If you’ve been involved in church, then the chances of you participating in youth group ice breaker games are high. There’s a reason why churches often play ice breaker games, because they work! It’s a way to get the whole group involved and become comfortable with each other. Whether you play outdoor games in the heat of summer with a large group, or play a question game indoors, it’s all to help break the ice.
Especially in a youth group, kids are less likely to talk with each other at first. It can be awkward, but each of these games we discuss can help loosen them up. Hopefully, this is where friendships form, and it makes it easier for kids to come back to church. Relationship is what it’s all about after all.
Check out our list of fun, engaging youth group ice breaker games that’ll have your group of kids laughing for days!
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Table of contents
The Effect of Icebreakers
Youth Group Icebreakers are an easy and fun way to begin helping people bond. Without a sense of belonging and friendship, small groups will not last. A significant percentage of young people report feeling lonely, with some studies showing that 40% of 16-24 year olds report feeling alone often or very often.
It’s important to use icebreaker activities that are easy to learn, non-threatening, and super fun! Since bonding is the goal, they should have an element of bonding. When you choose an icebreaker for your small group, think about the people who will be present.
- What are their personalities like?
- Are they friends with one another?
- How will people respond to a game or to being asked questions?
It’s also helpful to think about which icebreakers work best during different seasons in the life of the small group. In the beginning stages of a small group, it is helpful to do more get-to-know-you games and questions so people feel known. As time progresses, changing up the icebreakers will bring new energy to the group. You can always ask your small group members what types of icebreakers they enjoy most as well, and plan from there.
Some games are more helpful for a group that’s in the early stages of forming, while others are useful for building relationships in groups that have been together for a while. Use your best judgment about which icebreakers will work best for your group. Make this a team act, and encourage everyone to participate.
The icebreakers we’ve included here are mostly based on having small groups of around 10 people. Your small group may be slightly larger than that, and if that’s the case, please factor that in when choosing an appropriate icebreaker. The size of your group will directly impact the time you need to allow. If you have a large youth group, consider breaking it up into smaller groups. Depending on the game, consider giving the winning group a small prize!
Top 18 Ice Breaker Games!
Two Truths and a Lie
This game can require a little more thinking on everyone’s part, which is why it’s best played in a smaller group so that everyone can have time to answer. Everyone will tell two truths about themselves and one lie. The goal is to guess which fact is not true. This is a great way to get to know more about people and learn interesting things about them.
Example: Can you guess the lie?
- I know how to play the saxophone
- I love to bake
- I didn’t learn how to swim until I was 13
Charades
Everyone will write down various actions, objects, or phrases on pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. Players take turns drawing a piece of paper and silently acting out what’s written on it while the rest of the group tries to guess.
The sillier the prompts, the better as it’ll get everyone laughing! This game is good if you have kids who like to act up and be goofy.
Pictionary
Divide the group into two teams, then have one player from each team come to the front and secretly select a word or phrase from a predetermined list. They then draw clues on a whiteboard or piece of paper while their team tries to guess what it is within a time limit.
Make Me Laugh
Assign pairs (try to put participants with new friends). Each person has a glass of water. They take a sip and hold the water in their mouth. Their partner tries to get them to laugh so hard they spit the water out. The object of the game is to keep the water in your mouth for one minute (or if you are the partner, defeat that goal!)
Picture & Sentence Relay
This hilarious game often leads to lots of laughs and bonding. Here are the steps for the game:
1. Divide players into two groups.
2. Each player writes a funny or unusual sentence on a piece of paper.
3. They pass the paper to the next person, who draws only the picture based on the sentence.
4. The next person, without seeing the original sentence, writes a new sentence describing only the picture they see.
5. This continues, with players alternating between drawing and writing.
This game encourages fun as drawings and sentences change. It helps players discover each other’s creativity and uncover interesting or unusual facts about how people interpret things. Try this for a hilarious and engaging group activity!
Line Up
If you want to get kids mingling, tell them to line up in order of their birthdays, with the earliest January birthday on one end all the way to the last birthday in the calendar year. Kids talk amongst themselves to figure out where they should fall and learn something about each other in the process.
Add challenge for older kids by having them take on this activity without speaking. They’ll have to get creative to figure out each other’s birthdays and form an accurate lineup.
Would You Rather
“Would you rather” is a classic icebreaker game. It’s easy to modify, so it has a perfect place amongst faith-based icebreaker games. This is also a game that you can keep going endlessly if you choose to, and it doesn’t require a lot of preparation. This is such a fun game, and you’ll be laughing at all the answers and explanations!
How to Play:
As far as the prep goes, if you want to use materials, write down scenarios on each strip of paper. These scenarios will then be the “would you rather” questions. They can range from simple to difficult and then you’ll place these slips of paper into a bowl.
Good examples include:
- Live through famine or live through the 10 plagues?
- Live on the Ark or in an isolated room for the same duration?
- Be baptized by John or hear Paul speak of Jesus?
Prepping questions ahead of time is helpful so people won’t spend too much time on the beginning part of this game. Now, when you’re ready for the faith-based icebreaker games to start, have a volunteer pick a slip from the bowl and read it aloud. They should be the first person to answer the question. They can choose to give their reasoning or not.
Everyone else will also give their answer. This is a great way to generate discussion and even friendly debates.
Pick a Side
If you’re looking for icebreaker activities to engage students physically, then “Pick a Side” is a fun option to try. Have kids start out by standing together in the middle of the room. Now, name either-or choices or scenarios and have kids move to one side of the room to indicate their choice.
For example, you could say, “What’s better, chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate on the left side of the room, vanilla on the right.” Watch the fun unfold as kids find points of commonality with their classmates.
Three Question Game
This game is fun and unique! The first question relates to how you see yourself: “My favorite color is light blue because it is calming, relaxing, and peaceful.” Another example is “My favorite color is red because it is bright, loud, and wild!” Next, the second question is what is your favorite animal and why. “My favorite animal is a dog because they are loyal and are so funny.” The third question relates to how you view God, asking about your favorite part of nature. “My favorite part of nature is the ocean because it is so vast and wild. The water is calming and I feel safe.”
What is your favorite color? Be descriptive and explain why.
What is your favorite animal?
What is your favorite part of nature?
These questions and answers will then directly relate to these below:
- How you see yourself.
- What you want in a relationship/friendship.
- How you view God.
Sensory Trail
A sensory trail involves lining your group up behind one another with hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. Everyone must wear a blindfold for this activity, which is where the trust element comes into play! The group must follow a path/line and make their way through the trail while all remaining in a line together.
Members of the group rely on the person in front of them to guide them through the trail and communicate effectively to let them know what obstacles they are about to come across.
Spot the Difference
Pair up your adventurers and give time to the group to closely observe everybody’s appearance. Then give them a little bit of time to turn their backs and in pairs alter 3 things about themselves. It could be changing hairstyle, swapping a shoe, or rolling up a sleeve. Then invite everyone to turn around and take turns for pairs to spot the difference with others.
Guess Who
This icebreaker will require pen and paper. Split your group into two and get everybody on both teams to write 3-5 facts about themselves on a piece of paper. When both teams have completed, swap the papers with the other team, where they must guess which facts relate to which person. It encourages communication between groups to discuss their thoughts on who it could be.
Candy Color Q&A
Go around the room and have kids take turns picking a piece of candy out of a bowl one at a time. (This game is commonly done with M&Ms or Skittles, but you can opt for wrapped candies such as Starbursts.)
The color (or flavor) they pick will dictate what type of question they answer about themselves. For example, a red candy may mean the child shares what they want to be when they grow up, a blue candy may prompt the child to share something they love about themselves, and so on.
Find One in Five
Give your group five seconds to find one person who has something in common with them, but make it something unusual, like their shoe size or their favorite food. Once they find someone, they yell, “FOUND ONE!” Then do it again, but they must find two people, and so on.
Other possible questions: Find someone who has the same birthday month as you, someone whose last name starts with the same letter, or someone whose dad’s name is the same as your dad’s name. This is a great game to get people talking to each other and finding out information they otherwise wouldn’t have known.
Change Places If
This is a great option for indoor youth group games and involves very little items to get started!
What You’ll Need
- Chairs (one less than the number of students playing)
How to Play:
- Sit everyone in a circle of chairs with one student standing.
- Have that one student call, “Change places if…” Example: “Change places if you have brown hair.”
- Caller and students who match that call (like students with brown hair) change places as quickly as possible and try to find an empty chair until a student is left without a chair (this could be the caller again).
- The game continues as long as you’d like with more “Change places if…” statements.
Three Question Mingle
Three Question Mingle is a really effective ice-breaker that can be easily played in a Church group. It doesn’t require any special equipment, all you need is a bunch of pens and some paper!
How to Play
The good thing about this game is that there’s no limit to the number of players you can have. To play, first hand each player three pieces of paper and a pen. Then, every person writes down three open-ended questions, such as “What is your dream vacation?” or “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” The questions can be centered around Biblical topics or just simple getting-to-know-someone questions.
When everybody’s finished writing their questions, give your group members 10 minutes to mingle. While mingling, players will find a person in the room and form a small group. In turn, they ask one of their questions to the other person and listen to their group member’s answers. Once they’ve both asked and answered a question, they will swap that question with the other player.
After the time has elapsed, ask the entire group what new and interesting things they just learned about the other members of the group!
Highs and Lows
This is a fun icebreaker and can be something you can start each week with. Everyone goes around in a circle and shares a high moment from their past week and a low moment. I recommend ending on the high moment! Feel free to go as deep as you’d like with the low moment, but it can also be something as simple as stubbing your toe this morning
Name Three Objects
This one is simple and only requires you to come up with fun and interesting questions. It can be about anything, as long as it involves naming three things!
- What are three objects you would try to save if your house burned down?
- If you were on a deserted island, what would you take with you? Name three things!
- If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Start Playing!
There are endless ice breaker games to engage students and even adults in. The ultimate goal is to feel more connected after each game. I’ve seen this work countless times, and makes having difficult conversations a bit easier in a group setting. Don’t underestimate the power of a fun youth group ice breaker game! Determine the size of your group, the age, and what materials you may or may not need!
