Ice Breakers

About Icebreakers

Ice Breakers are used to break barriers, tear down barriers and lessen inhibitions. They can be used to learn each other’s’ names, to get know each other within groups, to begin team building sessions, and much more. They are fun games that work as introductions.

Easy ways to group girls

Count off! This old standard allows leaders to separate girls into any number of groups.

Birthday: Girls line up by the month they were born.

Height: Girls line up in order by height. Create groups in different combinations such as tallest with tallest or tallest with shortest.

Animal: Girls pick animal names out of a hat. Girls must re-create the sound that animal makes and find their fellow cats, dogs, roosters or pigs to discover what group they are in.

Sticker: Leaders place a sticker on each girl’s shirt or nametag. No peeking! Girls find other girls with their matching sticker.

Alphabet: Girls join groups with the letter of their first or last name.

Color: Girls join groups depending on what color clothes are on

Number of Siblings

Color or brand of clothing

Eye Color

Favorite activity or candy, etc.

Conversation Starters

How old are you?

How many siblings do you have?

What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner?

Do you have any pets?

What's the craziest thing you have ever done?

What's your favorite food group?

What is your favorite holiday?

Do you like crunchy or smooth peanut butter?

What's your favorite subject in school?

Do you have a favorite book or movie or game?

What is your favorite chore at home?

Where would you go on vacation if you could pick anywhere?

What is your dream job?

If you had a million dollars to give away, how would you do it?

Why were you given your name?

What was the last national park you visited?

What book can you read over and over again?

What makes you feel young? Or old?

If you could see 24 hours into the future, what would you do with this ability?

What is your all-time favorite joke?

What is the strangest food you've ever eaten?

What in your life is more important than money?

Two Truths and a Lie

Each girl takes a turn saying three things about herself – two of which are true and one of which is false. After each girl says her three things, the rest of the group tries to figure out which one’s the lie. If necessary, they may ask questions, but they can only be “yes or no” questions.

Alaskan Baseball

Start with 2 teams. One camper is given a throwable object, their team then forms a circle around them and that person throws the object. After he/she has thrown the object then he/she goes around the circle saying everyone's name in order of the circle. Every time he makes it around the circle it counts as a run. Meanwhile the other team is chasing the object. Everyone forms a line behind the first person that has gotten the object. They then pass the object between their legs until it reaches the last person, where it is then passed overhead back to the first person in line. 5) When the first person gets the object the team yells out, and the other team stops counting runs. The first person in line that retrieved the object now has a circle formed around him and he throws the object and the process reverses.

Brief encounter

Supplies: Cards (enough for one each) with a random selection of questions on Make up lots of cards with questions on, each person takes a card and finds someone to ask it to. Once both people have asked their questions, they swap cards and find someone else to ask!

Bumpity Bump Bump

Participants stand in a circle with one person in the middle. The person in the middle will point at someone in the circle and say: left, right, you, me, and then 'bumpity bump bump bump' . If the person they are pointing at says the name of the person indicated before they have said the last bump, then the person in the middle picks another person. If not, they replace the one in the middle.

Clap Splat

Stand or sit in a circle. Everyone makes the following motions together, beginning at a very slow pace: Two claps on the thigh (this is called “down position”) are followed by two claps chest height (“up position”). When in the up position, one person says someone else’s name. Then that person calls out any other person’s name when in the up position. Important: They can take their time. A name does not have to be said every time they are in the up position.

Compass

Participants stand in a circle with one person in the middle. The person in the middle will point at someone in the circle and say: You, Me, Left, or Right. Based on which order they say, the person they point out, must say the name of the person who is indicated. If they hesitate or incorrectly identify someone, then they become the person in the middle.

"(Name) likes to (hobby)" and then moves on to the next person. You may also add hand motions or sound effects to be duplicated by the group.

Know Your Neighbor

This is a fun game that helps girls learn each other’s names. It’s a good ‘icebreaker’ for the first night at camp. Remind girls not to shine the flashlight directly in someone’s eyes. Make sure to review a quiet signal that will work in the dark, girls get giggly when the lights go out! Supplies: A dark room or outdoor area at night. Flashlight. Sit-upons or something to mark a girl’s spot

To Play:

Ask the girls to sit in a circle. Choose one girl, ask her to sit in the middle of the circle and hand her a flashlight. Turn the lights off if the area isn’t dark already. The girl in the middle will turn the flashlight on, point it at one of the girls in the circle and ask, “Who are your next door neighbors?” and then flash the light on the neighbors to the left and right. If the player who was asked the question can’t name both neighbors correctly then she trades places with the girl in the middle and takes the flashlight. If she does name them correctly, the “flashlight” asks her “How is _________ ?” (naming one of the girls). If that girl replies “OK” , then all girls remain seated, but if the answer is “Not so good” , all players must get up and change seats. While everyone is shifting the girl in the middle also tries to get a seat. If she succeeds, then the girl without a spot goes to the middle and takes the flashlight. Play until everyone knows their neighbors.

Link

Stand in a large group, with one person by herself. She will say her name and begin listing things about herself (i.e. “My name is Suzie and I have a dog, I like to play video games, my favorite color is red, ” etc). When someone in the group has something in common with her, she must yell, “Link!” and run to link arms with her. The two girls stand, linked together, while the new girl begins the process again. Repeat until everyone has linked together and formed a circle.

M&M Game

Materials: bag of M&Ms (or other candy will do) How to Play: Pass the bag around the circle, instructing each girl to pour some M&Ms into her hand. Don’t eat them yet! Once everyone has some, each girl must say one thing about herself for each M&M she took. (Don’t reveal that they have to say one thing per M&M until each girl has some).

“Groups of... (five people, campers with shorts on, people born in WA, etc.) Then the caller could yell out an icebreaker question to be discussed by the newly formed group (ex. “What is your favorite movie and why?”) or begin a new mingle and start the process over.

Name and Action

Everyone stands in a circle and introduces themselves one by one. When an introduction is made, the person must create an adjective that starts with the same letter as their name, as well as a motion (ex. I could introduce myself as Miniature Maggie and shrink down to the ground like I was tiny). The next person must say the previous person’s adjective & name, perform their motion, and introduce their own adjective, name, and motion. This continues and builds around the circle, and by the end the last person will act out every person’s motion and say their adjective and name!

Name and Favorite Movie or Ice Cream

Say your name and then what ever the next category is. Favorite Movie- My name is ……… and my favorite movie is……..Then go around the circle repeating each person until the whole circle is complete.

Name Juggle

Materials: at least one ball (any size, as long as participants can throw and catch it/them) How to Play: Stand in a circle. The object of the game is to learn everyone’s names. 1. Say your name. Throw the ball to someone else (not the person next to you). Repeat until everyone has said her name and the ball has returned to the first person. 2. Repeat Step 1. 3. Now, throw the ball to someone else and say HER name (not your own). Repeat until everyone has caught the ball and said someone else’s name (and the ball has returned to the first person). 4. Repeat Step 3 in the same order. 5. Repeat Step 3 in reverse order. Variations: Go faster. Add another ball. Add several balls. Make one ball forward order and a second ball reverse order.

Noodle Swat

Props: Pool Noodle Stand in a circle with one person in the middle holding a pool noodle. The person in the middle starts toward someone else's toes. That person must try to say the name of someone one else in the circle before their toes get swatted. If they do, the person in the middle must try to tag the person named. If they get tagged before saying a name, then they go to the center of the circle.

Peek-a-Who

Props: blanket or tarp Divide players into two teams. One team sits on either side of the tarp, which is held up by two counselors. The teams should not be able to see each other. Each team quietly chooses one person to go up to the tarp. Once a player is chosen for each team, the tarp is quickly dropped, and the chosen players will be face to face and must try to say the other’s name first. Either- A point is awarded for the winning team each round or the person who says the name first, gets to take the other person over to their team, until everyone is on one team.

Toilet Paper

Stand in a circle and pass around a roll of toilet paper.

Ask the kids to take as much toilet paper as they think they need. When everyone is done then go

Around the circle and say one positive thing about yourself or someone else around the circle for each square you have taken.

Train ride

Get your campers to make 5 different strange things and find five ways to greet new people. Tell them that they are in Camp and find a partner and do a normal handshake. Ask them to introduce themselves to each other.

Tell them we are going on a train ride and to mingle around for a bit and that we have now landed in Alaska and that they need to find a new person to shake hands with but this time it’s going to be different.

Salmon handshake is when you go for a regular handshake but miss their hands and tap there forearm a few times.

Hop back onto the train mingle around for a bit then say we are going to Wisconsin. Cow Handshake time Person 1 interlaces his/her own fingers with thumbs up and flips their hands over, so the thumbs are pointed down. Person 2 mocks milking a cow by gripping Person 1’s thumbs.

Hop back onto the train mingle around for a bit then say we are going to Minnesota. Skating handshake Go to shake hand and miss and lift one of your legs behind you and have your new partner grab it.

Add as many different ones as you like and then say to the group that you have just done 5 strange things and if you want to you can do this in school.

Wagon Wheel

This exercise takes the basis of Interview Pairs and puts a “spin” on it. Again, break everyone up into two groups but this time have the groups form a small inner circle and a larger outer circle. Make sure that everyone lines up with a partner. After the facilitator asks a question (ex. “what is your favorite outdoor activity” or “where were you born?”), each pairing has 20 seconds or so to answer the question to their partner. Make sure that each person gets a chance to speak. Then the facilitator yells “rotate!” and the outer circle shifts clockwise. Then a different question is asked, and the pattern continues. When a person arrives back at their original partner, the activity is concluded.

Warp Speed

Props: at least one object to throw and catch. Stand in a small circle. Counselor throws the object to someone in the circle while saying his or her name. That player then chooses someone else to throw to, while saying that player’s name. This continues until everyone has had the object, then it is thrown back to the starting counselor. After this is done, the counselor then asks the group to repeat that same pattern. Counselors can choose to increase the speed or try going backward.

Tips: For an extra challenge, try to beat the speed record (5 seconds) by using creativity. The three rules to stick to are the object must go in the same order, names must be said, and the object cannot drop.

Who’s Card

Everyone writes their name on a piece of paper. They then pair up and introduce themselves to their partner and tell them one fact about themselves then they switch name cards and new partners. They then point out the person whose name is on their card and the on fact about them and again switch cards. Your goal is to get your own card back.

World Famous Reporter Interview Pairs

Break into pairs. Partners introduce themselves to each other for about two minutes. The whole group gets back together, and participants then introduce the person whom they interviewed to the group. Begin these introductions with, “Hello, my name is _______, and I’m a world-famous reporter. I’d like to tell you about ___________ ” After Partner A introduces Partner B, switch roles.

Stay your current age or be 10 years older? Only be able to whisper or always have to shout? Jump into a pool of chocolate pudding or chocolate ice cream? Have a unicorn horn or a squirrel tail? Shoot spaghetti out of your fingers or sneeze meatballs? Jump into a pool of spaghetti or a pool of red jello? Always have to enter a room backwards or always have to somersault out? Be totally covered in hair from head to toe, or be completely bald? Have a head twice as big or half as small? Have feet for hands or hands for feet? Live in space or under the sea? Lose your sense of taste or your sense of smell? Eat a bucket full of crickets or a bucket full of worms? Live without a telephone or a television? Live in the future or the past? Speak every language in the world or play every musical instrument? Own your own boat or your own plane? Have bright blue hair or bright blue feet? Live in a place that was always very hot or a place that was very cold? Always have to say everything that you're thinking or never speak again?

Would you rather

Zap

Participants stand in a circle with “the caller” in the middle. The caller points at someone and says ZAP. The zapped person sits down. The two people on either of the zapped person say each other’s names. The last one to say the name sits down. Continue until only two people remain standing, they then go to the middle of the circle with the caller. The caller calls out a category (example, ice cream flavor). The first person to give an answer is the winner and becomes the caller. Ask people to mix up places within the circle and continue until everyone has learned each other’s names.

Zip Zap Zowie

Stand in a circle with the counselor in the center. The counselor points to someone in the circle and says either “zip” , “zap” , or “zowie” . If he or she says “zip” the player pointed to must quickly say the name of the person to the right. If the counselor says “zap” he or she must quickly say the name of the person to the left. If the center person says “zowie” everyone scatters and finds a new place in the circle. Tips: This is a good first day game. It’s not as much fun after you know each other’s names well.