170+ Fun Icebreaker Games & Activities I Love That Your Team Will Enjoy in 2024

The Purpose of Icebreakers

Interactions between people who aren’t close can be awkward, which is where icebreakers come in.

Icebreakers are typically used in group settings such as team-building activities, workshops, conferences, and social gatherings.

Using icebreaker exercises in team settings fosters a secure environment where everyone can freely express themselves and their beliefs. From a psychological standpoint, being a part of a group feels safer than standing alone in a meeting.

Icebreaker games serve several other important purposes, such as:

• Breaking the ice. Icebreaker games help to break down social barriers and initial awkwardness by providing a structured and fun way for people to introduce themselves and interact with others. I would advise starting with an icebreaker highlighting some common ground that everyone has. I believe this helps you connect with others when you are in a new group.
• Building relationships. Icebreaker games promote bonding and relationship-building among participants. The more you learn about them, the stronger your relationships are with your coworkers. So, I suggest you slowly introduce more ice-breaking questions or games that let your team know more about each other’s preferences.
• Energizing the group. Icebreaker games are often used at the beginning of an event to energize participants and create a sense of excitement. In fact, I find that in any group setting, a fun game or question definitely commands everyone’s attention and serves as a warmup for the activity itself.
• Encouraging participation. In large group settings, some participants may be hesitant to engage actively. Icebreaker games offer an opportunity for everyone to participate and contribute, ensuring that everyone feels included and welcomed. I’ve seen that short icebreakers often make employees feel less worried and more open to doing the rest of the activities.
• Enhancing communication skills. Icebreaker games can improve communication skills. Participants often have to listen carefully to instructions, convey information, and collaborate with others, thereby improving their ability to communicate effectively. In this case, I’d think about asking thought-provoking icebreaker questions or even ones related to your work objectives so you can see how they cooperate as a team.
• Creating a memorable experience. Icebreaker games add an element of fun and enjoyment to any gathering. And we all remember moments where we had a lot of fun, didn’t we? Some icebreaker activities I’d recommend are playing quick games together or participating in something musical.

Overall, icebreaker games serve as a valuable tool to foster a sense of community, promote interaction, and create a welcoming environment for teammates to connect and engage with one another.

If done wrong, an icebreaker can turn out to be a waste of time. By choosing one of our suggested icebreakers for your team-building activities, you can see results and discover a great way to open your event!

Tips to Break the Ice With Coworkers

Starting in a new team or environment can be daunting for anyone, including myself. The key is to learn to be comfortable and adapt to the unknown.

To help you in this process, I’ve compiled some essential tips that can make you feel at ease and effectively break the ice with your new team:

• Make the first move. Don’t get me wrong, this is easier said than done. But it’s important to approach your colleagues and start the conversation before your manager introduces you. This makes you seem more approachable and allows you to connect more personally with your team. Don’t be shy to put in a compliment or two related to their work.

• Grab a meal or drink. In a workplace, lunch is a much-needed break from daily hustling. From my experience, people are more relaxed and open to talking and interacting with others. So, try to take advantage of that and invite a few team members to have lunch together. Or you can even suggest getting drinks or coffee after work so you’re not bound in your professional setting.

• Look for common interests. I’ve mentioned it before as well: whenever team members find common ground, it becomes easier to relate to one another. So, ask about what shows they’re currently binging on, if they’ve seen the most recent football game, or just ask what their hobbies are. Once you find what you can talk about, it’s just a matter of following up with relevant questions or inviting them to watch a game.

• Accept or offer help. It’s not always possible to do everything yourself at work. So, it’s okay to ask for help if you’re struggling with something. I find that most people on your team are almost always willing to lend a hand if they can. Moreover, if you see your coworker having trouble with something, you should ask if they need anything. It’s usually the case that they’re too shy or don’t feel comfortable asking you. So, break the ice and build trust within your team by being transparent about your needs.

Considerations for Using Icebreakers

What do you want to achieve with an icebreaker? Do you want to set the tone for the learning community or lead into course content in engaging ways?

Think of your population in choosing or designing an activity. This includes group size, demographics, levels of knowledge, extent to which they know each other, reasons for being in your group/class/meeting, and more.

For example, larger groups might need a simple activity, and new groups may require a low-risk activity.

Think through the activity ahead of time and adapt it accordingly. Will the space you have suffice? Do you have all the needed supplies? Would the activity lead to issues of confidentiality? Does the activity accommodate varying abilities?

Icebreakers do not always go exactly as planned. Flexibility and willingness to learn are part of building a positive and open community.

Let’s get started with some of the best icebreakers for teams using Zoom.

Zoom Icebreakers

1. Paint a Picture, Build a Story

Best For: Virtual Fun

In this icebreaker, playoff your teammates’ artistry and create a scenario of their masterpieces. Gartic Phone gives you a short time frame to sketch pictures based on other players’ prompts — and can result in some hilarious artwork.

The more nonsensical the prompt, the funnier the drawings become. You’ll also get brownie points if you save some of the funniest drawings and share them with the team on Slack afterward.

Instructions

• Go to
• Enter a nickname and choose a character avatar.
• Click “Start.”
• Click the “Invite” button and share the link with your colleagues.
• When the game starts, everyone will be prompted to write a fun sentence.
• Everyone will receive someone else’s sentence and have the opportunity to draw it.
• Everyone will receive someone else’s drawing and then guess what the original sentence was.
• Enjoy the hilarious results!

2. Guess That Drawing

Best For: Virtual Fun

Drawasaurus is one of my favorite online drawing games to play with colleagues. Players get to choose from three random prompts to quickly interpret and draw their vision.

Other players can score more points for guessing the word the fastest and take turns going until the timer goes out.

Instructions

• Go to
• Enter a nickname (don’t worry, this won’t automatically start a game).
• Click “+ Create a Room.”
• Set the room as “Private,” choose a room name, set a simple password, and choose the maximum number of players.
• Share the link from the URL bar with your colleagues.
• The game will start once everyone designates themselves as “Ready to Play.”
• One by one, everyone will choose one word to draw, and the others will get to guess the word.
• The person who guesses correctly the quickest earns the most points. Enjoy!

3. Alphabet Brainstorm

Best For: Virtual Fun

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Thinking off the top of your head is a lot harder said than done in Scattergories. The host of the game can choose from topics as broad as foods and countries or as weird as “Things Granny would say.”

Each round, the game will highlight a random letter of the alphabet and let players come up with any noun or phrase that starts with said letter. The best part — players can dispute answers amongst each other to take the win.

This is a perfect icebreaker for your overly competitive colleagues.

Instructions

• Go to
• Choose the categories you’d like for the game, such as “Animals,” “Long words,” and “Things with tails.”
• Click “Create new game.”
• Choose the game letters (most will be pre-chosen), the number of players, and the number of rounds.
• Choose when a round ends (we recommend giving everyone 30 to 60 seconds).
• Under “Who can join,” click “Invited friends.”
• Copy the link and share it with your colleagues.
• Everyone will have an allotted time to fill out several categories with words that start with a single letter.
• Play all the rounds and see which one of your colleagues has the most expanded vocabulary!

4. Show and Tell

Best For: Team Bonding

A rather straightforward icebreaker, team members can share an object they love over Zoom. Whether it’s a prized collectible or an item that sparks nostalgia, there are plenty of stories waiting to be told.

Instructions

• Let your team know ahead of time that you’ll be doing a show and tell.
• At the start of the meeting, give everyone 5 minutes to find the item that they’d like to show (Option: Have them turn their camera off).
• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• Have everyone popcorn to someone after they show their item, or go alphabetically.
• Enjoy seeing the eclectic items in your team members’ homes!

Quick note: If you‘ve never “popcorned” before, this technique is a simple way to keep a conversation going. When popcorning, the first person to speak will choose the next person to speak in the group. Then, they’ll “popcorn” to that person by saying something like, “I’ll popcorn it to [name].”

5. Bucket List

Best For: Team Bonding

Outside of the workplace, your teammates are people with aspirations and goals you wouldn’t know about from the average coffee chat. Have team members share some bucket list items they want to achieve in the future.

Not only can these be inspirational, but they also open the floor for team members to encourage one another to pursue their dreams, too. It’s a particularly uplifting team bonding activity that will bring your team even closer together.

Instructions

• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• You or your teammate will share one bucket list item.
• Have everyone popcorn to someone after their turn, or go alphabetically.
• Enjoy!

6. Share the Love

Best For: Team Building

While dispersed teams may not have the chance to share a handshake or hug, you can still share the love with each other with this icebreaker.

Say something lovely to another team member, and it could be anything you want as long as it’s respectful and in good judgment.

For each person who receives a kind message, they will be the next one to share a message with a member of the group who hasn’t received one — ensuring everyone gets an equal amount of praise.

Shout them out for their helpfulness in a project, for the energy they bring to the team, or for their lovely smile.

Instructions

• Let your team know ahead of time that you’ll be doing this activity.
• We recommend pre-pairing teammates in a spreadsheet so everyone can come prepared with something to say.
• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• Have everyone popcorn to someone else after their turn, or go alphabetically.
• Enjoy!

7. Arts and Crafts

Best For: Virtual Fun

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Making something with your team can be a great opportunity to learn something new and keep decorative mementos in your space.

Have everyone follow the same instructions to make a craft like simple origami, a drawing, or a painting by a designated instructor in the Zoom call or YouTube tutorial.

Instructions

• Have everyone fill out an interest form for the event.
• Set a date and have folks RSVP so that you can more accurately calculate the price per person in the next step.
• Hire a Zoom arts and crafts instructor from a business such as The Art Studio NY or KraftyLab. Alternatively, have a team member volunteer to teach or find a YouTube video, which will be free.
• We recommend taking 30-60 minutes to complete this activity.
• At the end, have everyone show their work.
• Have fun!

8. What Do We Have in Common?

Best For: Team Bonding

This icebreaker is best suited for new hires who may feel more reserved as they virtually meet the team.

Find common ground and get the conversation going with your team members.

Have a manager or team leader start the conversation by sharing something they have an interest in, like popular TV, music, food, or whatever they love to get everyone thinking.

Popcorn it over to the most enthusiastic team member with that same interest and have them share a new one.

Typical icebreaker questions can get people to say a sentence or two about the subject, but if you’re passionate about it, you’ll see more personality come out from the most unexpected colleagues in the call.

Instructions

• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• You or your teammate will share an interest, such as a TV show or hobby.
• Someone with that same interest should either drop a note in the chat or raise their hand.
• Their turn will begin, and they will share a new interest.
• Enjoy!

9. Name That Tune

Best For: Virtual Fun

Music brings people together, and you’d be surprised to learn how many of your coworkers are raving about the top trending song on TikTok or Spotify.

Take turns whistling, tapping, or even playing an instrument (if you have one) to the tune of a popular song, and have your teammates guess the name.

Figure out who’s a fan of the classics by clapping and stomping to the rhythm of “We Will Rock You” by Queen, or do whatever it takes to help your colleagues recognize your favorite tunes.

Instructions

• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• You or your teammate will hum, whistle, sing, or tap the rhythm of your favorite song.
• Team members should drop their guesses in the chat.
• The correct guesser gets the next turn. If no one guesses correctly, popcorn your turn to someone else.
• Enjoy!

10. Themed Meetings

Best For: Virtual Fun

This activity is short but delightfully telling — you’ll find out where your team members were born without needing to ask and having everyone take a turn.

You’ll create a physical map where your teammates can place a pin on their birthplace. As the map fills up with pins, people will learn about how diverse their teammates might be.

Instructions

• Place a map and a set of pins at the front of a large conference room before a big meeting.
• As people walk in, ask them to place a pin where they were born or raised.
• Allow some time at the end of the meeting for your colleagues to walk up and look more closely at the map.
• Save the map or take a picture.
• Enjoy the team keepsake!

18. Movie Pitch

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

Perfect for larger groups and movie fanatics, this icebreaker is as crazy as you make it. Divide players into quads and give them 10 minutes to devise the plot of the next award-winning film.

You can give them constraints by choosing genres like horror, action, comedy, thriller, and more.

If your organization is meeting to brainstorm ideas for specific projects, go ahead and incorporate the topic into their movie pitch prompts to get the creative juices flowing.

Instructions

• Divide team members into groups.
• Have every group come up with a plot for the next blockbuster.
• Each group should get a turn to share, and they might even act out parts of the plot.
• Have fun!

19. Stretch Break

Best For: Team Wellness

Maybe the week has been busy for you and your team, or it’s going on your fourth meeting of the day. If this is the case, have everyone take a breather and stretch before the next big meeting begins.

Someone can either lead by example, showcasing some arm and back stretches, or just let everyone freestyle. You’d be surprised how a little movement can wake up and help people get work done.

Instructions

• Designate a team member ahead of time to lead the stretches (or lead them yourself).
• Take 5-10 minutes to go through a round of stretches.
• Enjoy the much-needed break!

20. Rose, Thorn, Bud

Best For: Team Building

In meetings, it can be hard to communicate or understand everyone’s perspective on a project unless everyone has the floor to say what’s on their mind.

With the Rose, Thorn, Bud icebreaker, team members can quickly convey what’s on their minds by sharing three bits of information:

Rose: A recent positive happening, like a personal highlight or win.

Thorn: A challenge or roadblock they need support on.

Bud: An idea for the future they’d like to share or excitement for events in motion.

Instructions

• Make sure you have the right team size for this activity. Less than 10 people would work best, so you can divide everyone into small groups if necessary.
• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• Have everyone popcorn to someone else after their turn, or go alphabetically.
• Enjoy!

21. Frivolous Debate

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

There’s nothing like some lighthearted banter to get everyone warmed up before a meeting.

For this icebreaker, everyone will debate a silly topic and chime in with an equally silly answer and reasoning.

Make a statement like, “Cats are better than dogs,” and “Summer is better than winter,” or let chaos ensue by declaring that pineapple belongs on pizza (because it does).

Instructions

• Choose a team member ahead of time to share their popular or unpopular opinion.
• Have everyone chime in one by one on whether they agree or disagree.
• Every team member should popcorn their turn, or you can go alphabetically.
• Have fun finding out who agrees with you (and who does not)!

Quick Icebreaker Games

22. Would You Rather

Best For: Team Bonding

A classic game played at summer camps everywhere, “Would You Rather” is an excellent, quick workplace icebreaker.

Next time you’re settling into a meeting or team bonding outing, take turns going around the table and asking each person a “Would You Rather” question.

Here are a few “Would You Rather” questions to get you started; see further down in this post for even more:

• Would you rather only have summer or winter for the rest of your life?
• Would you rather go on a hike or see a movie?
• Would you rather never use social media sites and apps again or never watch another movie or TV show?
• Would you rather have a horrible short-term memory or a horrible long-term memory?

Instructions

• Designate a team member ahead of time to share their “Would You Rather” question.
• Have everyone chime in one by one with their answer.
• Every team member should popcorn their turn, or you can proceed alphabetically.
• Enjoy!

23. Accomplishments Before 18

Best For: Team Bonding

Accomplishments Before 18 is an engaging and unique way to encourage team members to share fun or interesting stories with one another.

Before a meeting, simply go around the room, and ask each person to share one accomplishment they had before they turned 18.

Undoubtedly you’ll get some of lesser importance, like “I bought a skateboard,” but you never know what hidden skills you might discover in your colleagues.

Instructions

• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• Have everyone chime in one by one with their answer.
• Every team member should popcorn their turn, or you can proceed alphabetically.
• Enjoy!

24. Two Truths and a Lie

Best For: Team Bonding

One of the more classic icebreakers on the list, Two Truths and a Lie can be used anywhere from family parties to company events.

Two Truths and a Lie is a fun and engaging game, and more importantly, it can help your team learn facts about one another, so they can begin forming deeper bonds.

Instructions

• Ask each person to brainstorm three “facts” about themselves — two of the facts will be true, and one will be a lie.
• Have team members guess which is the lie.
• Whoever guesses correctly gets bragging rights.
• Enjoy!

25. The Handshake

Best For: In-Person Fun

One of the first ways you get to greet somebody in the workplace is with a handshake.

This icebreaker lets individuals ease up and have a little fun without a hassle. It’s simple — everyone will create a fun, creative handshake.

If you have more time on your hands, have the pairs split up after showing off their super cool shake and make even more creative ones with new partners.

It’s hard to play these games without sharing a laugh, which is something we all could use in the workday.

Instructions

• Divide the group into pairs.
• Have them make the most creative handshake they can in a couple of minutes.
• Have each pair show off their handshake to the group.
• If desired, have everyone rotate partners.
• Have fun!

26. Bad Joke Contest

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

This icebreaker won’t take your team long to complete if you give them a heads-up to prepare. In the Bad Joke Contest, you’ll have everyone recite the corniest joke they can muster and have everyone vote on who was the most cringe-worthy.

Beware, some coworkers have impressively bad dad jokes saved up for these moments, so the competition will be fierce.

Instructions

• Let your team know ahead of time that you’ll be doing this activity.
• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• Have everyone popcorn to someone after they tell their joke, or go alphabetically.
• Have everyone vote on the corniest joke either via Zoom poll or by keeping tabs on a notepad.
• Don’t forget to laugh — or cringe!

The list continues below — read on to find fun icebreaker games, icebreakers for large teams, and more.

Fun Icebreaker Games

27. Tall Tales

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

This icebreaker game will have everyone thinking on their feet. In Tall Tales, each player will make up three sentences to add to a running story. The third sentence has to have a plot twist starting with “suddenly…” before rotating to the next.

Every player will have a chance to put their own spin on the budding story and can even try to throw the next participant for a loop with an improbable situation.

Instructions

• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• Begin with three sentences to set the scene for your story.
• After sharing your three sentences, go to the next person around the table or popcorn it.
• Continue going around until everyone has contributed to the story.
• Enjoy the fun, strange, and creative story your team can make!

28. Say Your Name Backwards

Best For: In-Person Fun

This game is pretty straightforward — or straight backward.

Every player will write their name on a slip of paper backward, fold it, and place it into a bowl. Once all the slips are collected, someone will draw one out of the bowl and read to the rest of the players what’s on the slip.

Whoever can guess their coworker’s name correctly gains a point, and whoever has the most points at the end wins.

Instructions

• Hand out slips of paper and writing utensils to everyone.
• Everyone writes their names backward on their paper.
• Then, everyone should fold their paper once and place it in a bowl.
• One person reads out the backward names, and everyone else has to guess whose name it is.
• Whoever guesses their coworker’s name correctly first gets the point. Keep a tally of points or have each person keep track of their own.
• The winner is the person with the most points at the end!

29. Jenga

Best For: In-Person Fun

Jenga is considered a classic game for a reason. It’s easy to play and put away. Have your team take turns pulling woodblocks out of your Jenga tower and share a laugh when it all comes toppling down.

Instructions

• Have the Jenga game set up before your meeting begins.
• Take turns removing the wooden blogs from the tower and adding them to the top.
• The game is over when the tower topples down.

30. Frown King or Queen

Best For: In-Person Fun

Make it a competition to see which of your team members has the gnarliest frown, and bestow upon them the title of Frown King or Queen. Bonus points if you actually go out of your way to make a paper crown.

You’d be surprised how hard it is to maintain a frown when surrounded by your favorite colleagues, not to mention how funny they’ll look during the game.

Instructions

• Two team members will compete at a time.
• The first pair stand back-to-back in the middle of the room.
• On the count of three, they will turn to face each other with the gnarliest frown they can muster on their faces.
• They must continue frowning until one person laughs, smiles, or breaks face.
• A new team member will compete with the winner, continuing until there’s only one person left standing. Crown them the Frown King or Queen!
• Enjoy!

31. The Envelope Please!

Best For: In-Person Fun

In this icebreaker game, have everyone write 10 facts about themselves on paper and place them each into their own envelopes. The envelopes are to be shuffled and chosen once at a time by the leader to read aloud to the rest of the group.

The rest of the players will then guess the identity of the envelope in hand — but they must be confident in their answer as each player only has one chance to guess per envelope.

Instructions

• Hand out paper, pens, and envelopes for everyone to write down their 10 facts.
• Once everyone has put their papers in the envelopes, collect and shuffle them.
• One by one, read out the 10 facts and have everyone else guess whose it is.
• Have fun getting to know your coworkers better!

32. Random Talent Show

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

A talent show is one thing, but a random talent show is another. Have your coworkers take turns showing their cool party (or office) tricks.

And let’s face it, you’ve been trying to find the right opportunity to show someone you could lick your elbow for a while now.

Instructions

• Announce at the start of the meeting that you’ll be having a random talent show.
• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• After showing off your talent, popcorn to someone else or ask for a volunteer.
• Have fun sharing your random tricks and skills and learning about your colleagues in this lighthearted “show.”

33. Celebrity Impressions

Best For: In-Person Fun

For this icebreaker game, the leader will tape a label to each player’s back with a celebrity or household name.

Once that’s complete, every player will ask each other yes or no questions about their celebrity label’s traits, recent news, or talents.

If players can identify their celebrity correctly, they can remove the label from their backs and continue mingling.

Instructions

• Tape a label to each player’s back with a celebrity or household name.
• Players ask each other yes or no questions about their celebrity label’s traits, recent news, or talents.
• Once players correctly identify their celebrity, they remove the label from their backs.

34. Quick Portrait Gallery

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

You don’t have to be Picasso to participate in this icebreaker. The instructions are simple. Every group member will be randomly assigned a different person to draw in a couple of minutes.

It’s a fun way to bond and share a giggle here and there over everyone’s work of art.

Instructions

• Every group member is randomly assigned a different person to draw.
• Set a timer for a couple of minutes in which everyone has to draw their person.
• When time is up, everyone shares their portraits with the group — you can even have the other players guess before the artist shares the name of their subject.
• Enjoy the hilarious portrait gallery you’ve created!

35. Sound Ball

Best For: In-Person Fun, Team Wellness

Sound Ball is an imaginative icebreaker that gives everyone a chance to get moving and energized.

In this icebreaker, the leader holds an imaginary ball in their hand and “throws” it to other players, making whatever sound they think would go with that gesture.

Whoever “catches” the ball next must repeat the sound made, then throw the ball to another person, making their own unique sound. It sounds wild, but it’s easy to get into the flow of it.

Plus, it’s a great way to get everyone moving if you’ve been sitting too much.

Instructions

• The leader holds an imaginary ball and “throws” it to other players, making a sound to accompany their gesture.
• Whoever “catches” the ball next must repeat the sound, then throw the ball to another person making their own unique sound.
• Continue as long as you want, trying to ensure each person gets a turn.

36. Beatboxing

Best For: In-Person Fun

This is probably one of the silliest icebreakers on this list, but it’s definitely worth trying. Have one team member start making a noise you’d hear in a song, like percussion, and have others gradually add to the beat.

Who knows, if the beat sounds good enough, you all could consider making an acapella group.

Instructions

• One team member starts making a noise you’d hear in a song, like percussion.
• Others gradually join in, adding to the beat.
• Once everyone is participating, let the song go for a bit before ending the fun.

37. Just One Lie

Best For: In-Person Fun

This method is an adaptation of the well-known icebreaker “Two Truths and a Lie” to create an activity that can be run throughout a day of meetings or workshops.

Instructions

• Participants mingle and ask each other questions.
• On a stack of Post-its they’re carrying, they will write a person’s name on each Post-it along with one fact they learned about them.
• Most answers the participants give will be truthful; they must tell a lie only once.
• The Post-its for each person are then collected together and given to the person whose name is on them.
• Throughout the workshop, have participants read out the facts on their own Post-its and have everyone else guess which is the lie.

38. Human Bingo

Best For: In-Person Fun

Participants mingle and try to find people who match the descriptions in their bingo grid, encouraging conversation and interaction.

Icebreaker Bingo is a great way to bond with large teams because it can include as many people as you want.

Instructions

• Distribute pre-made bingo grids with unique descriptions in each square (e.g., “Has traveled to Europe,” “Can play a musical instrument”).
• Participants mingle and find others who match the descriptions, writing their names in the corresponding squares.
• The first person to fill a row or the entire grid wins.

39. The Great Wind Blows

Best For: Team Bonding

Participants quickly find new seats based on a statement while one person stands in the middle.

Instructions

• One person stands in the middle and makes a statement starting with “The great wind blows for everyone who…” and completes the sentence with a description (such as “…has a pet,” “…likes pizza”).
• Anyone to whom the statement applies must find a new seat, including the person in the middle.
• The one left without a seat becomes the new statement maker.

40. Speed Networking

Best For: Team Bonding

Ever heard of or participated in speed dating? This is similar but with your colleagues in a totally platonic way. Participants engage in brief, timed conversations with multiple individuals to meet and learn about each other.

Instructions

• Arrange participants in pairs or small groups.
• Set a timer for a specified duration (e.g., 2 minutes) for each conversation.
• Participants introduce themselves, share a bit about their interests, and ask questions about their partner.
• After the time is up, they rotate to the next person, repeating the process.

41. Beach Ball Toss

Best For: In-Person Fun

Participants answer questions or complete a task related to them after catching a tossed beach ball, encouraging quick thinking and laughter.

Instructions

• Write different icebreaker questions or tasks on a beach ball ahead of time.
• Participants form a circle and toss the ball to each other.
• When someone catches it, they read and answer the question or perform the task facing the hand they caught it with.
• The ball continues circulating, ensuring everyone participates.

42. Emoji Storytelling

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

Participants create a story collaboratively, using emojis as prompts and encouraging creativity and collaboration.

Instructions

• Distribute a list of emojis or display them on a screen.
• Each participant contributes by adding a sentence or two to the story, incorporating one or more of the displayed emojis.
• Encourage the use of imagination and creativity as the story progresses.

43. Human Knot

Best For: Team Building in Person

Participants work together to untangle a “human knot” by holding hands, promoting teamwork and problem-solving.

Instructions

• Participants form a tight circle, randomly holding hands with two different people across the circle.
• Without letting go of hands, they must untangle the knot until they form a circle or a straight line.
• This requires communication and cooperation to solve the problem.

44. Who Am I?

Best For: In-Person Fun

Participants wear sticky notes on their foreheads or backs with the name of a famous person or character written on them. They must ask yes-or-no questions to others to figure out their identity.

Instructions

• Write the names of various famous people or fictional characters on sticky notes and place one on each participant’s forehead.
• One by one, participants must ask yes-or-no questions to the others to figure out who they are.
• The goal is to figure out their identity by asking strategic questions. You can limit the number of questions a person can ask for the sake of time.

Icebreaker Games for Large Teams

45. Charades

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

Charades is a game fit for large teams, both in-person and remote. In this icebreaker, players need to communicate with team members to guess a word of a certain category.

Instructions

46. Red Light, Green Light

Best For: In-Person Fun

I bet anyone who watched Squid Games in 2021 is familiar with this game, and if you haven’t, the rules are simple (and the stakes are much, much lower.)

Instructions

• The players in this icebreaker game will line up on one side of a room.
• A designated leader on the other side of the room will be instructed to say either “Red Light” or “Green Light.”
• Players in line are to try and walk to the other side of the room when the leader says, “Green Light,” but once the leader says, “Red Light,” everyone must freeze or be kicked out of the game.
• The first person to make it to the leader wins and gets to be the leader for the next round.

47. Guess Who

Best For: In-Person Fun

Like Charades, Guess Who is a great icebreaker where you can mimic famous people — or even your coworkers.

Instructions

• Have someone write down well-known names on sheets of paper and then hand them off one at a time to a team member.
• They’ll have to act out the behaviors, facial expressions, or even the iconic “I’m flying” scene from Titanic.
• Everyone else will guess who they’re acting out.

48. Hot Take

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

For this ice breaker, everyone can take turns sharing their hot takes and either bond with their coworkers who agree or debate their naysayers.

Of course, you want the topics to be fun and lighthearted, so keep them to topics that aren’t controversial and opt for statements like, “Cheese isn’t all that great.”

Instructions

• Start with a random team member or yourself.
• Make a statement about your “hot take” on a lighthearted topic.
• Everyone else can join in supporting you or disagreeing with you.
• Popcorn to the next participant and continue until everyone gets a turn sharing.

49. “Most Likely To ___”

Best For: Team Bonding

Remember those high school superlatives? This is like that but a little less embarrassing.

Instructions

• Have coworkers read through a list of “Most Likely To” titles and assign them to one another.
• During the game, everyone can chime in or give reasons as to why someone deserves the title, and the group consensus will be the final decision.
• It’s important to note that no one will have more than one title to ensure everyone is included.

50. Whisper Down the Lane

Best For: In-Person Fun

Whisper Down the Lane is an icebreaker game where team members form a larger circle and share a random message whispered into the ear of someone to their left.

This game can get funny pretty quickly, as a whisper down the lane can get misinterpreted over and over again.

Instructions

• Everyone stands in a circle, and the person starting the message whispers it in the ear of the person next to them.
• That person then whispers what they heard to the next person, continuing until the message has made it all the way around the circle.
• The last person says what they heard out loud, and you can all laugh at how the message has changed through the course of whispering.

51. Simon Says

Best For: In-Person Fun

Simon Says was invented in the 19th century, but it never stops being fun.

The real trick is for the leader to confuse players by giving fast Simon Says commands, then giving them a command without saying the keywords.

This could work like, “Simon says touch your hips, Simon says hop on one foot, Simon says touch your nose — touch your ears!”

Whoever does the action (like touching your ears) will be booted out of the game because it wasn’t a Simon Says action.

Instructions

• The leader of the group instructs players to do an action beginning with the words “Simon says…” like, “Simon says touch your knees” or “Simon says grab your elbow.”
• Whoever doesn’t do the actions proclaimed is booted out of the game.
• The last person in wins!

52. Things in Common

Best For: First Introductions

This simple icebreaker is fit for groups meeting each other for the first time.

Instructions

• All that has to be done is mingle with one another to find some things you have in common and try to form groups based on those attributes.
• Bonus points if you can learn the names of those whom you relate to, and brownie points if you can relay all their names when asked.

53. Team Jigsaw Puzzle Competition

Best For: Team Bonding

For this game, you’ll need to prepare by purchasing two identical jigsaw puzzles. It’s a fun way to foster competition and work on communication and collaboration.

Instructions

• Divide your large group into two teams.
• Set a timer to see which group can work together to make the most progress on their respective puzzles.
• Whoever made it the furthest when time is up wins!

54. Clump

Best For: In-Person Fun

This activity is great for loosening everyone up and creating a frantically fun environment as everyone scrambles to make clumps with a certain number of people.

Instructions

• Have team members walk around and mingle amongst themselves in a large, open space.
• The leader of the icebreaker yells out a random number under 10.
• Every person mingling will then have to quickly form a clump of people with the number called. If someone doesn’t make it into a clump, they’re out.
• Continue until everyone has to exit the mingling space — the last person standing wins!

Icebreaker Games for Small Groups

55. Fun Questions

Best For: In-Person or Virtual Fun

Asking fun questions is an easy and effective icebreaker game. These questions serve two purposes — first, they allow your coworkers to get into a sillier, more creative mindset.

Second, they encourage conversation on topics typically reserved for outside the office, which enables members of your team to get to know one another on a deeper level.

“When I first started including icebreaker questions in our weekly team stand-up meetings, the experience was … cringeworthy. It felt like exactly what it was: organized fun. But we kept at it. I listened to feedback and tried to incorporate it into better icebreakers.”

She continued, “For example, some folks on our team don’t watch a lot of T.V. and felt a little excluded when we’d fall down a rabbit hole of shows we were binging.

Keeping the icebreakers inclusive keeps everyone engaged. Now, our icebreakers can take 15+ minutes to get through and yield some of our biggest laughs and revelations of the week.”

Instructions

• To play, simply go around the room and have each person offer an answer to a fun question.
• The questions are up to you, but if you’re stuck, check out this list of icebreaker questions for meetings, teams, and more.

56. Personality Quiz

Best For: Team Bonding

This icebreaker can promote team bonding, and it’s one of the easier options on the list. This game allows your team members to gain a new perspective on their peers, and it’s also a fun and easy way to get an interesting conversation started.

Instructions

• Simply choose a brief personality quiz on your phone or computer (if you’re stuck, here’s a list), and pull it up on a projector or send the link to everyone.
• Once everyone has completed the personality assessment, have each colleague mention one thing they agree or disagree with from their results.

57. Who Is It?

Best For: Team Bonding

This game is a simple and great way to get to know surprising new things about your teammates. It can be easily adapted for a virtual setting by having everyone send their fact through the chat or by answering a question in Google Form.

Instructions

• Have everyone write a unique, strange, or unexpected fact about themselves on a piece of paper.
• Then, put the pieces of paper into a hat and mix them around. Pull from the hat and read each fact.
• Allow the team to try and guess who wrote it.
• After they guess, ask the employee who wrote the fact to identify themselves and give any further context if necessary.

58. Marshmallow Challenge

Best For: Team Bonding

Tom Wujec, a business visualization expert, initially presented his Marshmallow Challenge on TED.

To play, you simply divide your team into groups of four and give each group 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and a marshmallow.

Whichever team can build the tallest structure wins — the trick is the marshmallow must be on top.

There are a few reasons this game works as both a great icebreaker and a team-building exercise. First, the most successful teams are groups of people who don’t spend time competing for power.

The game forces your colleagues to work collaboratively when brainstorming potential solutions. Second, the Marshmallow Challenge encourages people to think quickly and offer alternative solutions when their initial idea fails.

With the Marshmallow Challenge, you can strengthen your team’s brainstorming and problem-solving skills, and your team can also have some fun. A win, win.

Instructions

• Divide participants into teams of four.
• Provide each team with one marshmallow, 20 spaghetti noodles, one yard of tape, and one hard of string.
• They have a limited time (e.g., 15 minutes) to construct the tallest freestanding structure using only the materials provided.
• The team with the tallest structure at the end wins.

59. Scavenger Hunt

Best For: In-Person Fun

At HubSpot, we conduct a scavenger hunt for new hires on the first day of their training. It’s fun and encourages collaboration, but additionally, it can help employees learn their way around the office.

Fortunately, you can conduct a scavenger hunt for your team even if they‘ve worked at your office for years. A scavenger hunt is also an exceptional opportunity for cross-department interaction.

Consider contacting managers from other departments and creating groups of employees who don’t often get to work together.

Instructions

• Simply split up your team into groups, and give each group a shortlist of items to find. If you work in a smaller space, maybe you can hide some funny items around the office ahead of time.
• The teams have a limited time to find all the items.
• The first team that finishes first wins. You might even offer an incentive for the winning team, like a $50 Amazon gift card.

60. No Smiling

Best For: In-Person Fun

This game is simple and meant to energize your team. This icebreaker can be helpful in new-employee or management training to lighten the pressure of starting a new job.

It can also be helpful as a way of lightening the mood on teams that regularly deal with stressful projects or situations.

Instructions

• Get your colleagues in a circle and ask one volunteer to sit or stand in the middle.
• Tell the volunteer that they can not laugh or smile, regardless of what happens.
• Then, have each colleague take turns telling the volunteer a work-appropriate joke.
• The goal of the volunteer is to hear a joke from every colleague around the circle, while the goal of the other team members is to make the volunteer laugh.

61. This is Better Than That

Best For: Energizing Your Team

Aside from being a fun team activity, this might be a great energizer for sales employees or others who regularly pitch, market, and sell products.

Instructions

• Ask your team to find four to seven items around the office and bring them to one room. These items could be something they use daily, like a pen or a chair. However, you should encourage them to find items that are odd or unique. This will make the game more challenging.
• Line the items up and split the group into sub-teams. Task each team with picking an item they would use to survive if stranded on a desert island.
• Tell team members that they can’t pick more than one and that they must assume it’s the only item they will have on that island. Allow the teams time to deliberate and then ask them to present the item they chose and why.

Virtual Icebreaker Games for Dispersed Teams

62. Choose Your Favorite

Best For: Virtual Fun

For this icebreaker, all you have to do is answer the question about your favorite things. This icebreaker helps your team get to know each other even when they work remotely and can spark conversation on what everyone likes or dislikes.

Instructions

• Choose a different question to ask your team each week.
• Ask your team to choose their favorite movie, song, TV show, etc.
• Make sure everyone has a chance to share.

63. Trivia Game

Best For: Virtual Fun

If you‘re looking for a remote icebreaker that’s more of a game, you can host a trivia game.

Instructions

64. Share an Embarrassing Photo

Best For: Virtual Team Bonding

This is one of my favorite icebreakers because it’s a fun way to get to know your team. For this game, have everyone share an embarrassing photo and tell the story behind it. Doing this icebreaker is a great way to build connections remotely.

Instructions

• Have your team members share their screens or send a file to the team leader to share with everyone.
• To make this more interesting, you can have people guess whose photo it is before your team member shares their story.

65. One Word Pulse Check

Best For: Checking In on Your Team

For this icebreaker, have everyone on your team go around and share a word or phrase that represents how they feel that day.

Christina Perricone, former senior content marketing manager on the HubSpot blog, says this is her favorite icebreaker:

“The person sharing gets to decide whether or not to elaborate, and everyone listens without response,” Perricone explains.

She says the purpose of the exercise is to give people a chance to release or reveal emotional setbacks, obstacles, wins, highlights, or anything else that might be impacting how they show up to work that day.

“It provides a space for participants to bring their entire self to work, and it gives the team context for how to support that team member that day,” Perricone adds.

Instructions

• Have everyone on your team go around and share a word or phrase that represents how they feel that day.

66. Meet my Pet

Best For: Virtual Sharing

Nothing fills a meeting with smiles like photos of colleagues’ furry friends. Those who don’t have any can either make a joke pet (the infamous pet rock) or share a dream pet they would have.

Instructions

• Take turns showing off the cutest pictures and videos of your pet.

67. Let’s Make a Mixtape

Best For: Team Bonding

This icebreaker works by asking your coworkers to choose one of their favorite songs from a certain genre. Not only is it fun at the moment, but then everyone has the chance to discover new artists and tunes they hadn’t heard of before.

Instructions

• Everyone chooses a song and shares it with the group.
• One person compiles either a YouTube or Spotify playlist of everyone’s choices and shares the link with everyone in the group afterward.

68. Emoji Mood Guesser

Best For: Virtual Fun

This is a fun spin on sharing one word about how you feel that day.

Instructions

• With this icebreaker, you ask everyone on your team to drop the most accurate emojis of their current mood or state of mind in a chat box (assuming they’re using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.)
• Everyone can guess what adjective someone is trying to convey and can even share why if they want to.

Would You Rather Icebreaker Games

69. Food Would You Rather Questions

You’d be surprised how passionate some of your coworkers can get over food. When asking “Would You Rather” questions, ask about various savory or sweet food staples and which they would prefer to eat forever.

Example: “Would you rather eat only cake forever or eat pasta forever?”

70. Travel Would You Rather Questions

There are plenty of destinations on your coworkers’ radar. Get to know them a little better by getting to know where they want to go and why.

Good Icebreakers for Meetings

Meeting icebreakers can help loosen people up for better idea exchange and connection. Whether your team is in-person, hybrid, or online, these icebreakers can help you bring your meetings to life.

Icebreaker Questions for Virtual Meetings

These questions can help begin conversations, promote engagement, and allow participants to get to know each other better in a virtual meeting setting.

78. What‘s the most interesting thing you’ve learned or experienced recently?

79. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

Keep reading for more fun icebreakers from the teams at HubSpot:

116. Would you rather feel hot all the time or cold all the time?

117. What’s your very first memory?

118. What is a chore that you dread doing?

119. What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?

120. What is something in your closet that you have too much of?

121. What’s the social media platform or app that you use/scroll the most? Which one would you give up?

122. What kinds of activities energize you?

123. What’s your splurge morning drink (or food) of choice?

Choosing the Right Icebreaker Questions and Games for Your Team

Icebreakers are more than just fun and games. It‘s true, they can improve connection and engagement. But it’s also important to think about how specific icebreakers or games might affect your team.

Well-selected icebreakers will create or enhance an inclusive environment. Ideally, they’ll help everyone on your team feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. Keep reading for tips on how to choose the best icebreakers for your team.

Find Icebreakers That Work for Different Personality Types

Most teams will have a mix of different personality types. For example, introverts may prefer activities that allow for reflection and sharing at their own pace. But extroverts might be hoping for interactive and energizing games. It’s important to balance your approach so that everyone feels included and comfortable.

To do this, support the needs of both groups whenever you can by:

• Offering different participation options
• Setting aside time for individual reflection
• Creating small group discussions
• Encouraging active listening
• Offering appreciation for team members who may be reluctant to participate
• Checking in after icebreakers if you notice anything feels off

It’s also a good idea to plan for each activity in advance. This can help other team members feel more comfortable and prepared.

For example, say you’re planning to play an online game during a meeting. Test the game in advance to make sure the features are intuitive. If they take some getting used to, share this information with the team. Then, build in extra time for everyone to get used to the software before starting your activity.

Update or Invent Games to Align With Your Team Culture and Interests

Not every game is a fit for the variety of cultural backgrounds, values, and interests on your team. Games that resonate with everyone’s cultures and hobbies will be more engaging and enjoyable. They can also create a sense of unity.

So, take the time to learn about your team members’ backgrounds, values, and preferences. Get to know their cultural traditions, hobbies, and shared interests. This understanding will help you choose games that are both inclusive and relevant.

Then, customize games or create new icebreakers to fit your team.

Set Specific Goals for Your Icebreakers

While icebreakers can be easy and fun, it’s also a good idea to choose games that align with specific team goals. For example, if your team is getting to know each other, you may want to play games that help build trust.

Here are a few more ways to connect team goals to the types of icebreakers and games you choose:

• Improve collaboration: Choose teamwork games, such as Emoji Storytelling, Human Knot, or the Marshmallow Challenge.
• Increase engagement: To boost engagement, ask questions that energize and engage team members, try a Hobby Webinar, or do some speed networking.
• Strengthen communication: Try icebreakers that involve active listening and effective communication such as One Word Pulse Check, Rose, Thorn, Bud, or Charades.
• Build psychological safety: Encourage activities that create a safe space for vulnerability, such as Bucket List or asking relevant icebreaker questions.
• Promote creativity: Start out brainstorming or problem-solving sessions with ice breakers such as Alphabet Brainstorm, Movie Pitch, or Tall Tales.
• Boost morale: Motivate and cheer up your team with icebreakers and games like Share the Love, No Smiling, or Human Bingo.

Depending on the culture of your team, you may want to share icebreaker-specific goals before or after these activities. This can help you offer context to the team, which can further build trust, and gather feedback for the future.

Encourage Active Participation

Get active engagement from your team by creating a safe and inclusive environment. You can create a safe space by:

• Setting clear expectations
• Choosing icebreakers that make sure every team member has a chance to share and feel heard
• Using a variety of icebreakers for different preferences and communication styles
• Managing time effectively, so it’s easy for everyone to take part without rushing or falling behind
• Leading by example and participating enthusiastically
• Offering structure and support so it’s easy for everyone to join in

Have Fun and Laugh

Icebreakers have the ability to change the energy, create a more relaxed environment, and encourage team members to express themselves in entertaining ways.

I find that putting effort into setting up icebreakers eventually leads to stronger relationships within the team. This is because your team members now know more about you, they can relate to you, and finally, you break the barrier of formality and awkwardness to some extent.

Although icebreaker activities can seem cringeworthy, they are actually a great way to build trust within your team.

From personal experience, I can surely say that an interactive icebreaker, such as any team game, really starts the meeting on the right foot. Or even attempt to ask a question that gets your team thinking. Trust me, you’ll be surprised by the answers you get.

So incorporate these games into your future meetings and kick off the fun!

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.