67 engaging icebreakers [that your team won’t find cheesy]

Icebreakers are short activities designed to get a group warmed up and engaged at the beginning of a workshop or meeting.

Typically, an icebreaker will aim to do one (or more) of these three things:

• get the group actively participating in the session, whether responding to questions, holding small group discussions or playing a fun game.
• help relax the group and encourage them to be present in the meeting, creating a safe stage for collaboration ahead.
• create the right atmosphere for the rest of the meeting, by either seeding the topic of the session, recalling prior learning or warming up creative muscles.

It’s well known that icebreakers have a mixed reputation. When door poorly, icebreakers can frustrate participants and set off a session on the wrong foot. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The best team icebreakers can help build genuine connections, set the stage for a productive meeting and ensure participants are fully warmed up and ready to collaborate.

In this collection, you’ll find a curated collection of facilitator-tested icebreakers separated by category, so you can easily find the right activity for your use-case.

10 effective icebreaker questions 

Need a zero-prep icebreaker you can bring to your team? These ten icebreaker questions are some of our favourite tried-and-tested methods for kicking off a meeting and getting people warmed up in just a few minutes.

For best results, start by asking the question of the group, give them 30-60 seconds to think and then either ask for a volunteer or answer yourself to help the group get more comfortable.

For some groups, it can also be effective to break into pairs or small groups after asking your icebreaker question. This can put people at ease and give everyone chance to speak and be heard too.

1. Which of your mentors had the biggest effect on you growing up and why?
2. If you had $1000 to spend on an office party, what would you do? 
3. What’s a topic you could give a TED talk on without preparation?
4. What was your first job and what did you learn from it?
5. What’s been taking up the most space in your brain recently? 
6. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
7. What book are you reading right now? What TV show are you watching right now
8. What one word would you use to describe your mood today?
9. What are you most looking forward to? 
10. What band or artist will you always get you singing or dancing? 

See our collection of over 200 icebreaker questions for more easy to implement icebreakers ranging from funny to thought-provoking.

Icebreakers for meetings

Using an icebreaker at the start of a team meeting is a great way to encourage group members to be present and get things started on the right foot. Effective opening activities energize the group, helping them ‘arrive’ mentally and leave behind whatever task or thought they were previously working on.

They can also help clarify the objectives of the meeting and position the group for what’s coming next. While many of the icebreakers in this collection work well for any gathering, we’ve found these ones especially effective for meetings.

• What are you bringing to the meeting?
• Rock Paper Scissors Tournament
• Weather Check-in
• Have you ever? (Stand up if)
• 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
• Conversation Questions
• Diversity Welcome
• Celebrate the wins in your team

What are you bringing to the meeting?

What are you bringing to the meeting is a simple framing icebreaker that can work wonders to help participants mentally arrive in a session and share how they’re feeling at the outset.

In this mindful icebreaker, ask people to take a few moments to “check-in” with themselves and write down their worries, energy levels, and whatever else is on their mind on a piece of paper. After everyone is done, ask them to put these worries and feelings to one side for the duration of the meeting. This process will help everyone articulate their feelings, let go of their worries and have better focus in the session.

Rock Paper Scissors Tournament

Rock Paper Scissors Tournament is fun a warm-up to help even the largest groups get swiftly energized. This game uses traditional Rock Paper Scissors rules but with a twist: the people who lose become fans who cheer for the players still in the game.

Start a Rock Paper Scissors Tournament by asking everyone in the room to get into pairs and play a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors. (Go best of 3 quick if you’re working with a small group or have extra time.) The loser will became a fan of the winner and cheer them on as you match winners to continue playing. Keep going until you have only two players remaining for a final round with everyone else cheering on!

Weather Check-in

When time is short, Weather Check-in is a fast and fun way of understanding group sentiment and giving space for everyone to share how they’re feeling.

Start the Weather Check-in icebreaker by asking each member of the group to share how they are feeling & what’s going on for them right now in the language of weather. For example, “I’m feeling like it’s mostly sunny skies with rain clouds looming” or “I feel like I’m in the eye of a tornado!”

I’ve found the Weather Check-in game especially useful when working with remote teams, for whom a metaphor can feel like a safe way to share in a group setting.

​Have you ever? (Stand up if)

Have you ever? (also known as Stand up if) is an effective icebreaker to help the group start to see connections and share something about themselves in a low-pressure way.

Start by asking a “Have you ever…?” question to the group. For example, “Have you ever gone horse riding?” or “Have you ever facilitated a workshop?” Participants will stand up if they can answer yes to the statement. You can then choose to either ask another prepared question as facilitator or invite one of those people who answered yes to come up with another question.

We recommend encouraging movement where possible, even in an online setting, though note that with some groups and environment you may wish them to answer without standing. A simple wave or affirmative “Whoop!” can also work depending on your team!

5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique is a mindful icebreaker that can allow groups to be more present in the session and leave stress behind.

To practice this technique, the facilitator starts by explaining the process of doing a roll call of everything that you’re seeing, touching, smelling, and hearing right at this moment. By asking participants to engage all their senses and take a breath, you can help bring them back to the present moment and rule over anxiety and stress.

Using the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique as an icebreaker presents an opportunity to center, but also to discuss well being and stress with your team in a simple and effective manner.

Conversation Questions

This collection of 25 conversation questions is a great starting point for helping a group get to know each other or open a meeting dynamically.

Small groups might wish to mingle and ask these conversation questions one on one, while you might invite larger groups to answer questions by raising their hand to answer. The great thing about these questions is that you can tailor them to your group and use as many as you have time for. Even adding a single question for folks to answer in chat at the start of a virtual meeting can have a profound effect on team cohesion over time.

See more in these full blog post of over 200 icebreaker questions.

Diversity Welcome

The Diversity Welcome icebreaker is a great way to create and kick off a session while promoting diversity and creating an inclusive environment for your participants. Start by naming a possible trait of someone who may be present and saying they are welcome. For example, “If you love dogs, you are welcome here! If you prefer cats, you are welcome here!”

Slowly move into deeper territory by naming traits and concepts that resonate with your audience. With established groups, invite participants to share their own welcome, focusing on helping everyone in the room feel safe and welcome.

Celebrate the wins in your team

Celebrate the wins in your team is a fast, easy icebreaker that will have everyone feeling good at the start of a meeting. Start by asking participants to think of a recent achievement, personal or professional, big or small. Then, go around a circle and ask each person to highlight the achievement that they’d like to celebrate with the team.

Ask everyone to share in the celebration, either with applause, kudos or chat emojis and then move onto the next person in the group. Celebrating wins as a team is a great mood boosting icebreaker. By lifting each other up, the energy in the room tends to build and people in the group tend to feel seen and values as a result.

5-minute icebreakers

When you have a tightly packed agenda, it’s useful to have some quick icebreakers you can use to warm up the group in a pinch. These activities are simple to explain, fast to run, and work great in large or small groups. They also can double as after-lunch energizers to encourage team members to engage in what’s next!

Here are some of our favorite games you can use to break the ice in a group in ten minutes or less! Prefer something that requires even less set-up? Check out our collection of icebreaker questions for a set of effective conversation starters.

• One Word at a Time
• Count Up
• Apple, Orange and Banana!
• Stress Balls
• Object Meditation
• Name Game
• Rain Icebreaker
• Line Up

One Word at a Time

One Word at a Time (or the One Word Method) is one of my favorite icebreakers – it’s simple, effective and can easily be tailored to any group. In this activity, groups must work together to create a sentence by contributing one word each while going round the circle. Start by giving a general topic or a guiding word to continue the sentence in a way that makes sense and is likely to result in a complete sentence.

For example, if you are running a training session on how to manage time, you might begin with the word “time” or “clocks.” The sentence that emerges will respond to that prompt and will help the group begin to turn their minds to the session at hand.

I’ve found this to be a fun and energizing icebreaker that works well with students and coworkers alike. Try speeding up or challenging the group to tell a story for added fun!

Count Up

Count Up is a deceptively simple yet engaging icebreaker that challenges teams to count sequentially from 1 to a set number—but with a catch. Participants must say the numbers one at a time, in random order, without speaking over each other or establishing a pattern. If two people speak at the same time, the group starts over.

This activity requires patience, awareness, and teamwork, making it a great way to build focus and connection in a fun, low-pressure way. It’s perfect for energizing a group while subtly reinforcing the importance of active listening and collaboration.

Apple, Orange and Banana!

Apple, Orange and Bannana is a great game that encourages the group to get synchronized and fully arrive in a space. It’s a favourite icebreaker to use when kicking off an after-lunch meeting where participants need a jolt of physical energy.

Start the Apple, Orange and Banana icebreaker by asking your group to stand in a circle with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front. Explain that when you shout either apple, orange or banana they must perform the associated action: moving forward, backward or spinning around. When the group is comfortable, mix it up by saying two or even three words in sequence!

Stress Balls

Stress Balls is a fast-paced icebreaker that helps highlight the importance of communication and teamwork while also encouraging lots of fun.

Begin this icebreaker by simply asking participants to stand in a circle and pass a ball to their left. Debrief and ask how the task went before asking participants to try again while moving the ball faster. Introduce further complexity until the game becomes a mess! While the result of Stress Balls is chaotic fun, it also offers a very teachable lesson about how teams can communicate in order to achieve great results.

Object Meditation

Object Meditation is a calming and mindful way to open a meeting and encourage everyone to be present.

First, have everyone choose an object that is close to them and invite them to close their eyes. Next, ask the group to notice how they feel and to consider any feelings that aren’t serving them right now. Invite them to transfer these feelings into the object they are holding for the duration of the meeting and then come back to the room.

Combined with a quick debrief, Object Meditation is a great way to gently break the ice with your group. Check out the full method below for a script you can follow too!

Name Game

Name Game is an effective icebreaker to use at the start of a course, workshop or meeting where people don’t know each other’s names.

Start the Name Game by having the group sit in a circle where they can see everyone else clearly. Pick someone at random to say their name out loud.. The next person continues, but after saying their own name, they repeat the first person’s name. This continues with each person repeating one more name. Reassure people towards the end that it’s ok if they get stuck & encourage the others to jump in to help if anyone is lost.

Rain icebreaker

The Rain icebreaker is a simple, zero-prep way to help everyone to be present and engaged at the start of your meeting. By getting everyone in the room participating in the same goal, this icebreaker can quickly help everyone “arrive” in the session.

Start the Rain icebreaker by having everyone in the front of the room rub their hands together vigorously. Row by row, get more people to join in until you reach the back of the room. Next, have the first row switch to clicking their fingers and proceed through the room in the same way. Go back and forth between clicking and rubbing in order to replicate the sound of rain and then invite the group to stop and enjoy a break in the shower.

Line Up

Line-Up is a quick icebreaker game where players have to form an orderly line without any discussion or verbal cues. Start by asking people to form a line based upon a predetermined criteria (like height, length of company tenure or color of each person’s eyes etc.). and ask the group to get themselves in order without speaking.

With a more familiar group, try adding more complication to the Line Up activity to encourage your team to think more deeply. For example, line up according to the distance to where you born. The Line Up icebreaker is an effective way to develop team collaboration and non-verbal communication. I especially enjoy using it when kicking of a training session with lots of talking later!

Fun icebreakers

The best icebreakers have the power to strengthen coworker bonds, stimulate better brainstorming sessions, and create an atmosphere of inclusivity.

Fun icebreakers like those listed below can also serve as a welcomed break from regular work activities that leaves teams feeling more connected and at ease.

For more fun and engaging ways to spend time together as a team, check out our post on workshop ideas you can run with your team.

• Portrait Gallery
• Celebrity Party
• Minefield
• Crazy Handshake
• The Movie Pitch Icebreaker
• Bang
• Sound Ball

Portrait Gallery

Portrait Gallery is a fun, creative icebreaker activity where each member of the group must create a quick portrait of another member.

Start by splitting the group into team A and team B, with each team facing the other. Let the group know that team A will be subjects while team B will be artists. Hand team B some drawing materials and then give them 15 seconds to begin drawing a portrait of the person in front of them. After 15 seconds, shout “rotate” and have each person on team B move one space to the left. The new artist then continues drawing the portrait of the new person in front of them.

The outcome of Portrait Gallery is a wonderfully varied (and probably quite mess!y) set of images that can be put up in the meeting room once you’re done!

​What is my name (celebrity party)

What is my name is a well known icebreaker that begins wit everyone receiving the name of a well-known celebrity or public figure which they must attach to their back or forehead without looking.

Have players mingle and ask each other yes/no questions to find out who they are. For best results, have players ask only one question of one person before moving onto the next one, ensuring people mix and spread the good fun around!

Minefield

The Minefield icebreaker is a fun physical game that can help build trust and more effective group communication. Start Minefield by setting up harmless obstacles on the floor of the meeting room you’re in. Use things like squeaky toys, bubble wrap, books, cushions and other soft objects you don’t mind getting stepped. Everyone in the group then takes turns to move through the course while blindfolded, guided by their teammates.

Minefield often results in lots of laughter but also lots of teachable moments in relation to clear communication and listening skills. Once the last person has made it through the minefield follow with a debrief and ask the group to consider what they’ve learned from the game.

Crazy Handshake

The Crazy Handshake icebreaker is a lighthearted and memorable game where pairs must create a new, fun handshake before teaching that handshake to other people.

Start by having pairs introduce themselves and creating a handshake. After a minute or so, split the pair up and have them partner with someone else. The newly formed pair then teaches each other the original handshakes and together creates a new one. Repeat a third time and ask the group to share each of their previous handshakes before creating a final handshake and bringing everyone back together. Close by asking volunteers to share all the handshakes they’ve learned and to reflect on the process.

The Movie Pitch Icebreaker

The Movie Pitch Icebreaker is a fun, fast-paced activity where small groups create and pitch an original movie idea based on a random or chosen theme. Teams come up with a title, a brief plot, and even cast imaginary actors, then present their pitch to the group as if selling it to a studio.

The Movie Pitch icebreaker sparks creativity, encourages teamwork, and adds a dose of humor, especially if you ask teams to create a movie based on the topic of the session or even the subject of meetings!

Bang!

Bang is a fast-paced icebreaker where you have to have quick reactions or you’ll be eliminated. Start by having everyone stand in a circle with one person in the middle as the ‘sheriff’. They must surprise other players by pointing to them. These people must quickly crouch and those on either side of them have to quickly ‘draw’ their weapons. If you are too slow, you switch places & become the sheriff.

Bang is a wonderful way to increase group energy before starting a meeting in earnest. If you’re working with an especially large group, note that it’s better to play in parallel before finishing with a final showdown!

Sound Ball

Sound Ball is simple icebreaker activity that energizes participants while also highlighting the power of spontaneity and teamwork. Start by asking your participants to stand in a circle and throw an imaginary ball to each other with increasing pace. When throwing the first ball, the person starting should make a special sound that has to be repeated by the catcher upon receiving the ball.

Once the ball is being thrown around at a fairly brisk pace, you can introduce another imaginary ball and start throwing it. When the group gets proficient at it, you can have three or four balls in play, often going in different directions. The result is often silly, but it has some teachable moments too.

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty is a simple, zero-prep way to kick-off a meeting with smiles and laughter. In this fun icebreaker, separate your group into teams of kittens and puppies. Puppies must try to make the kittens laugh or crack a smile by simply saying, “Hello Kitty” in an amusing manner. Any kittens who smile or laugh join the puppies until their is only one kitten left standing!

Hello Kitty is at its most effective when you encourage the group to be creative and try varied and original ways of making others smile and laugh. Be sure to give kudos to the funniest participants or those who manage to keep a straight face!

Virtual icebreakers

Virtual icebreakers are short games that are especially effective in an online environment such as Zoom. While most of the icebreakers in this collection can be easily adapted to run with a virtual team, the activities below are those we’ve found work especially well in this format. They’re easy to run, teach and scale well too.

For more remote-friendly icebreakers, check out our complete collection of icebreakers for virtual meetings.

• Take a Picture of Your Shoes
• Chat Waterfall
• Emoji Check-In
• Remote Change 3 Things

Take a Picture of Your Shoes

Take a Picture of Your Shoes is a quirky and low-pressure way to spark connection among virtual teammates. Everyone takes a photo of the shoes they’re currently wearing (or not wearing!) and shares it with the group. Once the photos are shared, either by screen share, chat, or uploading to a whiteboard, participants can explain their choice or share a related story.

Take a Picture of Your Shoes invites an opportunity for humor into online meetings while offering a light glimpse into each other’s lives. You’ll be surprised at the kind of stories that can come out, and I particularly like the grounding and humanizing effect this remote icebreaker can have.

Chat Waterfall

Chat Waterfall is a high-energy virtual icebreaker that gets everyone participating at once. The facilitator poses a question like “What’s your favorite snack?” or “What’s one word to describe your week?” and asks everyone to type their answer in the chat but not to hit send yet. After a moment, the group sends their answers all at once, creating a “waterfall” of responses.

It’s a fun and visually engaging way to get everyone involved instantly, especially in larger groups. Chat Waterfall adds a burst of energy to virtual meetings and creates a shared moment of surprise and laughter.

Emoji Check-In

Emoji Check-In is a quick and playful way to start a virtual meeting by encouraging participants to share how they’re feeling—using only emojis. Everyone posts their chosen emoji(s) in the Zoom chat or uses reaction buttons to express their current mood, energy level, or mindset.

This icebreaker creates space for emotional expression without putting anyone on the spot. It’s fast, lighthearted, and adds a bit of fun to check-ins. It’s especially useful for easing into more serious discussions with remote teams.

Remote Change 3 Things

Remote Change 3 Things is a playful and engaging virtual icebreaker that tests how observant your teammates really are. One participant turns off their camera and secretly changes three small things about their appearance or background: think switching glasses, removing a hat, or moving a plant. When they return on camera, the rest of the group guesses what’s different.

This activity sparks laughter and encourages attention to detail while breaking up the routine of virtual meetings. It’s especially effective as a warm-up for creative sessions or as a quick way to reconnect and re-energize a remote team.

Icebreakers to get to know each other

Whenever you bring a group of people together for a meeting, project, or event, it’s helpful to get to know each other at the outset. This can help establish trust and set the stage for further connection and collaborative work.

They can also help the facilitator or leader of the session to get familiar with everyone, get a read on the energy in the room and discover what may need to be adjusted in their workshop agenda.

• Two truths and One Lie
• Diversity Bingo
• Unique and Shared
• Jenga Questions
• Quotes
• Speed Dating Icebreaker
• Break the ice with the help of your key
• Whose Story is it?
• Find Your Pair
• Show and Tell

​Two Truths and One Lie

Two Truths and One Lie is a classic icebreaker game that can still be effective in the hands of a skilled facilitator.

The best way to start is with a demonstration from the person leading the session. The facilitator will share three statements about themselves: two of which are true, and one which is a lie. Next, participants try to guess which is the lie by asking questions and then finally voting on which statement is false.

After the demo, we recommend breaking people into small groups of 3-4 people to play this icebreaker. This allows everyone to have a voice and to actually form connections, rather than simply shouting over one another or falling into a passive role.

Diversity Bingo

Diversity Bingo is a great icebreaker that helps participants to learn about one another and share what differentiates them as people along the way.

First, create a 3×3 bingo card containing a grid of squares with a statement or question in each square. Example statements include: speaks more than one language, has lived in multiple countries or has ran a marathon. Once every player has received a bingo card, they mingle and find other participants who can say yes to one of these statements.

For best results, include statements that likely to resonate with your team or the workshop topic alongside personal statements. When everyone has reached bingo or you’re almost out of time, ask everyone to can share something they’ve learned and which squares were easy or hard to fill.

Unique and Shared

Unique and Shared is a powerful icebreaker to use with breakout groups, especially at the start of a longer project or training program. Start by creating groups of 4-5 people, and ask them to discover what they have in common, along with interesting characteristics that are unique to each person in the group.

The Unique and Shared icebreaker promotes unity as it helps people to realize that they have more common ground with their peers than expected and celebrate those things as a group. It also creates space for folks to share unique qualities in a safe container. This activity also works great with remote teams in breakout rooms – in such cases, have each group report back to help bring the whole team back into coherence.

​Jenga questions

Jenga Questions is a fresh spin on a classic game that can help spark meaningful conversations and encourage a little friendly competition. Start by collecting a set of numbered questions and adding a number or sticker to the blocks in a Jenga set.

When a participant selects a block, they read the question out loud & answer before placing the piece on the top of the tower. This can ignite exciting conversations about like favorite downtime activities or go-to-karaoke song to more in-depth stuff, like career and self-development goals.

Traditional games with a unique spin can often generate curiosity and engagement in a groups setting. Jenga Questions can also be adapted to training and team building environments with ease, so its useful to have a set in your toolkit.

Quotes

Quotes is a fast-paced icebreaker activity allows participants to get acquainted with while exploring something inspiring.

Prepare a set of inspirational quotes prior to the session equal to the number of participants on individual slips of paper. Put the pile in the center of the room. Each participant picks up one quote, then picks a partner and begins to discuss what the quote says to them, if it is meaningful, and how.

After just minute or so, give a signal for participants to switch partner and continue their discussions. This can continue for 4-5 rounds for around 15 minutes. Choose quotes that relate to your meeting topic or company culture for an icebreaker that sets the stage for the session ahead.

Speed Dating Icebreaker

The goal of the Speed Dating icebreaker is to have a succession of very rapid conversations in an extremely short amount of time with as many people as possible.

Have people sit in pairs, ideally with colleagues that they don’t directly work with on a day-to-day basis. Determine the time limit (say 3 minutes for each conversation) and set a timer. When it starts, each pair has to start speed networking & find out as much professional information about the other as possible.

While it’s natural for group members to want to spend time with people they know, encouraging your team to mix is an important step to improving team cohesion.

Break the ice with the help of your key

Break the ice with the help of your key is an icebreaker that aims to create memorable moments and group connection with the aid of a physical object.

Start by explaining to the group that they will get to know each other through their keys. One by one, each person will present all the keys they have on their keychain and tell a few sentences about the area the key represents. This might include the city or neighbourhood they live in, the activity it represents (bike or locker key) or the person they received it from.

Be sure to start the circle yourself so the participants get the feeling of how it should be done. Bonus points if you can demonstrate openness and vulnerability for your group to follow!

Whose story is it?

Start the Whose Story is it icebreaker game by writing your funniest or weirdest story on a small piece of paper. It has to be a true one, no fiction! Then fold the paper up and drop it into a bowl or other container.

The facilitator or the person leading the program randomly reads every story and group members guess who the writer is. This is a great way to get to know each other and find out new things, even if you’ve worked together for a long time.

​Find your pair

Prepare word pairs, like salt and pepper, milk and honey, sail and wind, etc on separate pieces of paper. Tape one to each person’s back. People then have to walk around and ask closed questions (with a yes or no answer) to find out what their phrase is. Once they find out, they have to find their pair & by continuing to ask questions (these can be open or closed) they have to learn 3 new things about the other.

​Show and Tell

Show and Tell is a wonderful opportunity for teams to share personal objects with the group and use the power of metaphors to connect deeply with others. Start by asking employees to bring an artifact for Show and Tell that, from their perspective, is representative of the topic at hand or which represents what they bring to the group. 

During the session, ask each person to present their object in turn and explain why they chose it and what it means to them. Ask the rest of the team to pay close attention and listen for similarities, dif­ferences, and emotional descriptions. After everyone has shared, invite the group to reflect on what everyone has shared and celebrate to close the Show and Tell effectively.

Team icebreakers for deeper connections

Icebreaker games are not only useful at the beginning of meetings or getting to know new people. They are also a great way to support team building, by creating a positive atmosphere, helping people relax and break down barriers.

Team icebreakers such as those below are great for enhancing team bonding and empowering everyone in the group to move forward together. They can be particularly effective at a team retreat or dedicated group gathering. Let’s take a look!

See more in this post on the best team building activities.

• Coat of Arms
• Break the Ice with The Four Quadrants Activity
• Team Jigsaw Puzzle Game
• Back to Back Drawing
• Scavenger Hunt
• Electric Fence Icebreaker
• Trading Card Icebreaker
• Low Tech Social Networking

Coat of Arms

This Coat of Arms icebreaker is a great way for players to introduce themselves to others and share deeply with others in a visual and creative way.

Start by letting participants know they’ll be creating a personal coat of arms with five sections ranging from what you do at work, all the way through to a core personal value. The group then spends 10 minutes drawing their coat of arms before pairing up with the person in the group they know the least. In pairs, participants then present the coat of arms of the other person, helping everyone in the room learn about each other more deeply.

This is a longer, more involved icebreaker, but it’s a great way to open a training program or deeper team building session.

Break the Ice with The Four Quadrants Activity

The Four Quadrants Activity is a creative team icebreaker where participants share four things about themselves in a series of simple drawings. It’s a highly adaptable exercise that can help folks get to know each other as a team.

Begin by asking people draw up a 2×2 grid on a piece of paper (or virtual whiteboard) and ask them four questions. Participants will then draw their answer in each of those four quadrants. Sample questions include things like: what do I bring to the group? What do I need from the group? What is your hobby? What is your vision for this group?

Afterwards, ask participants to present their drawings and discuss their creations and watch the group connections flow!

Team Jigsaw Puzzle Game

The Team Jigsaw Puzzle is a great way to get larger teams working together collaboratively while breaking the ice. Start by separating people into teams. Give each a very different jigsaw puzzle (with equal difficulty & number of pieces). Each group has the same amount of time to complete the puzzle.

The secret twist is to switch up a few pieces with the other jigsaw sets beforehand! things up. This means that each group must figure out how to ask other teams to share the pieces they need and work collaboratively on their goals. When working with groups of people who may typically work in silos, the Team Jigsaw Puzzle is an effective way to shake things up and start conversations that might not happen otherwise.

Back to Back Drawing

Back to Back Drawing is a great game for developing communication skills in a fun and memorable way.

Start by asking pairs to sit back to back. One person receives a picture of an existing image or scene. Next, they describe the image to the other person using only verbal directions. The other person then has to draw the object with the instructions they’ve been given and see how it compares to the original.

Back to Back Drawing can be easily adapted to encourage fun – using complex or well-known images – or you can also choose to focus on a specific topic by sharing images related to your team or product.

Scavenger Hunt

The Scavenger Hunt icebreaker is a great opportunity to mix people into teams who don’t typically work together and bring them together in a shared goal.

Start by creating a list of items that need to be gathered and then split your group into small teams to try and find them all to kick off your scavenger hunt. For best results, create a mix of easy and difficult to find items and use a time limit to encourage the group to think critically and collaboratively

Working with a remote or hybrid team? Try the virtual scavenger hunt below! Be sure to put in items that require a wide range of skills and thinking and diverse personalities to be completed successfully.

Electric Fence Icebreaker

The Electric Fence icebreaker is an energizing icebreaker that requires players to collectively build and cross an imaginary electric fence with a few key objects. The group has to try and cross over the fence without getting “electrocuted” but here’s the catch – all team members must be touching at least one another teammate at all times.

You can use a variety of objects to represent your fence, though you’ll always need to have a string or rope that can be tied between two “fence posts”: chairs are a great choice for your fence posts! Try bringing the Electric Fence icebreaker activity to team building events where you want to encourage quick thinking, problem-solving and negotiation skills.

​Trading Card Icebreaker

The Trading Card Icebreaker is an effective way to creatively break the ice and let your team share their personalities with the group.

Start by handing out materials and giving each person 5–10 minutes to create a personal “trading card”— including a quick self-portrait, a nickname for their “player,” and one thing about themselves that people in the room aren’t likely to know.

The Trading Card activity lets people self-define and share their personality outside of their day-to-day work. This approach means people get to connect more meaningfully and authentically while also creating cards that serve as mementos of the session.

Low Tech Social Networking

Low-tech Social Network is one of our favourite icebreakers to use when working with large, multi-discipline groups where connections might not be immediately obvious.

The objective of Low-tech Social Network is to introduce event participants to each other by co-creating a large visual network of their connections. Begin by having all participants create an avatar on a piece of card with a self portrait and name.

Once their avatar is ready, each person will “upload” themselves by sticking their card to the wall. Finally, each participants will find the people they know and draw lines to make the connections known, labelling how they know that person too.

Icebreakers for small groups

While many of the icebreakers above can be adapted for any group size, these activities are especially effective when working with groups of less than 15 people.

These icebreakers are great for using the smaller group size to create opportunities for team bonding and deeper sharing between team members. You’ll find them particularly useful when creating working groups, during training sessions or when building cohesion between teams who collaborate regularly.

• Interview icebreaker
• Magic Box
• Paper Telephone
• Human knot
• Your Amazing Future (Because of that…)
• Life map
• LEGO Metaphors

Interview icebreaker

The Interview Icebreaker is a playful way to get team members talking at the start of a session while also introducing the topic of the workshop or meeting.

Start by getting people into pairs. One person begins by being a reporter and then other will be the interviewee. For three minutes, the reporter will interview the other person on a chosen subject and attempt to get as much information as they can before switching roles. Encourage the group to really get into their roles and provide some example questions to guide the group toward the topic of the day.

Magic Box

The Magic Box icebreaker encourages players to think creatively and share with the group in response to an object they pull from a box.

Start Magic Box by assembling a box of interesting and varied objects. Having objects of different sizes and texts is best, though even a collection of photos will do. Next, invite participants to choose an object without overthinking it and then explain who they are, why they chose the object and what they think the connection between the object and the workshop is.

Paper Telephone

Paper Telephone is a fun icebreaker that encourages creativity and laughter by combining two classic games: telephone and pictionary. Start by handing out a stack of small papers and pens, and invite each team member to write a sentence on the first piece of paper. Players then pass their stack to the next person who must read the sentence and then create a visual representation of that sentence on the next piece of paper in the stack.

Play proceeds around the circle, with players needing to transform back and forth between words and images. Often, by the time you get your original stack back, the sentence has gone on a weird and wonderful transformation!

Human Knot

Human Knot is a fun, physical icebreaker that is best played in groups of 7-16 people. It’s a great way to break the ice while also creating energy and a sense of fun.

Start Human Knot getting the group to stand in a circle and ask them to close their eyes. Next, everyone reaches out and links one hand with someone across the circle. Then they link the other hand with another person in the circle. Then, ask everyone to open their eyes and try to untangle the knot they’ve made without breaking the chain!

When running Human Knot with small groups, it can often be interesting to ask folks to reflect on what happened and how it illustrates core group dynamics or how they work together more generally.

Your Amazing Future (Because of that…)

Your Amazing Future is a powerful icebreaker for helping people think about setting goals, connect to the future and get energized.

Start by pairing up members of your group and designating one as the speaker and the other as the listener. Next, each person imagines it’s one week from now and the speaker tells the listener what happened during the current session, saying what they got from it and what made it so great.

After 45 seconds, groups then imagine its 10 years in the future and the speaker shares what they’ve done in that time. Have the listener respond by enthusiastically saying “And because of that” in response to what the speaker says. After a completed round, swap roles and go again so that everyone has the chance to think about future.

Life Map

Life Map is a reflective icebreaker that helps create connections and deepen group understanding in a way that can be both creative and surprising. Begin by inviting team members to draw their life as a map, using common symbols and signs you might find on a map. Stop signs, deer crossings, mountainous areas…the choice of how to illustrate your life story is yours!

After everyone has completed their life map, give them 5-minutes to share with the rest of the group. Using Life Map as a small group icebreaker allows people to be vulnerable in a safe, approachable and creative way.

LEGO Metaphors

LEGO Metaphors is a playful icebreaker that can provide an opportunity for creative thinking and deep sharing in a group. Start by giving each participant a set of LEGO bricks (identical sets to everyone – a few items, around 5-10 bricks per person will suffice). Everyone builds something that relates to the topic of the meeting or to a framing question such as “How would you like to work together today?”

Afterwards, everyone gets 30 seconds to explain what their LEGO metaphor means and how it relates to the framing question. Where possible, encourage folks to tell small stories with their designs and collect the LEGO metaphors together for later discussion or reflection.

Icebreakers for large groups

Breaking the ice in a big group can feel a little awkward at first, but the right activities can turn a room full of strangers into a lively, connected team in no time. Large group icebreakers are a great way to get people talking, boost participation, and create a positive, energetic vibe for your meeting, workshop, or event.

These activities are designed to be inclusive, fast-paced, and interactive—ensuring that everyone feels involved and ready to collaborate. Whether you’re kicking off a corporate gathering or a team retreat, these icebreakers will help build rapport and bring energy to the room.

• Group Map
• Get to know you better
• Passions Tic Tac Toe
• Lifeboat Debate
• Near and Far
• Just the Facts

Group Map

Group Map is fun, active icebreaker that gets people moving while also learning a little about one another. It’s especially effective when working with new groups who come from different regions or locations.

Start by asking the group to imagine the space they’re in as a map of the world. Next, participants place themselves on the map on the spot they best feels represents the country according to where they grew up.

With large groups, you might ask folks to simply shout where they’re from and rearrange as needed. In smaller groups or with more time, it can be gratifying for folks to share a value they learned while in that place, and why that is important for them.

Get to know you better

Get to know you better is an effective large group icebreaker that helps avoid awkward silences and encourages networking in a genuinely helpful way.

At the beginning of your session, give each person a badge with the following three statements:

1. My name is..
2. I can answer a question about…
3. I have a question about…

Next, have people walk around & mingle while discussing what’s on their badges. It’s a great way to enhance engagement & help people set goals and hold themselves accountable during the session.

Passions Tic Tac Toe

The goal of the Passions Tic Tac Toe icebreaker is to help the participants to get to know each other at the beginning of an event or to help identify their values during the later part of a training session.

Create a 3 x 3 grid for each participant and have them fill in each block with a different personal passion randomly. After the individual work, have everyone walk around the room and compare notes. When they find the same passion listed in both grids, ask them to sign for each other in the appropriate square. The winner is the participant who manages to have other people’s signatures on three lines (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal). You can continue the game to have as many winners as you like.

Lifeboat Debate

Lifeboat Debate is a high-energy icebreaker that challenges participants to think critically, communicate persuasively, and make collective decisions under pressure.

Start by breaking participants into smaller groups and then give them the scenario: a lifeboat is sinking, and only a limited number of people can stay on board. Each participant takes on the role of a different character—such as a doctor, artist, scientist, or athlete—and must argue why they should be saved. The group then debates and decides who stays and who must leave the lifeboat.

Lifeboat Debate often sparks lively discussions while encouraging teamwork, quick thinking, and strategic reasoning. It’s a great way to get a large group engaged right away, prompting both fun and meaningful conversations.

Near and Far

Near and Far is a simple yet meaningful icebreaker that helps teams discover shared experiences and unique backgrounds. Participants take turns sharing something they have in common with the group (“Near”) and something that makes them different (“Far”). For example, one person might say, “Near: I love coffee. Far: I’ve lived in five different countries.”

This activity encourages open conversation, strengthens connections, and highlights the diversity within a team. It’s a great way to break down barriers in large groups while fostering curiosity and mutual understanding.

Just the facts

Just the facts is an engaging icebreaker that encourages participants to quickly recall and share factual information on a specific topic. Begin by selecting a relevant subject—such as “Effective Presentation Techniques” for a training session or trivia about your city for a casual gathering. Seated in a circle, participants take turns stating a fact related to the chosen topic, aiming to keep the flow rapid and avoid repetitions.

If someone introduces an opinion, repeats a fact, or states something questionable, others can challenge by saying, “Just the facts!”

Just the facts not only energizes the group but also reinforces knowledge on the subject matter, sharpens quick-thinking abilities, and sets a collaborative tone for the session ahead.

Icebreaker games to improve teamwork

In this section, we’ve collected icebreaker activities that are expressly collaborative in nature and which encourage puzzle solving and team work in an experiential way. They’re great to throw into an event or workshop when you want to get people interacting and build team bonds by stealth.

If you’re looking for some shorter activities that help improve teamwork and collaboration, check out our post on 5-minute team building activities.

• Marshmallow Challenge with Debriefing
• Egg Drop
• Helium Stick
• Blind Square Rope Game
• The Desert Island
• Strength Building Exercise
• Ultimate Tic Tac Toe

The Marshmallow Challenge

The Marshmallow Challenge, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. To complete the marshmallow challenge, the marshmallow needs to remain on top without falling off!

The Marshmallow Challenge was first developed by Tom Wujec and had been run thousands of times all over the world. It’s an engaging group activity that gets people working together in a practical and memorable way very quickly.

Egg drop

In Egg drop, teams must work together to build a structure that will support a free-falling egg dropped from a predetermined height (e.g. 7 feet) without the egg breaking.

Start by handing out material, including everything from straws and popsicle sticks to masking tape and cotton balls. Next, give each group 10 minutes to build a structure that will keep the egg safe before it’s fall. Have a round of (safely) dropping the eggs and invite the team to discuss their takeaways from working together on this short group project.

Helium Stick

Helium Stick is a seemingly simple game that requires the team to work together while aiming to lower a stick to the ground while staying synchronized.

First, line up people in two rows facing each other. Introduce the Helium Stick and ask participants to hold their index fingers out. Lay the stick on their fingers & before letting go, have everyone adjust their position so the stick is horizontal and everyone is touching it. The goal is to lower the stick to the ground in a way that no one lets go of it at any time.

Pinching, grabbing, or holding on properly to the Stick is not allowed. If the group makes a mistake, they start from the beginning. Helium Stick is a fun problem solving icebreaker that we’d recommend for any team building workshop!

Blind square – The perfect square

The Blind Square Rope Game is a hands-on activity that challenges teams to rely on strong communication and collaboration. Participants are tasked with forming a perfect square using a looped rope—while blindfolded or with their eyes closed. Since no one can see the shape, the team must depend on verbal instructions, active listening, and strategic coordination to succeed.

This exercise highlights the importance of clear communication, trust, and leadership within a team. It’s especially effective for breaking down communication barriers and encouraging participants to work together under challenging conditions.

Desert Island

The Desert Island activity is a classic team-building exercise that puts problem-solving and negotiation skills to the test. Participants imagine they’re stranded on a desert island and must choose a limited number of items (from a provided list) to survive. The twist? They have to make these decisions as a group, which requires discussion, persuasion, and compromise.

Desert Island can often spark lively debates as team members prioritize needs, defend their choices, and learn to find common ground. It’s a fun way to explore different perspectives, practice critical thinking, and improve group decision-making under pressure.

Strength-Building Exercise

The Strength-Building Exercise is a powerful icebreaker that encourages team members to recognize and celebrate each other’s strengths. Participants take turns sharing positive qualities or skills they’ve observed in their colleagues, highlighting specific examples to make the feedback meaningful.

This activity fosters a culture of appreciation, boosts team morale, and helps individuals feel valued for their contributions. It’s a simple yet powerful way to strengthen team dynamics and build confidence.

Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe

Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe takes the classic game to a whole new level with added complexity and strategy. Instead of one grid, there’s a larger 3×3 grid made up of nine smaller tic-tac-toe boards. Players must win individual boards to claim spots on the larger grid, with each move influencing where the next player can go.

This activity requires strategic planning, adaptability, and teamwork when played in groups. It’s perfect for energizing a team, sharpening problem-solving skills, and encouraging friendly competition.

Tips for running effective icebreakers

So you’ve selected an icebreaker game from the list above or checked out our list of icebreaker questions. How do you avoid frustrating or patronizing participants and ensure it feels like a good use of time? Here are some tips for running and selecting the right icebreaker.

• Let people know why you’re running the icebreaker
• Have the current player select the next
• Clearly explain the rules and timeframe
• Set an example and go first
• Choose an appropriate icebreaker for your session length and goal

Let people know why you’re running the icebreaker

Adult learners work best when they know why they’re doing something, especially if it’s not implicitly clear. Even a simple statement such as “Let’s do a quick ice reaker to leave behind this morning’s work and reset before focusing on the topic of this meeting” can help your group buy-in to the session.

This is even easier if you’re running an icebreaker that connects explicitly to the topic of the session, for example, if you’re asking people to share what they know about giving feedback, you can state that this will help you ensure the feedback training is tailored to your groups needs.

Have the current player select the next

This is a simple facilitation tip that I’ve found effective when ensuring icebreakers are quick and effective. In many icebreakers, its quite common for people to each contribute to a game or question one-by-one.

Rather than having people look to you as facilitator and create unnecessary downtime, trying having each person end their “turn” by selecting who goes next. This helps keeps things moving and actively gets people talking to each other too! This tip is especially effective when running a virtual meeting where keep things moving can help ensure the meeting stays on track.

Clearly explain the rules and timeframe

Clearly setting expectations for the icebreaker can help ensure it runs smoothly. Tell the group what you are going to do and give them a sense of how long it should take so that folks can tailor their responses accordingly.

Ensuring everyone understands the rules at the outset can also ensure that the icebreakers runs without interruption and that folks can focus on the activity at hand, rather than worrying about whether you’ll get to important agenda items.

Set an example and go first

Giving people a practical example of how to respond to an icebreaker can help everyone feel at ease and ensure group understanding. As a leader, demonstrating vulnerability and openness can also encourage others to do the same, leading to a more positive and fun atmosphere. As facilitator, try going first or giving an appropriate example to help kick things off effectively.

Choose an appropriate icebreaker for your session length and goal

If your meeting is just an hour long, spending half of it in on an icebreaker is not an effective use of time. Use short icebreakers in such settings and opt for longer ones when running longer workshops, all-day events or training programs.

The best icebreakers also tend to relate to the goal of the session. For example, if you’re running an ideation workshop, using icebreakers that encourage creative thinking will help get folks in the right mindset.

From icebreaker to completed agenda

Now you’ve discovered the perfect icebreaker, it’s time to create the rest of your workshop or meeting!

With SessionLab, you drag, drop and reorder blocks to create your agenda in a snap. Your session timing adjusts automatically as you make changes and when you’re done, you can share a beautiful printout with your colleagues and participants.

Explore how facilitators use SessionLab to build effective workshops and meetings or watch this five minute video to get started!

Now over to you!

Your meetings and workshops don’t have to be ineffective or unengaging. We hope you have found some useful tips for practical and fun icebreakers you can use in your next session!

What are your favorite icebreaker activities? Have you tried any of the methods above? How did you find them? Let us know about your experiences in the comments.

Want to see even more great icebreaker ideas? Our collection of icebreaker questions contains heaps of conversation starters you can bring to your next session.

If you’re running online meetings, these effective virtual icebreakers are a great place to find your next opening activity.

Want to go further and explore how to design engaging workshops? Check out our guide to planning an effective workshop to start building more effective sessions with better outcomes!

Robert Cserti Co-founder

Robert took his first facilitation training in 2009, and since then immersed himself in designing and delivering experiential learning experiences, group workshop, and train-the-trainer/facilitator programs. His passion for facilitation led him to co-found SessionLab, the online platform that helps people design and facilitate better workshops.