Office work can sometimes increase tension and stress among employees. If you are in a small group, of course you can see and feel the effects of high tension from employees and this can affect their performance results. Icebreaker games are needed to reduce employee stress and restore their work focus. Gathering employees to do something fun can be a relief even though their work is full of difficulties or problems. But what are some fun icebreaker activities, games, and ideas for small groups? Read this article until the end.
Why do we need icebreaker games?
Icebreaker games can build relationships between employees, create a team or organizational culture, relieve stress, reduce tension in the work atmosphere, and make employees re-focus on what they do. Icebreaker activities can be a tool to help participants spend time interacting with coworkers and learning about each other.
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Whatever the current work environment, icebreaker activities are the key to making conditions more comfortable. You can do it during a meeting, before starting work, or before work is over.
What is a fun icebreaker activity?
Fun icebreaker activity for small groups is any activity that can involve all participants, so that they can interact with each other. Let employees help you in preparing icebreaker activities. Prepare icebreaker ideas using equipment you have purchased previously, or using items you have in the office.
Or you can receive suggestions from employees about what icebreaker games they know. If you are still confused about what activities are suitable, you can see some of the best icebreaker activity ideas from us.
15 fun and unique icebreaker games for team
Icebreakers for small groups can be made as exciting as possible and provide valuable lessons for all participants. There are many types of games that you can use, such as indoor team building, connection games, small group games, problem solving, etc. Here is the list.
- Classic riddle
Have you ever heard of the classic chicken, wolf, and grain riddle? This riddle is very suitable for icebreakers in small groups. Tell the group about the story: "A farmer was traveling with a chicken, a wolf, and a bag of grain. They had to go through a river to cross. The boat could only accommodate one chair for the farmer and one other piece of luggage. The farmer could not leave the chicken with a bag of grain, or leaving the wolf alone with the chickens. How can farmers get them all across the river?"
Team members have to think together about how farmers can move the loads one by one without anything getting lost. Here is the answer for the riddle:
The farmer brings the chicken first. The farmer returns to take the wolf, and after crossing the river, the wolf is put down and the chicken is taken back. After returning to the starting point, the farmer put the chicken away and took out a bag of grain. When you cross the river, a wolf will be with a bag of grain. Last step is the farmer retrieve the chicken.
- Speed networking
Speed networking is an activity that makes it easier for teams to know each other. Pair your team into groups of two. Give each pair an icebreaker question, and five minutes to answer as many questions as they like. After five minutes is over, switch up the pairs. After switching up the pair, you can give them time to chat for a while to discuss what questions they had with the previous pair.
Because you are doing it with a smaller group, you can cycle through the pairs more than once. This activity will give employees time to chat about some information and how they can answer as many questions as possible.
- Achievements under 18
This icebreaker activity is very suitable for small groups because each participant must convey what achievements they have had until the age of 18. These accomplishments can range from personal, academic, and hobby. Every employee will remember any moment they have from their childhood, and can lead to questions about personal triumphs. This activity is a fun way to grow each employee's self-confidence again, and a great way to get to know each other.
- Jenga questions
You and your team can play Jenga and also answer questions. Give a number to each piece of Jenga, and write questions according to the sequential number. As each participant successfully draws a brick, they must answer a question.
This activity creates an easygoing and spontaneous way for employees to share information about themselves. While they have to stay focused on balancing Jenga blocks, they will also have fun answering the questions that have been prepared.
- Creativity of a brand manager
Ask your team members to imagine themselves opening a business. Each group must decide how they market their new brand. Let the group determine the logos, slogans, and products they choose. Share and vote for which group has the best marketing strategy.
This icebreaker game will foster creativity for the team, and you can see several individuals who have good talents in certain fields, and we can know what they are passionate about.
- Six word memoirs
Six word memoirs are a suitable activity for team building and spark discussions. Each team member needs to brainstorm about six words that summarize their life, and they need to share their six word memoir with the group. Each team member needs to choose the right words to explain it to the group. Each six words can be a question and explanation, while we can find out interesting insights about each other.
- Time heist
Have you ever thought about what you would do if you could go back in time? This game is inspired by the events of Avengers Endgame, with time heist as a game for teams in what would pull it off if they could time travel.
Ask your team to write down their time travel plans on paper, and place it on an opaque container. Then pass the container around and each team member draws a paper and discusses what is written on the paper. Time heists can provide an amazing way to learn about each other, and how creative they are as a team.
- The marshmallow challenge
The marshmallow challenge is a fun team building game for work. Split your team into pairs and give each group 10 sticks of dry spaghetti, three feet of string, three feet of tape, and one marshmallow. Each pair has 10 minutes to build the tallest structure with the marshmallow on top. This activity requires communication, teamwork, and innovation. After the challenge is complete, you can gather the team and discuss which part of the game is the most difficult, which structure is the best, who failed the first, how they overcame it, and what they think about other designs.
- 10 things in common
Divide your team into pairs and instructions to discover 10 things that they have in common. After the pairs find similarities with their partners, they can switch pairs to find other 10 things in common. This game can speed up the time in finding out about each other, as well as what things they like together to add excitement to the conversation.
- Who am I?
Who am I is a fun game that requires some preparation. Choose some well-known real people, and some fictional characters. Write the individual names on paper and tape a paper to each person's back. Each participant goal is a figure out who they are. They have to ask coworkers to find the answers. Answerers may not mention their names directly, and can only answer yes or no. The game ends when all participants can guess who the name on the paper is. To make the game easier, you can create a theme. For example, you can give a clue to all participants that the theme this time is Hollywood actors.
- Word association
Word association is a quick and easy game to learn how teams think. Make a list of ten words, and you can change the number based on your needs. Next, each participant writes one word through ten on a piece of paper and reads each worn. Let employees think about what sentences come to their minds after listening to all the words from coworkers.
After the lists are complete, teammates will share the response to each word. This game is interesting because we can understand how employees make connections and their logic.
- Superhero wars
Divide the room into two to four people per team. Every person must choose one superhero, such as Iron Man, Katniss, Gandalf, and take on their powers. Teams now go to battle verbally. You can see how excited they are to defend their superheroes to keep winning, while the creativity of each employee creates good stories. The group leader decides which superhero team wins the war.
- Talent show
Every employee has the opportunity to show their talents in front of coworkers. The talents might be anything, starting from singing, card tricks, stand up comedy, or teaching new skills. The more random, the better icebreaker will be.
- Song scramble
This is a unique game that can be played for small groups. Each participant will choose a song they like and sing it, then they stop suddenly at one word, and appoint a coworker to continue the word with a song of their own choice. Continue the game until there are only two players left who can continue one word to the new song.
- Would you rather
The group leader points to one of the participants and asks a question such as "would you rather eat at the restaurant or fine dining at the hotel?" After answering the question, that person points to other participants and asks the next question. Let each participant prepare fun questions, so that the office atmosphere becomes cheerful and lots of conversations go on.
Icebreaker games, activities and ideas are needed to help employees reduce stress, tension, restore focus, or prepare before they start work or meetings. Icebreaker activities for small groups can be a means to strengthen relationships with coworkers and create a positive culture in the organization.
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