Categories
The perfect ice-breaker – ideal for mixing people in a fun and non-threatening manner
At A Glance
Your group splits into a variety of smaller groupings, according to a series of categories you announce.
What You Need
- 10 – 20 mins
What To Do
Ask your group to separate according to the categories or groupings you are about to announce. For example, if the category is “Colour of your pants,” everyone wearing blue jeans will group together. Sometimes, individuals may find themselves alone, but in most cases, small groupings of commonality will develop. Upon identifying each of the groups, announce the next split. You can keep splitting folks for as long as they are having fun, or you run out of ideas.
For mixing purposes, alternate between two-group splits and multi-group splits. The idea is to invite your group to meet as many new people as possible. To this end, if you have the time and the inclination, as soon as the groups have formed, give the participants a few moments to say hello to one another, or perhaps share something of relevance to the category, e.g., “What was so cool about being the oldest / youngest / in-between child in your family?”
Here are just a few sample and fun group categories. There are simply hundreds of them out there, so please, don’t hesitate to make up your own, or tempt them from your group.
Simple half-half splits:
- Arm that ends up crossed over the top of the other, when folded on your chest.
- Leg you put into your pants, shorts, underwear, etc. first when dressing.
- Preference for cooking or cleaning up.
- Preference for washing or drying dishes.
- Position of your thumbs, that is left or right on top, when you clasp your hands together so that your fingers interlock.
- Last digit of your home telephone number. All the odd numbers – 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 – get together, and the even numbers do the same.
- When presented with a ‘good news / bad news story,’ which do you prefer to hear first?
- Preference for the way toilet paper spills off the roll – like a waterfall, over the top and forward, or against the back towards the wall.
- Number of street you live at – odds and evens.
Simple multi-group splits:
- Month / zodiac sign in which you were born.
- Number of continents you have visited.
- Number of siblings in your family, including yourself.
- Colour of your eyes, hair, socks, etc.
- Type of shoes you are wearing (not necessarily their brand).
- Which shoulder(s) you hold a carry-bag – right, left or both shoulders.
- How often you shave each week?
- Distance you have travelled to get here (use clumps of distances, such as 0-5 km, 5-10 km, etc.
- Number of items you recycle at home, e.g., plastic, glass, tin, paper, etc.
Variation
Use to divide a large group into roughly random and even teams. If you are looking for an even split, and just don’t seem to find a category that fits, simply use the old scientific method of indiscriminately moving a few people (“Hey, you and you, move over here.”) to even out the groupings.
Taken from ‘Count Me In: Large Group Activities That Work’
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, please add a comment…
Count Off
Looking for a fun two-minute filler – this is it.
At A Glance
A group attempts to count from 1 to 20 in one shot, where people at random say one number at a time, without establishing a pattern or speaking over another person.
What You Need
- A comfortable, open space.
- Minimum of 5 people.
- 2 – 5 minutes.
What To Do
Invite your group to get comfortable wherever they are, and explain that you would like them to count to twenty. Sounds simple enough, but there are a few catches.
In an effort to count from one to twenty, an individual can only call out one number at a time, ie they can’t call out two numbers in succession, but they can call another number later. Also, any time one or more people call out a number at the same time, the count goes back to zero. The biggest catch is that the group is not permitted to establish a pattern, nor is anyone allowed to indicate / gesture / motion to another that they should call the next number. The sequence of calls is purely determined by chance. That’s what makes this game so contagiously fun.
The glee that strikes a group when two (or more) people speak at the same time after a long silence is what the game is all about. Within a few minutes, you group may not have reached twenty, but some spontaneous fun was had, and you successfully filled in a few moments.
Variations
- Ask your group to close their eyes during the activity.
- Choose any list to recite, such as the alphabet, the chemical tables, months of the year, and numbers of seven (eg 7, 14, 17, 21, 27, 28, etc).
Taken from ‘No Props: Great Games with No Equipment’
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, please add a comment…
Cocktail Party
A quick name reinforcer, and welcome segue to a drink’s break.
At A Glance
People mingle about shaking hands and greeting people by name as quickly as possible.
What You Need
- A flat, open space for mingling.
- As many party-goers as you can muster.
- 2 minutes.
What To Do
Looking for a quick way to wrap up a session, perhaps reinforce a few names people may have just learned, and throw to a drinks break? This is it.
Invite people to bunch around you, capturing the image of palatial surroundings, evening gowns, black ties and cocktails. Suggest that each person holds in their left hand an imaginary drink, or cocktail if they choose. Then, on your signal, everyone is encouraged to meet, shake the hands of and greet as many people at the party as possible, in say, 43.5 seconds (this is not a magic number!).
On “go”, it will sound something like, “Oooohh, darling, so good to see you Peter. I’m having a frightfully good time…..”. Chat for a few moments, discuss drinks, recent holidays to the Swiss alps, and then in typical cocktail party fashion, interrupt the conversation with a “O, petal, must keep moving”. Air kiss, kiss (these are not mandatory), and “…bye bye” off you go to greet another party guest.
Suggest to your group that they should use the other person’s name as often as possible, enquire about the other person’s drink (remember, they are holding on to it), but not spend too long with any one person. For a bit of fun, ask someone for the time and see if they spill their drink!
When you feel like the heat has started to dissipate from the party, quell the action and ask your group what is odd about this activity. Someone usually will remark that “there is no drink in their hands”, which is your cue to say….let’s remedy that situation – time for a break.
Variations
Imagine you are in a swanky Food Hall. Invite people to mingle as they treat themselves to the extraordinary array of fine foods available on people’s trays.
Taken from ‘No Props: Great Games with No Equipment’
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, please add a comment…
Fill Me In
A name reminder game featuring a chaotic combination of movements.
At A Glance
People assume the place of a person standing in the circle whose name they have just called.
What You Need
- A flat, open space.
- Minimum of 10, and up to 30, more if your group has a good level of name-knowingness.
- 10 – 15 minutes.
What To Do
Having formed a circle, the action begins when one person steps into the circle – at the same time announcing the name of someone who is on the other side of the circle to them – and walks toward that person. The first person fills the space of the newly announced person as this second person moves into the centre of the circle and immediately calls out a third person’s name, and the process starts all over again.
In and out, in and out it goes on. At a point you believe the group is ready for more, introduce a second and third person calling out a name across the circle. A series of chaotic and confusing crossings will result. At this time, encourage lots of eye contact and careful movements.
Variations
- Invite the person who has called out a name, to introduce themselves by name to the other, perhaps shake hands, before this other person repeats the process.
- As the movement of people in the centre of the circle gains momentum, invite people to shake the hand and greet (using the name) of someone as they pass them in the middle of the circle.
Taken from ‘No Props: Great Games with No Equipment’
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, please add a comment…
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Who am I?
Hi, I'm Mark Collard.
This blog shares some of the most successful group games, team-building activities & programming tips I know.
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