Gather your closest companions and newly acquired acquaintances and introduce them to a night of fun and laughter.
I hope this list of ice breaker games for adults will help you make your next meeting or get-together memorable!
Welcome to Relaxed Hostess, where the ideas are written by actual human beings: me and, occasionally, my daughter. I’m so excited to share with you my love for party planning and hospitality in general. Glad to have you here!
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1. Pictionary
Both artists and those who can’t sketch a tree to save themselves will enjoy this entertaining game.
What You Need:
- whiteboard and dry-erase marker OR
- paper and pens
How to Play
Players are given prompts and take turns drawing an image based on the word or phrase. The rest of the players try to guess the word or phrase.
There are a couple of ways to play this game. The first is to work together as a group to guess the word. There’s no scorekeeping or timer, just lots of fun making hilarious guesses.
The second way to play is to split the group into 2 teams. Everyone takes a turn drawing the word prompt. Both teams race to shout the correct answer. The first team to guess right receives the point. The team with the most points wins the game.
You can do common idioms and sayings, verbs, nouns, adjectives, anything and everything that could be sketched out. The harder it is to draw, the funnier the game will be.
2. Don’t Say Yes
This is a game that’s designed to be played throughout the entire evening, so be sure to find another fun game to play at the same time.
What You Need
- clothespins or larger rubber bands (3 per player)
How to Play
Basic gist of the game: don’t say the word “yes” or any word(s) that you decide is taboo.
Give everyone 3 clothespins. Anytime a player is caught using the forbidden word they lose a clothespin.
3. Where Do You Stand
Find out which of your guests prefers vanilla ice cream over chocolate or cats over dogs. This is an easy ice breaker game for new employees that helps everyone to shake of any nervousness.
How to Play
Draw an imaginary line down the middle of the room. Ask your guests a question with Option A on one side of the line and Option B on the other.
People slide to the side they resonate with. It’s super simple; there’s nothing much to it. It’s basically Would You Rather with a little more movement.
Keep going until you run out of where do you stand questions or everyone is ready to move on to another game.
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4. Superlatives
It’s one of those fantastic ice breaker games for adults that can be really fun when your guests don’t know anyone really well.
How to Play
This game works best with a larger group of at least 8 people. Split into teams and race to group yourselves in order based on different categories.
For example:
- shortest to tallest
- oldest to youngest
- birthdays
- shortest to the longest name
Make the game more interesting by adding a “no talking” rule, so everyone must work together to organize themselves without saying a single word.
The first team to assemble themselves in the correct order earns a point. The team with the most points wins the game.
5. Yes, I Have Done That
This is a variation of the “find-the-guest game.”
What You Need
- paper (1 piece of paper per player)
- pencils with working erasers
How to Play
Write down as many questions as there are players and give each player a copy of the list. If you know how many will play beforehand, you could also print out the questions and cross out a question if someone didn’t show up.
The goal is to fill all the blank spaces with unique signatures. Players mingle, asking others to sign their names to one of the questions.
You cannot have the same person sign more than one blank space on your list.
Question Ideas:
- Speak a second language?
- Have you ever been to Europe?
- Do you have two siblings?
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6. Toilet Paper Fun Facts
Here’s a tip: don’t tell the other players how this game works until after they’ve all grabbed some toilet paper.
What You Need
- toilet paper roll
How to Play
Have each person grab a certain amount of toilet paper, but don’t tell them why they’re doing it.
When everyone has their toilet paper, reveal that the goal of the game is for each person to share one fun fact about themselves per piece of toilet paper.
So good luck to those who grabbed 3+ pieces of toilet paper!
7. Rock, Paper, Scissors: Tournament Style
It’s traditional rock, paper, scissors, except you have the players face off in rounds. Have the winner of each pair go toe-to-toe with the winner of the other pairs. Keep whittling down until there’s only one champion.
8. Time Bomb
Help your guests remember each others’ names with this fast-paced memory game.
What You Need
- a ball (could be volleyball size or smaller)
How to Play
Players stand in a circle and pass around the bomb. You have 5 seconds to call out another player’s name and toss the bomb to them before it explodes.
If the bomb explodes, the person holding it is out. If it explodes midair, the player who touched it last is out. Keep going until the last players in the game know the remaining players’ names.
9. Two Truths and a Lie
It’s probably one of the best ice-breaker games out there. It’s definitely more challenging when you play with people you’ve known for a while.
How to Play
Players take turns making 3 statements about themselves. 2 are true, and 1 is a lie. Everyone else must determine which of the 3 statements is the lie.
Each player gets a point for every correct guess they make. Accumulate the most points, and you’ll be the winner.
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10. Don’t Break the Frown
The game’s goal is to maintain your frown while having a staring contest. Players pair off, and the competition begins.
Try to be the undefeatable champion.
11. Jenga™ Ice Breaker Questions
A fun way to ask all those ice breaker questions!
What You Need
- Jenga blocks with questions
How to Play
Play Jenga as usual, except each block has a question on it. When you remove one from the tower, you must answer the question on the block.
If a player knocks over the tower, they must answer 3 questions in a row.
Need some help in coming up with questions?
I’ve compiled a list of 54 Jenga questions for adults to get you started. Choose the ones that suit your group of friends and add your own to complete the set.
12. String a Story
If you hate speaking in a big group, you better hope for a short piece of yarn.
What You Need
- yarn cut into varying lengths
How to Play
Cut varying lengths of yarn and have each person grab one. Each person must talk for as long as it takes him to wrap the string around his index finger.
Some will end up talking longer than others because the strings are different lengths.
13. Ha, Ha, Ha
People who laugh easily will have a tough time with this game.
How to Play
Players sit in a circle. The first player says, “Ha. ” The next player must say, “Ha, ha. ” The third player has to say, “Ha, ha, ha, ” and so on. They have to say it with a solemn face- no smiling or laughing!
Remove any players who laugh or make a sound out of turn. The last player still in the game wins.
14. The Name Game
Test your memory with this fun name game.
How to Play
Players sit in a circle. The first player begins by stating their name and something they like, starting with the same letter as their first name.
For example: “My name is Tuula, and I like tea.” The next player does the same thing and has to say the first player’s name and what they liked.
Keep going until all your guests have introduced themselves.
15. Charades
This is the perfect opportunity to showcase your secret acting abilities!
How to Play
Players can come up with their own prompts, or you can have premade prompts for them. Split into teams, or keep the group together to guess what the person is acting.
Charades prompts:
- wedding
- popcorn
- birthday
- Christmas
- driving a car
- summer
- winter
- celebrity
- musical
- bank teller
- opening a gift
- zebra
- mechanic
- bowling
16. Storyteller
This game can take a hilarious turn!
How to Play
Players take turns adding a sentence to the story. Alternatively, you could limit it to one word per player, which would take longer.
Have someone record what was said so that you can read it aloud at the end and see just how wacky the story got.
17. Picnic
Another fun memory challenge game!
How to Play
Start the game by saying, “I’m going on a picnic, and I’m bringing…” and name something you’d bring to a picnic. For example, I’m going on a picnic, and I’m bringing apple pie.
The next player must repeat what you said and add their own item to the list.
If anyone forgets or repeats an item, they’re out. Keep playing until there’s only one player left, or everyone’s had a turn.
18. Sit Down If…
It is a perfect follow-up to Where Do You Stand and, when played by itself, a quick ice-breaker game.
How to Play
The goal is to be the last player standing. Make statements by saying, “Sit down if,” and if the players meet the criteria, they must sit down.
Here are some prompts to get you started:
Sit down if…
- You own more than one dog
- You’re the oldest sibling
- You’ve traveled outside of the country
- You’ve sung in a choir
- You read a book today
- You watched a movie today
- You sang in the car on your way here
- You’re wearing blue
19. The M&Ms Game
A yummy way to get to know acquaintances!
What You Need
- a bag of M&Ms
How to Play
Have your guests grab a few M&M’s and take turns answering questions based on the colors they chose. Each color corresponds to a different question.
Here are some ideas for questions to pair up with each color.
- What is your favorite childhood memory?
- What are you looking forward to this year?
- What is your favorite movie/book/song?
- If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
- Who is your role model?
- Where did you grow up?
- What is your favorite animal?
- What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
- What are your hobbies?
- What is your favorite color?
Games for Special Occasions and Game Nights
In addition to these fun ice breaker games for adults, we have a great variety of adult games to make your birthdays, holidays, and game nights unforgettable. The games are grouped into card, board, cooperative, etc.
Of course, all the special days, such as Valentine’s Day, baby showers, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, have their own lists of games.
Explore all the game ideas for adults. You won’t be disappointed.