I love icebreaker games! Parties are great fun, but those awkward moments when Guests don’t know what to say to each other aren’t!
As a host, it’s a great ideas to introduce some fun icebreaker games into the start of your party. That way your Guests can mingle and get to know each other in a relaxed way.
We have tried loads of icebreaker games over the years. These are our best icebreaker games for small parties to really get things off with a swing!
Top 5 Best Icebreaker Games
Who Am I?
This is a great icebreaker game to play as your Guests arrive and will give them something to chat to each other about as the party gets into full swing.
Prep: Prepare stickers with the name of a famous person on each.
Play: Stick one on everyone’s backs. As people chat and mingle, they ask for clues about their famous person using only YES and NO questions. The first person to guess the name on their back wins a prize.
Who Is My Partner?
This is a version of the Who Am I game, and I actually prefer this one as it encourages a little more chat and thought from your Guests.
Prep: Prepare stickers as above but put the name of one half of a celebrity couple on each sticker.
Play: Guests have to chat to each other using YES and NO questions to try and find out their partner.
Example couples: Prince Harry and Meghan Marckle, Barack and Michelle Obama, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Victoria and David Beckham.
Never Have I Ever
This funny icebreaker game is better played with a small group at a more intimate party. Groups of 6-10 work well for this one!
Prep: None
Play: Get everyone seated and ask them to hold up 10 fingers.
One person says something that they have never done in their life, but suspects some players have, by saying “Never have I ever… For example, “Never have I ever drunk a Margarita”.
Everyone who has drunk a Margarita must lower a finger.
The last player with fingers still raised wins. Everyone gets to share their stories afterwards.
Guess Who Did What
This is a funny icebreaker game to play a little while into the party. It works well with both small and medium sized groups and is a great way to find out unusual facts about your friends!
Prep: Give each Guest a pen and 3 pieces of paper.
Play: Ask each Guest to write down 3 facts about themselves. Just a couple of sentences is fine.
Put all the pieces of paper in a bag.
Ask everyone to take three strips each.
Players take it in turns to read out their strips, leaving the rest of the group to guess their owners.
Of course, the weirder the stories, the more fun your game will be. Good ones I once heard include:
- I was named after a famous brain surgeon.
- My Dad taught me how to shear a sheep.
- I once lived in a haunted house.
People Bingo
This is a classic icebreaker game for good reason! It’s a really good game for encouraging your Guests to talk to as many people as possible and to share some information about themselves. A sure fire way for people to get to know a little bit about each other FAST!
Prep: Fill out a grid (like a bingo card) with various personal characteristics, such as:
- Speaks more than one language
- Has more than 3 children
- Hates flying
- Can ski
Play: Ask guests mingle and chat and collect signatures from people who match those characteristics. The first person to fill out their entire card (or whoever gets the most signatures) wins.
Hopefully this gives you some good options for icebreaker games for adults. Once you have played a couple of these at the beginning of your parties, you won’t host a party without them!!
If you are hosting a kids party, then checkout these classic Icebreaker Games for Kids.
If you are planning a themed party then checkout our Parties Page for heaps of inspiration on all kinds of themes. Also be sure to checkout our FREE Party Planning Checklist to help your party really get off with a swing!
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About Author
Jane Sheriff is the founder, creative director, party planner and mom of three. She started Darling Celebrations back in 2012 to share easy and beautiful ideas for celebrating the special events in life.
