. Everyone writes their name and three statements about themselves on a card: two true and one invented. 2. The leader collects the cards and reads one aloud, naming the writer. 3. The group votes on the lie by a show of hands, and then the writer owns up. 4. Read six to eight cards a night and keep the rest for next week. Players: 8 to 40. Time: 10 min. Props: a card and a pen each. Noise: quiet. First night: yes.
Which Leader Was It1. Before the meeting, each adult leader writes down two true facts from their own teenage years. 2. Read one aloud, such as "failed the driving test twice". 3. Tables of four to six confer and hold up the name of the leader they think it was. 4. That leader stands, owns up and tells the story in 30 seconds. 5. Every correct table scores a point. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 10 min. Props: the leaders' facts, plus paper and a marker per table. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
Would You Rather, Guess the Majority1. Everyone gets two slips of paper, one marked A and one marked B. 2. The leader reads a would-you-rather question. "Both" and "neither" are not allowed. 3. Before the vote, each player silently guesses which answer most of the room will pick and holds that slip face down. 4. Vote by standing for A or staying seated for B. 5. Everyone who guessed the majority scores a point. Play eight questions. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: two paper slips each and a list of questions. Noise: medium. First night: yes.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site in September 2026 for youth groups of 8 to 60 teenagers, and revised on 2026-09-20. Every set of steps is our own wording of a traditional icebreaker, name game or drama warm-up. Screening: no contact beyond a high five, nothing to eat, no forfeits, no phones, no dark room, and nobody sent out of the room. In Splat and Pterodactyl a player who slips gets a job and rounds are short. "First night: yes" means nobody is out, nobody needs to know a name already, nobody performs alone in front of the room, and nobody shares more than a name, a favorite or an everyday fact. Player ranges, minutes and noise are planning estimates, not measurements. Rules were checked on 2026-09-19 against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebreaker_(facilitation) (two truths and a lie, Mingle, the name ball toss with up to three balls, the yarn web), https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_rechter,_rechter_Platz_ist_frei (The Seat on My Right Is Free, in its plain version), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_paper_scissors (what beats what, and Bear, Hunter, Ninja), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Would_you_rather (no "both" or "neither") and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bingo_(American_version) (a 5 by 5 card won by a row, column or diagonal). The other games have no single rule book and house rules vary, so each set of steps is one good way to run the game, not the official one. Licence: own work
How it works
These 41 youth group ice breaker games open on a first-night plan: one game to learn names, one on your feet and one sitting down. For youth games and icebreakers a semester at a time, all 41 are listed below.
Read the full guide
Fit the first-night plan to your head count
The page opens on a First-night plan: three games where nobody is out, nobody performs alone and nobody needs a name they have not heard. Choose your band in the Any group size box, such as 21 to 25 players, and only games that run with every head count in that band are dealt. Pick 3 new games deals another plan. Take away a game you do not want with ×, press again for a new one, then Print.
Later weeks: all 41 games
More filters holds Good for: No props leaves 23 games and A quiet room 13. By week three a group can take Splat or Pterodactyl.
Leaders play too. Adults watching from outside the circle tell teenagers the game is for little kids.
Stop while it is still going well. Five minutes of Splat beats ten.
For fun icebreaker games for teens who know each other, choose Anything under More filters: louder games join in.
Questions and answers
Which icebreaker games for youth groups work when nobody knows anyone?
Ones where nobody can lose or be put on the spot. In Torn Card Partners, teens find the other half of a cut-up postcard without talking, so the quietest person still ends up with a partner. Follow it with Human Map or Pick a Picture.
How do you run an icebreaker activity with 50 or more teenagers?
Choose 41 to 60 players and 19 games are left. Mingle, Mingle, With a Question makes groups of any size in seconds, and Table Tally keeps every table busy at once. Skip the circle games: none of the 10 runs past 40 players.
What if a teen does not want to play?
Let them pass, and offer a job, such as judging close calls in Splat. No game has a forfeit or needs contact beyond a high five. Watching from the edge for a week or two is a fine way to join.
Where are Four Corners, Zip Zap Zop and the outdoor games?