10 Fun Icebreakers for College Students to Better Connect

November 30, 2021 Lucie-Kay Desthuis-Francis

 The Why?

Icebreakers serve several purposes.

1. They offer participants a moment to pause and relax in a busy day.

2. They get people to connect and team up in a safe environment.

3. They also are an excellent way to simply have fun!

Icebreakers provide the framework to take a break and help disperse anxiety. As a social activity, they help people get to know each other and bond on a

personal level. Further, icebreakers stimulate a sense of belonging among participants.

For students, this feeling of belonging is a key predictor of engagement, retention, and overall success. Building relationships with fellow students,

professors, tutors, and mentors is a key part of the college experience.

Being in a new environment and getting to know new people can, however, feel overwhelming and intimidating. This may especially be true for first-year

students or those attending a student organization or club meeting for the first time.

It is critical for student leaders to make participants feel welcome and at ease. Hosting a variety of fun and engaging icebreakers is a great way to do this. It

also gets members to connect on a personal level and build rapport.

The When?

Icebreakers are the perfect way to start a range of college events. These include orientation, student organization or club meetings, and networking

sessions. They can also help shift gears between activities or stimulate collaboration.

To be used in virtual or in-person settings, icebreakers are simple bonding exercises. They help team members connect in a different setting, enabling them

to see each other in a different light.

The great thing about icebreakers is that they generally don’t require a lot of preparation. They also don’t take up a lot of time. Typically, icebreakers last

between 5 and 20 minutes.

Their effect is, however, immediate, and long lasting. Once your team gets into the rhythm of regularly using icebreakers they will expect and look forward

to them.
 The What!

Asking "How is everyone?" at the beginning of a meeting or diving straight into a round robin doesn’t stimulate connection or bonding. It also doesn’t

encourage everyone to have a voice.

The more introverted personalities may not feel comfortable stepping out of the woodwork. This often leads to meetings being dominated by the same

people, contributing to group think.

To start meetings or certain activities off on a different note, we have compiled a list of 10 fun icebreakers. Please note that, depending on the number of

participants, the group can be split into smaller groups for efficiency’s sake.

1. Two truths and a Lie.

An icebreaker classic, Two Truths and a Lie is a fun way to help students get to know each other.

Each participant tells the group three “facts” about themselves. However, one of these “facts” will not be true. Fellow participants will then have to guess

which of these “facts” is a lie.

2. My Most Embarrassing Moment.

What better way to get people to loosen up than to have them share their Most Embarrassing Moment?

Each student will take turns sharing this moment with the group. Give students no more than two minutes to share their memory and get ready to laugh.

3. Birth Map.

A Birth Map enables participants to visualize the diversity in the room. It also gives people the opportunity to share a little bit about their background and

build rapport.

Place a map and pins at the front of the room (please note that this can also be done in a virtual environment) and ask people to place a pin where they were

born. Have people share with the group where they were born and one fun fact about their birthplace.

4. People Bingo.

People Bingo is a good game to play for individuals meeting each other for the first time. It is an excellent way to get students to interact and get to know

each other.

Provide each student with a piece of paper containing a grid in which each square contains a statement. The statement should be broad and non-intrusive

(for e.g., ‘has an older brother’ or ‘is a freshman’). Students are given a set amount of time to find a classmate for which the statement holds true. Whoever

gets to Bingo first is the winner.

5. Scavenger Hunt.
 Also, an icebreaker classic, scavenger hunts are an excellent activity for orientation. Not only do they encourage collaboration, but they also help first-year

students familiarize themselves with campus.

Split the team into groups and provide them with a list of items or landmarks to find within a limited amount of time. The team that is first to check off

every item on their list wins. Please note that scavenger hunts can also be organized in small spaces or virtually.

6. Share a Meaningful Photo.

I personally love this icebreaker because it is a great way to get some insights into the personality of teammates and what they value. This is also a great

activity for remote teams.

Have each team member send in a photo that has meaning for them prior to the meeting. The the team lead will pull up each photo one by one on a

projector or shared screen. Each person will be given the floor to explain to the group why their photo is important to them. Please note that the photo can

be of a person, a place, a cherished pet, quote, or anything that holds meaning for the individual.

7. Guess Who?

Guess Who, is a great activity to get teammates who already know each other to bond.

Have everyone write a fun or surprising fact about themselves on a piece of paper. Put the pieces of paper into a hat and read the facts out loud one at a

time. The team will then try and guess who each fact belongs to. Let the person who wrote the fact identify themselves and provide additional context if

necessary.

8. My Favorite.

This is a perfect icebreaker to spark discussion and encourage people to get to know each other better. ‘My Favorite’ is a quick and simple activity that can

be repeated on a weekly basis as a fun ritual.

The only preparation needed for this icebreaker is to ask the team what their favorite “fill in the blank” is. Each participant will then say, “My favorite

song, fruit, city, show, etc. is “fill in the blank”.

9. Name Game.

This age-old party game is also a great icebreaker. It enables participants to informally interact with their teammates.

Write down the names of famous people on sticky notes; one name per team member. Students will then place the sticky note on their forehead, asking the

group questions to guess which personality they are embodying.

10. Three of a Kind.

This team building activity is a great way to help students get to know each other better and find commonalities.

Give students a limited timeframe to find three other students with whom they share something in common. The caveat, however, is that the similarity

should not be anything visible or obvious, such as t-shirt or hair color.

Save this list of fun icebreakers to help you get the most out of your events and contribute to building lasting relationships on your campus.

The Most Engaging Icebreaker Games For

College Students
Deborah1 Year Ago
The start of a new semester can be a stressful time for college students, particularly first-year students who are fresh out of high school. Not knowing what
to expect from their instructions, being unfamiliar with their classmates, and questioning their social standing, all those things and a whole lot more
combine to put a lot of pressure on the shoulders of students regardless of their age.

Luckily, you can introduce some icebreaker games for college students that can help alleviate all or a considerable amount of that pressure. While the mere
mention of icebreaker activities is often enough to induce a collective eye roll and/or a group sigh, bonding games and activities are still effective at putting
everyone at ease. And, if everyone is honest, many will admit they secretly appreciate the effects of great icebreakers, and they’ll even go so far as to say
they enjoy the activities.
Enjoy virtual games with global friends!
Going off to college is exciting, but one of the drawbacks is realizing that family members and friends you’ve been around for your whole life are now
scattered throughout the country or across the world. Let’s Roam offers virtual game nights that are perfect for connecting with loved ones—no matter
where you roam!
TRY IT FREE

Icebreaker Activities and Games for College Students

Make no mistake about it. There are a lot of icebreaker ideas out there. The thing is, not all of those ideas are created equally. Some of them are geared for
team members trying to bond in a professional setting while others seem to be more appropriate for young children.

To find an icebreaker that will resonate with the occupants of a college classroom, you should seek out an activity that has minimal social risk and is
matched to your students’ comfort level and proficiency. Of course, it can’t hurt if the bonding exercise you choose is infused with a touch of silliness and
humor, too.

You won’t have to look too hard to find icebreakers your whole class will love and be eager to participate in. That’s because we’ve put together a curated
list of icebreakers that will resonate with college students regardless of their ages.

Icebreaker Questions and Statements

One of the easiest things you can do to put students at ease is to come up with a list of icebreaker questions and assertions. Rather than creating a list of
declarations and open-ended questions, you should craft a list of questions and statements that have a this or that format. In other words, think of inquiries
and statements that can be answered or responded to with a true or false or a yes or no.

Here are some questions and statements you may want to use:

 True or false: I had breakfast this morning

 Are you nervous about the coursework we’ll cover in this class?

 True or false: I have at least one pet at home

 Did you drive to today’s class?

 True or false: I made my bed when I woke up

 Do you speak more than one language?

 True or false: I forgot to use deodorant today

 Are you over COVID and the mandates related to it?

Before you start pelting your students with questions and declarations, designate one side of the room for students who’ll respond with false/no and the
other for attendees who’ll respond with a true or yes. As you read your questions and statements, have students make their way to the side of the room
that’s representative of their response. This simple exercise will help participants see that they have things in common with their peers.

Would You Rather

This activity is similar to the discussion of icebreaker questions just presented in the sense that it gives participants the choice between two things. With
that in mind, instruct students who’d prefer the first option provided in a question to go to one side of the room and tell the rest of the group to go to the
other side of the space.

Before you play this game, you need to come up with a series of questions that have a “would you rather…” format. Lists of questions are readily available
online, but it’s often more effective and fun to create your own.

The more ridiculous your questions are, the funnier this exercise will be. No possibility or pairing is off the table when it comes to this game so feel free to
engage your creativity. Possible questions may include:

 Would you rather be a sloth or a tiger?

 Would you rather have the ability to fly or leap tall buildings?
 Would you rather be a wallflower or the life of the party?

 Would you rather drink from a keg or a bathtub?

 Would you rather go to the big game or a frat party?

 Would you rather be the prosecutor or defense attorney in a criminal case?

 Would you rather compete in the Olympics or perform with Adele in Vegas?
If it’s the first day of class, you can make this activity a one-on-one exercise. Divide your group into pairs and give each duo a list of questions. By
separating group members into pairs, the duos can discuss why they’d prefer one thing over the other and get to know each other on a more personal level.

Two Truths and a Lie

Because this game involves people sharing some personal information about themselves, it’s best reserved for smaller groups rather than a large group. In
this game, participants will share two facts and one lie about themselves in turn. Then, it’s up to the rest of the group to determine which statement is the
untruth.

If you have a large group of students, you can still play Two Truths and a Lie. Just divide your group into smaller groups so students will be more
comfortable sharing personal information.

Signatures
Signatures is one of the classroom icebreakers that is so wonderful because it allows participants to express themselves without revealing all their dirty
laundry. This exercise is best for small groups, so you’ll need to divide your students into small teams if your class is large.

For this game, each group should form a circle and pick someone who’ll go first and the direction the game will flow in. The first person should show off a
signature move or sound, like a dance move, deep bow, or cough. Player number two should then repeat the first person’s move or sound before showing
off their own. The next participant will repeat the moves of the first two players in sequence and then do their own, and so on.

If someone forgets a move or the proper sequence, the game should restart with that person or the player who initially went second. Participants should
come up with different moves or sounds than they’ve already used, and no one should adopt another player’s move or sound as their own in the same round
of play.

Name Game: Variant Number One

There are several ways to play this game, with one probably being familiar from the party scene. A popular way to play is to write down the names of
famous or historical people on sticky notes. Each player will put a sticky note on their head without reading what’s written on it. Participants will then ask
each other questions in an attempt to figure out the identity of the person whose name is written on their respective sticky notes.

Name Game: Variant Number Two

In this alliterative variant of the game, players should either line up or form a circle. The first person should say their name and then reveal something
personal that starts with the same letter as their name. For example, the player might say, “My name is Jackie and I like jalapenos.”

The next person will repeat what the first player said and then share their name and a piece of personal information that starts with the same letter as their
name. That means the second participant may say, “This is Jackie and she likes jalapenos. My name is Richard and I’m from Richmond, VA.”

The game should continue until everyone’s had an opportunity to introduce themselves. If someone breaks the sequence by failing to remember a name or a
piece of information, the game should start over, with participants changing their positions and someone else kicking things off.

Guess Who
Guess who is a wonderful activity if you want to up the student engagement for your whole class. To play, larger groups will need to be split into smaller
groups. Give each student an index card and have them write their name and three fun facts about themselves on their card.

If you have several groups, designate a leader for each team and have that person collect and then shuffle the index cards. The individual should then read
one fact from a card, with the rest of the team trying to figure out who the fact is about. If no one guesses the identity of the person the card describes, the
leader should read the second fact out loud and then the third. The subject of the card should share their identity if no one guesses who they are.

Is your class is small? If so, you should act as the leader and read the cards. The exercise should continue until the last person participating has been
identified or come forward.
Classmate Bingo
Bingo is a classic game that’s entertained generations of eager players. Rather than play a traditional version of the game, you can adapt the game into
Classmate Bingo. You can find free bingo cards online, but it’s wiser to make your own so they’re relevant to the lives of your college students.

The idea of the game is for students to mingle and find people who fit the criteria delineated in each box on their bingo cards. Instead of using markers to
block off fulfilled boxes, students should write the name of their peer who fits the criteria in a given box in that space. The first person who blocks off all
the boxes on their playing card with appropriate names is the winner of the game.

If you’re wondering what criteria you should use to create cards for Classmate Bingo, you may want to use the following:

 Has made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower

 Would like to have a pet snake

 Woke up later than planned this morning

 Is allergic to bees or something else

 Drank stale coffee for breakfast

 Has three or more siblings

 Prefers veggie burgers over burgers made with meat

 Can’t name all the elements on the periodic table

 Must wear glasses when driving

 Is terrible at Jenga

 Won’t toot in public

 Will not sing a solo in front of others

 Always sings in the shower or their car

Classmate Bingo is best reserved for a large group because there’s a wider pool of people who may fit the criteria you come up with. If your group is on the
smaller side, you’ll need to get to know your team members pretty well so you can create criteria they’ll satisfy before you play Classmate Bingo.

Three of a Kind
Three of a kind is referred to as a set in poker. And that’s what this game involves, creating sets of students who have something in common. The thing is,
sets can’t be formed based on obvious traits like hair color or whether they’re wearing eye classes.

To play, students should mull around and ask their peers about things they may or may not have in common. The idea is for students to find two other
people with whom they have at least three things in common, such as being enrolled in another class together or having a black or brown dog at home.

Three of a Kind is a great warm-up for team-building activities that are based on your syllabus. The game is also one of the best icebreakers to get students
to interact with each other.

My Favorite
My favorite is a quick and easy icebreaker that you can do as a one-off activity or on a weekly basis. In this icebreaker, each participant will take a turn
identifying their favorite of something. Some categories of things you may want to use as a theme for this activity include:

 Movies

 Television shows

 Performers

 Song genres
 Show tunes

 Books

 Fruits

 Vegetables

 International cuisines

 Cars

 Vacation spots
If you’re going to play My Favorite on an ongoing basis, challenge your students to recall a peer’s favorite thing from the last round of play before the
person announces their favorite thing that falls into the current designated category. Doing that will reinforce the information students shared on a previous
occasion and infuse your class with a lasting sense of familiarity.

Class in One Word

Class in One Word is an icebreaker that gives participants the chance to express their opinions about your discipline using just one word. Depending on the
subject you teach you may hear students describe your field as:

 Challenging

 Lofty

 Ethical

 Philosophical

 Weighty

 Analytical

 Historical

 Physical

 People-centric

 Numbers-oriented
If you’re leading a class in a physical classroom, consider having your students sit in a circle. Pick someone to start and then have the rest of the class share
their one-word opinions in succession. You can make the exercise quick by moving to the next student after the previous one shared their opinion or you
can give each participant the chance to explain their perceptions.

Are your students remote? If so, they can share their thoughts in the order they appear in the Zoom tile view.

The point of the activity is for you to learn how students perceive your discipline so you can adjust your syllabus accordingly. More importantly, the dual
objective of the exercise is to let students know that others may feel the same or relate to their viewpoints.

Class in One Word does have one significant drawback that is easy to overcome. Some students may be reluctant to share their honest opinion of your
discipline because they fear retribution or they’re afraid their peers won’t agree with their perception. You can overcome that hesitancy by creating an
anonymous survey and making a group activity out of sharing and discussing the results.

Philosophical Chairs
This game can be played separately or you can make it part of your icebreaker questions or a game of Would You Rather. With students lined up on either
side of the room depending on how they responded to a question or statement, pick one or two students from each side and have them defend their
positions. Allow the defenders to rely on other students who share their stances when they need more information or some advice.

Philosophical chairs can lead to some weighty debates about deep topics if the exchanges are the result of questions or statements about challenging topics
like political issues. This game can also lead to debates about ridiculous subjects that are hysterical to observe and/or participate in. Can you imagine
defending your choice to be a hippo against an onslaught launched by students who chose to be a rhino instead?
Beach Ball
This icebreaker is a great choice if you’re trying to help the members of a new group of students get to know each other. If your class is small, you’ll need
just one ball to play. For larger groups, you’ll need a ball for each subgroup you’ll create. Write getting-to-know-you questions on each beach ball you’ll
use. Your questions don’t have to be too personal or serious. In fact, you may want to run with questions that are sure to garner amusing responses, such as:

 What would you be if you couldn’t be a human?

 How long can you hop on a pogo stick?

 Can you ride a unicycle?

 Have you ever owned a pet rock, Beanie Baby, or Chia Pet?

 Do you believe there’s a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow?

 Would you go on a hunt for ghosts?

 Do you believe in Bigfoot?

 What insect can you do without?

Have your class stand in a circle or ask each subgroup to do the same. Give a beach ball to one person in each circle and instruct that person to toss the ball
to another participant. The individual who catches the ball should then answer the question located closest to their left thumb. Once they answer their
question, the catcher should then toss the ball to someone else, and the group can continue repeating the process from there.

It’s fine if the same person catches the ball more than once since it will have so many questions scribbled all over it. In some cases, you may find that your
group will create some unspoken pact where the ball is deliberately tossed to the same person over and over again. And that’s fine as long as it’s just some
good-natured ribbing.

Scavenger Hunt
As an icebreaker, a hunt can teach participants some fun facts about their campus or the subject of your class. Alternatively, a hunt can teach students about
their current hometown. Let’s Roam has scavenger hunts in more than 400 cities around the world, and we encourage you to look for an in-person, app-
led adventure in a city close to your campus now.
We also offer virtual hunts. A virtual hunt is a great choice if your students are remote. Virtual hunts are just as much fun as in-person events and,
depending on the circumstances, they can be more inclusive because people can participate from any location with an internet connection.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament

Who doesn’t like a good match of Rock, Paper, Scissors? You can take the game to the next level and make it into a tournament. To prepare, make a grid
like the one that’s used for the NCAA’s season-ending basketball tournament. Your grid should be broken down into rounds, with the first round including
pairs of students who’ll compete to move onto the next level.

Have each pair listed on one side of the grid play Rock, Paper, Scissors, in a two out of three format, with the duos from the other side of your grid acting
as judges. As students win, list their names on the appropriate lines of the next part of your grid.

Next, have the pairs from the other side of the grid compete with the first combatants being the judges of each match. List the names of the winners on the
requisite lines that show they’ve advanced to the next round of play. Continue in the same manner until the players who’ll compete in the championship are
identified in the center of your grid.

You can have the championship on the same day your tournament started or you can stretch the whole thing out over a series of days or weeks, with each
round of competition occurring every Monday or something like that. If you choose to let the competition play out over time, the tournament may become
an ongoing topic of conversation in and outside your college classroom.

Chain Link
If you’re interested in fun icebreakers for your class, then Chain Link should be right up your alley. For this activity, choose someone to stand up, say their
name, and start talking about the things they like. The person should pause briefly after they name something they like as the goal of the activity is for
another student to link arms with the speaker when the speaker mentions something they also have an interest in.

From there, the duo will talk about their interests so that a growing number of people link arms with them. By the end of the exercise, the rest of the class
should be linked with the original speaker.
What makes this activity so much fun is that everyone just chats away throughout the exercise. Things often become hilarious when there are only a few
people who haven’t yet joined the growing chain. Students who are already linked arm-in-arm typically become increasingly desperate to convince the
remaining holdouts to link up while the freestanding individuals continue to deny they have an interest in anything.

When the last person finally becomes a part of the chain, the individual must then find something they have in common with the person who started the
chain. Once that’s accomplished, those two will link their arms to form a complete circle.

Supermarket
Supermarket is a fun icebreaker to do in any learning environment. To do this activity, divide your group into two lines, with the people in each line facing
you in succession. Stand in front of the first individual in each line and announce that you’re going to the grocery store to get an item that begins with a
certain letter.

The first of the two competitors to name an item that begins with that letter will go to the back of their line to play again while the other contestant is
eliminated from the game. Continue the game in a similar manner until all the participants in one of the lines are eliminated.

You can make this fun icebreaker as easy or difficult as you want. To up the difficulty factor, you can announce that you’re going to a certain department
of the supermarket or that you’re looking for a product manufactured by a specific brand before you share the letter the item must start with. If you want to
make things easier, you can say that you’re going to shop for products that are a particular color.

Simon Says
Yes, Simon Says is a game that people play as individuals, so you may wonder why it’s on our list of icebreakers. The game made the list because it’s an
icebreaker that unites people through physical activity, laughter, and competition.

Regardless of the size of your class, your group can play Simon Says together. The point of the game is for students to do what you say after the words
“Simon says.” If you give a command without saying Simon says first and someone follows the instruction, the person is eliminated from the game.

As the game progresses, you should issue commands faster and faster. Increasing the speed of your commands will make it increasingly harder for
participants to resist taking inappropriate actions because they’ll have less time to process what you’ve said.

Invariably, the game comes down to a few players who compete fiercely to win. Eliminated players enjoy cheering on the players that remain and everyone
enjoys a shared laugh when someone gets eliminated over something silly. One of the best things about the game is that people laugh together instead of at
one another.

To make things interesting, consider giving a prize to the winner of the competition. You may also want to give a “booby prize” to the “big loser” who’s
eliminated from the game first. If you’re going to play Simon Says as a warm-up repeatedly throughout the semester, have previous award-winners bring
their prizes to the next competition so they can be handed off the next winner and big loser. By rotating the prizes, they’ll become sought-after awards and
bragging points that everyone wants to have.

Dance Party
Dance Party is sort of a variant of Simon Says. If your dance moves aren’t quite at the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers level, you may want to pick
someone else to lead your group in Dance Party.

The point of this game is for students to mimic the dance moves of an assigned leader. Students who can’t keep up with the leader will be eliminated by an
observing judge. Even after they’re eliminated from the competition, onlookers will get a kick out of watching their classmates bust a move.

Murder Mystery
It’s hard to think of an icebreaker that has “murder” in its name, but that’s exactly what Murder Mystery is. You can create your own Murder Mystery,
which is a great idea if there was infamous murder committed in your school’s hometown. Alternatively, you can buy a kit or sign your class up for an
event online.

While Murder Mystery is normally played in a shared physical environment, the game has obviously been adapted so people can play online from any
location, including their homes. If your students are remote, consider alternative murder mystery games you can do from home.
The point of Murder Mystery is for your students to work together to solve a murder. If you have a larger group of students, divide your students into
smaller teams. The teams can then compete to see which one can solve the crime the fastest.
Birthday Boggle
Birthday Boggle requires students to line up in chronological order based on their dates of birth. The catch is that your students will need to pull off that
feat without speaking. Students can communicate with their hands to indicate their birthday month and day, and they can also use the supplies they have
around them.

For example, if someone has a piece of paper, the person can simply write their birthday on the paper to communicate what their position in line should be.
If a player’s birthday lands on December 25, the individual can use their smartphone to play Christmas music. A participant whose birthday is October 31
may want to use a piece of paper and a pen to draw a picture of a pumpkin if you’ve made it a rule that students can’t simply write down their birthdays.

Once everyone is lined up in chronological order, the exercise is over. To be sensitive to the different age groups that may be present in your classroom,
you should play Birthday Boggle using participants’ birthdays without considering the years they were born in.

Comic Chaos
Comic Chaos is one of the best icebreakers for new groups. You’ll need to do some advance preparation for your students to play the game, but your hard
work will pay off. You should start by finding some comic strips that are different from one another but similar in length. If you’re going to divide your
group into teams of eight, you should have eight strips of the same comic for each team, with each team having its own comic title.

Mix up all the comics so they’re in a random order. When your class assembles on the first day, give a comic strip to each student. Then, task your students
with finding others who have comic strips with the same title. Once the students with the same title have found each other, they should arrange their strips
in order in keeping with the comic’s storyline. The team that assembles their comic in the proper order the fastest will win the competition.

Giant Jenga
People who’ve played Jenga know how much fun the game can be. While you may not realize it, the game can be adapted into an icebreaker that students
of all ages will enjoy.

Order a giant Jenga set from a retailer like Amazon. When the game arrives, use a Sharpie to write a task on the backs of the game pieces, with each task
being different from all the others. Needless to say, some of the tasks should be utterly ridiculous and while others should be less embarrassing.

Have each student remove a game piece in succession. When everyone has a piece, tell your group members that they each have to do the task that’s
written on their respective pieces. If some people don’t want to do what they’ve been assigned, let them bargain with their peers to swap pieces.

The bargaining that many students will end up engaging in is often more entertaining and hilarious than the game itself. Everyone may be humorously
surprised by what students are willing to offer to get out of doing something.

Poker Hand
This game is best reserved for big groups of up to 52 people. To play Poker Hand, shuffle a deck of cards and give one card to each student. When
everyone has a card, tell them to find four other people to make the best poker hand possible. The group that ends up with the best hand wins the game.

In case some of your students aren’t familiar with poker, it’s wise to create a chart of winning hands, from worst to best. Make sure the chart is in a visible
spot that’s easy for everyone to see.

Poker Hand is an icebreaker that can be played multiple times in the same session. Between games, be sure you reshuffle and redistribute the cards so
people don’t just run over to the people they know have cards that, combined, would create a great hand.

Questions Only
Do you remember the show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” from back in the day when Drew Carey was the host? If not, you should check out reruns of the
show on HBO Max or Hulu Plus whenever you need a good laugh.

One of the games played on the show involved comedians communicating with each other using only questions. That idea is the basis for Questions Only.

Divide your group into two teams that line up across from each other face to face. Have the first person in each line start a conversation, with the caveat
that they can only ask each other questions. When someone makes a statement instead of asking a question, the individual is eliminated from play and the
next person in line steps into their place to continue the game.

Questions Only is a great icebreaker that generally yields a ton of hearty laughs. The game is so much fun to play that your students may request rematches,
which will be great if you’re trying to make a six-pack out of your belly muscles.
Closing Thoughts
Once you’ve found the icebreaker games that work for your college students, keep them in your arsenal. They’ll help to captivate kids at the start of each
semester or after breaks, when everyone seems to need a little nudge to get involved.

Need more icebreakers? We’ve got special lists just for kids, students, teens, high school students, and more. Check out the full list of related posts on
our Explorer Blog.
Use the comment section to let us know which activities you’ve used to start conversations in your classroom!