Icebreaker Games to Play in Youth Group

Name Games

• Icebreaker name games help members of the youth group learn and remember each others' names by associating each other with interesting, humorous facts. For example, in the Autograph Bingo Game, organizers prepare bingo cards with squares that have factoids about the people in the group. Each player gets a bingo card and a pen, and they must circle the room asking other youth group member whether they fit the description on the bingo square. If so, the member signs the other player's card on that square. For example, if a square says "speaks two languages," a player must circle the room until he finds a bilingual player to autograph his card. The first player who gets five signed squares in a row on her bingo card wins the game.

Physical Games

• Physical games help youth groups break the ice by providing a humorous experience where members must communicate, work as a team and solve problems together. For example, in the Human Knot Icebreaker, members of the youth group stand in a circle facing outward so that their backs are toward other members. Each person first lifts his left hand, turns around and joins hands with someone on the other side of the circle. Repeat the process with the right hand, making sure no one in the circle is holding the hand of their side-by-side neighbor. The youth group must communicate and work together to figure out how to untangle the "human knot" without breaking hands.

Personal Fact Games

• Games that reveal personal facts or details about other youth group members help to strengthen group cohesion by allowing each member to learn about others. For example, in the game Never Have I Ever, group members sit in a circle and each person holds up 10 fingers. Taking turns, each person says "Never have I ever," followed by a personal fact listing something they've never done. For example, someone could say "Never have I ever gone sky diving." Other members of the group must drop one finger if they have conducted that activity. Whoever stays in the game with fingers lifted up the longest wins the game.