Ice Breaker Games and Activities Ideas

Ice breaker games for work are fun activities designed for a group of colleagues. They can include questions, guessing games, thought experiments, and prompts to get people to interact.

Think of them as informal, engaging exercises. They're lighthearted activities that give coworkers or conference attendees a chance to get to know each other better.

Most icebreaker activities are relatively fast-paced and quick to complete. As a result, they allow people to interact and get comfortable with each other in a short period of time.

Above, you'll find many of the most popular ice breaker activities for small groups. From Guess Who? to Never Have I Ever, these games are great for engaging work events.

Hosting team ice breakers is about much more than just leading a fun event. These activities are also ideal for:

• Team building: When you want your team to collaborate more effectively, ice breakers can help. They promote cooperation and team bonding, motivating colleagues to work together to achieve a goal.
• Breaking down barriers: Do your team members tend to remain quiet in meetings? Games for small groups prompt people to open up, interact with each other, and start conversations.
• Encouraging creativity: If your team is stuck in a rut, these activities can get them to think outside the box. With ice breaker games, ideas and creativity can flow more easily.
• Building trust: Is your team welcoming new members? Icebreaker games give new employees a chance to meet the rest of the group, learn to trust colleagues, and feel like part of the team.

Typically, a facilitator chooses a game, introduces it to the group, and explains how to play. Then attendees each have a chance to participate. Depending on the game setup, that may involve:

• Voting in a poll
• Answering a question
• Making a guess

You can use these activities in meetings, conferences, and almost any other work event. All you need is a game and a group of people. At large events, you can divide into smaller groups or breakout rooms to play faster.

You don't have to get together in person to play ice breaker games. Instead, you can easily break the ice during your next virtual meeting or video conferencing session.

To host a virtual ice breaker, you need exercises that translate well to an online environment. We've compiled our top 50 ice breaker games, questions, and activities to give you a head start.

You also need a virtual meeting platform that supports real-time engagement. With online meeting software like Livestorm, participants can:

• Use live chat to ask or answer questions
• Share opinions in live polls
• React with emojis
• Join breakout rooms for small group activities
• Choose virtual backgrounds for visual games

Livestorm also supports dozens of app integrations. You can enable whiteboard activities, direct messaging, and more tools that promote team bonding and encourage colleagues to connect.