Small Group Icebreaker Games

These icebreaker games are easy to play and useful if you're putting together small groups or discipleship teams. It is a wonderful way for group leaders to connect with students and for teams to develop and get to know each other. The key to these icebreaker games, though, is to make them quick, friendly, and fun. Periodically, have your youth group can play some of these games to make things fun and friendly.

Six Degrees

Based on the book “Six Degrees of Separation,” it is said that any person is connected to another person via six people. Choose pairs of famous people, whether it is biblical figures, actors, musicians, leaders, or more, and have small groups compete against one another to see who can come up with the connections fastest. It doesn't necessarily mean it will take exactly six connections to get from one person to the other, but it's about who can come up with the fewest connections in the time allotted. 

Hey, You’re Like Me!

This game demonstrates how people are alike and different. Have all the students stand along one wall. The leader stands in the middle of the room. The leader then asks the students which of them has a certain trait, like, dislike, etc. The students that fit the characteristic cross the room to the other side. If there is time, the students can then describe what it is like to be a part of that group. For instance, one of the traits could be “Plays on a Sports Team,” and a couple of students can discuss what it is like to be a part of that team. Try to keep the topics respectful, and set rules ahead of time that students need to be kind to one another.

Scavenger Hunt

This is an oldie, but definitely, a goodie because it can be twisted and turned into just about any fun scavenger hunt. Maybe you are doing a youth activity in the city, so your students can go on a scavenger hunt to find certain landmarks that fit cryptic clues. You can also go on a spiritual scavenger hunt or a personal scavenger hunt where people are trying to find other people that fit certain personality or spiritual traits. Another fun version is where you give clues, and students need to take pictures of the solutions. This way you can put the pictures together in a slideshow for everyone to enjoy afterward.

Toilet Paper Get-to-Know You

Have each person tear off squares of toilet paper. They can take as many pieces as they want. After everyone has some of the toilet paper, each person has to tell one thing about themselves for each piece of toilet paper they have in front of them. This game can also be done with pretzels, M&M’s, and anything involving countable pieces. However, beware of food items, because often they end up eaten before a person takes their turn.

Truth, Truth, Lie

Each person has to tell at least one lie and two truths about him or herself. Then the group has to guess which statement was a lie. Again, this is relying on students to be respectful of one another, and people need to be honest about their two truths and a lie. 

Would You Rather?

Give the group cards that contain questions like “Would you rather eat flies or eat caterpillars?” All of the questions should be tough choices. Again, respect is huge here, because students should feel comfortable making any choice, well, as comfortable as one can be choosing between things like flies and caterpillars...

I Never!

Give each student 10 M&Ms or pennies as ”tokens.” Each student tells the others something that he or she has never done. Whoever else has done it has to put one of their “tokens” in a bowl in the center. The last person holding tokens wins the game.