How to Play the Ice Breaker Candy Game

Place all of the guests in a circle, fairly close together.

Place the candy in the center of the circle. Be sure to get a wide variety to appeal to different people. Most dollar stores sell the movie theater-size boxes for $1 each. Make sure each of the four candy groups are represented: chocolate, peanut, fruity and spicy. It's also fun to get one really nice candy like a Toblerone bar, which can crank up the competition.

Give a pair of dice to every third or fourth person and set the timer for five minutes.

Go over the rules. You'll start the timer. Players with dice roll them, then pass them to the left. If you roll doubles, you can take a candy. When the candy is gone from the center, you can steal candy from another person. Even if you already have candy, you can steal one every time you roll doubles. You cannot steal a candy back from someone who stole it from you, but if someone steals it from that person, you can steal it. When the timer goes off, whatever candy you have is yours to keep.

Play a variation. Everyone takes one candy from the middle and hides it behind her. You set the timer and everyone rolls as before, but this time you trade your candy with someone else. The trick is, you can trade only if you remember that person's name and the candy she has. Since people are just getting to know one another, you also can add a personal touch by having everyone in the circle tell something about themselves first. Then players must remember what the player they are trading with said.