Summary: Action-oriented games where people hold hands and form an amoeba-like shape, and try to get others out of the game.

Instructions: Instruct all players to hold hands and form a large circle. Put a safe, durable object in the middle of the circle. The object of the game is to try and have other people touch the object, by pulling, pushing, etc, but the circular link cannot be broken. If a person touches the object in the center, he or she is out of the game. The game is over when there is only one person left.Note: This “elimination” aspect of this game may not be ideal in terms of inclusivity and allowing people to play longer. Variations include: having those who touched the object leave the first amoeba, but start to form a second amoeba. You get negative points in the second amoeba by touching the object in the center. This means one amoeba is shrinking while the second one is growing. The end of the game is when there is only one person left in the one amoeba, and everyone else moving around in the second amoeba.

Summary: Autograph Bingo is an icebreaker that asks people to mingle and find people that match interesting facts on a bingo card. The game causes players to discover interesting and humorous facts about each other.

Autograph Bingo is a fun way to help both new acquaintances & old friends discover facts about each other. The goal of this icebreaker game is to mingle and obtain the signatures of people who have the facts listed on their bingo card. Just as regular bingo rules, once a player successfully obtains a full row (5 in a row) on his or her Bingo sheet, whether obtained horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, he or she shouts “BINGO!”

Summary: A rapid-fire guessing game in which players write many clues and place them in a bowl.

The Bowl Game is a personalized guessing game useful for parties and other gatherings. To prepare for the game, cut paper into small pieces, yet big enough to write on. Have the players write down virtually anything that can be used for guessing: objects, famous people, movies, places, anything that comes to mind. Fold the pieces up and put them into the bowl. Divide into two teams. Each team has one minute to describe as many pieces of paper from the bowl as possible without saying the word on the paper. Each team gets one pass per turn and after that it is minus one point for every pass. Whoever has the most points when the terms in the bowl run out wins. Variations include: Doing charades with the same set of clues for the second round, followed by being allowed to say one word only for the third round.

Summary: A team based action game in which the goal is to locate and recover the opposing team’s flag before they do the same. A “jail” houses those who have been caught (tagged by the opposing team).

Capture the Flag is a popular team-based action game that is typically held outdoors. It is a fast paced cousin of “It Tag,” with lots of running and chasing, and some strategy. The following is the traditional version, although there are many variations of the game. Divide the players into two teams. Agree upon the legal boundaries of play, determine the location of two “jails” (one for each team) and set up a middle boundary between the two teams. At the beginning of each round, each team hides and defends their own “flag,” which is any object that is durable and safe to toss around and run with (e.g. a bright T-shirt or cone). The flag must not be obscured; it needs to be more than 50% visible. Optionally, you may have more than one flag if there are enough people. The object of the game is for one team to grab the flag of the other team and bring it over to their own side. When a member of the opposing team crosses over the middle boundary into the opposing team’s territory, the other team is allowed to tag the person and take them to a “jail” where they stay until they are released (tagged) by one of their own team members who has not yet been captured. Be sure there is plenty of space outdoors, as there will be lots of running involved. Also remember: safety first. Clear the area of any dangerous obstacles or hazards.

Summary: A teambuilding activity in which teams are given a small object (e.g. paperclips) and must keep trading and upgrading their objects to get the biggest, best objects possible until the time limit expires. The objects are judged for size, value, and creativity.

Instructions: How is it possible to turn a paper clip into a guitar, laundry machine, bicycle, or other huge objects like a yacht? Through a team-building activity called Bigger and Better! Split the teams into groups of two to ten, depending on the size of your overall group. Distribute paper clips (or some other small object) to each group. Clearly indicate the time limit for this activity (e.g. 2-3 hours), and let them go off to trade. The goal is to come back with the biggest, best, most creative object after a series of trading and upgrading. When the time expires, everyone reconvenes at a predefined location for the show-and-tell and judging process. Judges choose the best items on various criteria: size, value, creativity, and overall best. This game has benefits of having team members work together and think creatively on how to upgrade their items. Camaraderie is gained through this fun process - enjoy!

Summary: A group team-building activity in which people identify common things that everyone has in common, along with interesting characteristics that are unique to a person in the group.

Form groups of five to eight people and give them two sheets of paper and a pencil or pen. The first part of the activity is Commonalities, where each subgroup compiles a list of the things they have in common. In order for it to make the list it has to apply to everyone in the subgroup. You want to avoid writing things that people can see (e.g. everyone has hair; we are all wearing clothes). You are trying to get them to dig deeper. After about 5 minutes, have a spokesperson from each subgroup read their list. Then, depending on your goals for the session, you can have half of each subgroup rotate to another group for Uniquities or you can leave everyone in the same group. On the second sheet of paper have them record uniquities, meaning that each item applies to only one person in the group. The group tries to find at least 2 uniquities for each person. After 5-7 minutes, you can have each person say one of their uniquities or have a person read them one by one, having others try to guess who it was. (Again, you want to go beyond the superficial, avoiding those things that people can readily see).This is an excellent team-building activity because it promotes unity, gets people to realize that they have more in common than they first might realize. The awareness of their own unique characteristics is also beneficial in that people can feel empowered to offer the group something unique.

Summary: An icebreaker where all players throw a shoe into a big pile. Grab a random shoe and find out three new facts about the person.

Everybody takes off a shoe and throws them in a large pile on the floor. On the count of three, each person grabs a shoe from the pile, then find the person with the matching shoe in their other foot and find out their name and three things about them they didn’t already know. Works best with larger groups. After everyone has found their person and asked them the questions, then go around the circle and have everyone introduce the person they talked to and tell the three things about them. This game is a good large group game, though it can be somewhat smelly.

Summary: A team-based scavenger hunt with a twist — bringing back digital photos (or polaroids) of interesting places and things. Prepare a list of about ten interesting places, things, and circumstances that can be captured using a camera. You could list, for example:

Be creative. Divide the group into teams of about four people. Make sure each team has at least one functioning camera (preferably digital, although polaroid is okay too). Set a time limit for the groups (e.g. two hours or so). Instruct the teams to find as many things on the list and take a picture with all the group members in the photo. When time expires, have all members reconvene and present their photos along with the checklist. Award one point for each successful photo item and bonus points for extra creativity or effort. This activity is good for building team chemistry and for creating funny memories. Be sure to provide adequate supervision if there are young participants. Have fun, and always keep safety first!

Summary: An icebreaker/stationary game in which a person acts out an action only for the next person in line, who in turn acts out for the next person. The action becomes mutated and very funny, as the last person in line tries to guess what the original clue was.

Telephone Charades or “Charades Down the Line” is an icebreaker/stationary game that is a hilarious blend of telephone down the line and charades. This group game is fairly simple to play. Select five to six participants and ask them to leave the room. The audience chooses an action that is specific, silly, and obscure to act out (e.g. “a nerd’s romantic first date”, “washing an elephant”, “going skydiving”). Once the clue has been decided, bring in all the participants and instruct them to face the right side. The moderator reveals the clue to the first person, who taps the second person on the shoulder and acts out the topic using charades rules (no talking allowed, no noises). The second person then taps the third person and acts out his or her understanding of what was acted out. This continues until it reaches the last person in line, who must guess what the action is. This game is funny because the action mutates and changes based upon each person’s interpretation of what is going on.