10 Icebreaker Games for Adults

Icebreaker games for adults can help people communicate, learn more about one another, relax, and enjoy themselves. They are an excellent way to foster a creative and friendly environment that is ideal for learning or collaboration.

Groups of adults can really benefit from icebreakers, particularly if participants are meeting for the first time. Icebreakers can be used in a wide range of environments including classrooms, conferences, parties, and meetings — wherever you want a group of adults to relax and communicate freely.

This article will share 10 of the best icebreaker games for adults and a few reasons why icebreakers are so useful.

The Best Icebreaker Games for Adults

People Bingo

This is one of the most popular icebreaker games for adults because it’s simple to explain and very effective. It is ideal for use in classrooms, seminars, or meetings. It can be used for groups of up to 30 people in size.

If you already know a few things about the participants, create a list of interesting facts about them, like “plays guitar” or “always does the morning crossword”. If you don’t know the participants very well, use more general descriptions that probably apply to multiple people, like “is fanatical about coffee”, “has been on holiday to Europe”.

Now create bingo cards where each number square has one of these descriptions written in it. These sheets are handed to participants who will then talk to each other in an effort to find someone who matches one of the squares. When they do find someone who “is fanatical about coffee”, that person signs their bingo square. The first person to reach 10 signed squares wins.

2-Minute Mixer

This is another common icebreaker game for adults that very effectively introduces people to one another. Have participants find a random partner and form a large circle, with one partner standing closer to the center of the room. Each participant will then spend 2 minutes talking to their partner. They will discover each other’s name and something about their background — where they work, what they like to do, why they are attending the class.

After the 2-minutes has expired, the people on the edge of the circle will rotate clockwise and spend two-minutes talking with the next person. The session can continue until the circle has done a complete rotation. By this point, each participant will have met half of the class.

Expectations

This is a simple and fun icebreaker for adults that encourages them to be creative. Each participant is asked three simple questions:

What is your name?
What do you hope to get out of the class?
What would be the craziest thing that could happen if their expectations of the class are met? Encourage participants to think of a crazy and interesting outcome after completing the class!

For example, a student attending a computer class might say “My name is Ted, I expect to learn how to program computers and understand computer hardware. If I can learn those skills, I will use them to become the next Steve Jobs, marry Charlize Theron, and buy the island of Hawaii”.

Two Truths and a Lie

This icebreaker is usually quite popular with adults and can lead to some funny responses. Each participant in the group says three things about themselves — two truthful things and one lie. The other participants can guess which one is the lie and give a reason why they think so. You can elicit some very funny, creative, and interesting responses from the group!

Guess Who

Each participant in the group writes a very interesting or unusual fact about themselves on a piece of paper. The group facilitator then reads out the responses and the group guesses which person wrote the interesting fact!

All My Neighbors

This is a simple icebreaker that helps people communicate with one another and learn more about each other. The group is seated in a circle with one person in the center. The person in the center says “I like all my neighbors who…” then mentions some characteristic like “wear glasses” or “have brown eyes”.

Everyone in the circle who matches that characteristic will switch spots with someone else. The person in the center will also try to find an empty spot. The participant who doesn’t find a spot will have to ask the next question! It is a simple, fun, and easy icebreaker for adults.

The Toaster Game

This is a useful game for meetings where participants may turn up hungry! It requires the facilitator to bring a toaster and a large assortment of condiments. Insert a piece of bread into the toaster and, while it’s browning, ask everyone in the group to reveal one thing about themselves. The person who is mid-sentence when the toast pops up is challenged to eat a piece. The catch is — the group decides which kinds of condiments they have on their toast! They may decide to have peanut butter, chili flakes, and mayonnaise! Just make sure the participants aren’t allergic to any whacky condiment combinations you think of.

Toilet Paper Game

The very premise of this game will get the group laughing. The group facilitator passes a roll of toilet paper around the room and asks each member to tear off how much they normally use when going to the toilet. After everyone has their toilet paper, ask them to tell the group one interesting fact about themselves for each square of toilet paper they have.

Question Ball

Buy a large beachball and write some icebreaker questions on its surface. Things like “What is your favorite place to go on holiday?” or “What is your perfect Sunday morning?”.

Throw the ball to a random participant in the group and ask them to answer the question that their right-hand index finger falls on. You can elicit responses from the entire group and help them learn more about one another.

Story Game

This is a game where everyone gets to contribute to a story. The group sits in a circle, and one person is chosen to start the story by saying something like, “Once upon a time, there was a dragon.” The next person in the circle adds a piece to the story, and the game continues until the story is over.

This is a great opportunity to dive into the minds of your group and open their creative juices.

Bonus Games

Never have I ever

While not exactly known as an icebreaker game, but more of a party game, you can adapt it to fit different situations. For example, at a corporate meetup, you could start by stating something along the lines of “Never have I ever used Adobe Illustrator”.

If you think your statements through, you can actually learn a lot of stuff about your new coworkers and teammates, and thus learn how to prioritize teamwork tasks in a more efficient manner. You could even write down some statements on the whiteboard to give participants a hint about what they can say in case they run out of ideas.

The One-Word Icebreaker

This is as simple as it gets. Make everyone describe their mood using a single word. You can get creative by saying really cryptic things like “I feel alpaca” or “I feel like Twilight”.

You get the picture. It can be very boring or very cryptic. It depends on the people you’re playing with. It’s definitely more fun when you’re playing with a creative marketing team, that’s for sure.

Online Quiz Icebreaker

Do you know what Google and Salesforce use as their preferred icebreaker game? It’s QuizBreaker. This online trivia-style game gives each user fun questions like “Which dead or alive person would you invite over for dinner?” and much more. Afterward, each user receives answers to these questions in their inbox, and they have to guess which coworker gave that particular answer. It’s a fun way to get to know each other when working remotely.

The Logo Love Icebreaker

Hand everyone in the office some blank tags and tell them to write their name on them and draw a logo. Alternatively, if they’re not good at drawing, they can just write the name of the brand. Once everyone’s done, each person must explain why they chose that logo and how they think it represents them. If you’re good at psychology, you can find out a lot through this simple game.

Why are Icebreakers So Useful for Adults?

Reduce Inhibitions in a Group

Many adults are fairly inhibited and reserved when they meet new people. They often don’t communicate freely with people they are meeting for the first time and require a “getting-to-know-you” period. Icebreaker games for adults can speed up the getting-to-know-you process, encouraging participants to communicate freely with one another.

Make a Group Event Fun!

Many group icebreakers are focused on helping participants relax and feel comfortable within the group. This is usually achieved through the use of fun activities that encourage participants to talk to one another. These “fun” icebreakers can be used by group facilitators to introduce people or to simply give the group a break from a tough activity. Fun icebreakers can also be used to start a meeting or conference with a few laughs.

Energize and Motivate Participants

Using an icebreaker at the start of a meeting is a great way to excite and motivate participants. A fun icebreaker can turn a stale meeting or class into something that participants look forward to. Icebreakers can also be used midway through a meeting or class to energize participants.

Help a Group Learn About Each Other

If you are working with a group of people who have never met each other before, “introductory” ice breakers may be useful. They are activities which encourage participants to learn each others’ names and personal details. Familiarity between participants increases user engagement, and a good icebreaker can help create cohesion within a group.

Improve People’s Ability to Learn

Researchers have discovered that adults learn better when they are mentally, physically, and emotionally stimulated. This is because they become fully engaged in the activity and the people around them. You can use icebreakers in a classroom or seminar environment to really make sure the participants are learning.

Help Facilitator Learn About Group

The facilitator can also gain some useful insight from using icebreakers. In addition to helping you learn the name of participants, you can gain insight into the background, interests, and skills of participants.

Increase Sense of Community

If you are working with a group that is sharing personal details, it helps to foster a sense of community and friendship among participants. Icebreakers can be very useful in fostering a sense of trust and community within the group.

Get Everyone Involved

Icebreaker games for adults can help passive participants contribute more to the group and feel more comfortable about expressing themselves to others.

Foster Creativity

Many icebreaker activities ask people to be imaginative and creative. Once participants are in this mindset, you can harness it during the class, meeting, or seminar that follows.

The Bottom Line

There are many more icebreakers for adults available! They are a great way to start your group activity or to energize participants. You can modify any of the icebreakers above to suit your specific group and the participants involved. Remember to stay flexible and have fun!

10 Icebreaker Games for Adults