Fun Ice Breaker Games to Play With Youth Groups

Hide and Seek

• This game gives the players the chance to interact, but not so much that it is uncomfortable. It's a good game to play when the youth members do not know one another very well or are just getting accustomed to one another's company. It's even more fun when played in the dark.

  Mark off an area in which the youth are allowed to hide. This prevents the players from going too far from the designated meeting spots. Choose one person to be the "seeker" and have him count to 50 while the other players hide behind trees, under sinks and wherever their imaginations take them. The first player the seeker finds is the next seeker.

Board Games

• Games such as "Sorry," "Monopoly" and "Trouble" are classic games that are fun to play no matter what the age of the youth group. These games typically cost around $10 and come with instructions. The only downside is that only four to six players can play each game, so you might want to set up three or four different games at once so that everyone can play something.

Uno

• Uno is a colorful card game that can last for hours with any number of players. The deck of cards is inexpensive, so this is a great game for a youth group on a budget. There are plenty of different ways to play, so the game can never get boring.

Secret Game

• Have the participants sit in a circle and have one player start by whispering a 10-word "secret" into the ear of the person sitting next to her. She can only say the secret once. The player she whispers it to must then whisper it to the person next to her. This continues until it goes all the way around the circle. Usually, by the time the secret gets back around to the original person, it is completely different.

Baby, If You Love Me, You'll Smile

• Have the participants sit in a circle and put all of their names on pieces of paper, then put the paper into a bowl. Have the first player draw someone's name, then turn to that player and say, "Baby, if you love me, you'll smile." The challenge is to get the other player to laugh. If he does, he's out of the game and the bowl is passed to the next player. If he doesn't laugh--after 30 seconds or three tries, whichever you prefer--it's his turn to draw.