"Get to know you" games
The Name Game
Ages: 6 and up
Group Size: Any
Space: Enough for the group to sit in a circle
Supplies: none
Directions:
Everyone sits in a circle and must say their name and answer a question. Below are sample questions, make sure questions are age and group appropriate. The questions are arranged in approximate risk levels. Risk levels, however, of any given questions varies greatly depending on the group.
Low Risk:
- The book you would most want to take a vacation in.
- Favorite thing to do on the weekend.
- Favorite holiday memory (Chanukah, Thanksgiving, Christmas, first day of summer vacation, etc.)
- Describe your favorite food or meal.
Medium Risk:
- Imitate your favorite animal.
- The person you admire and/or respect most.
- Describe a scar you have and how you got it.
- Worst/Best work experience.
High Risk:
- An embarrassing moment.
- Explain the history of the most important object you have with you.
- Explain the history of the most important object you own.
- One thing that you are really proud of yourself for or about.
Two Truths and a Lie
Directions:
Form a circle, either sitting or standing. Explain that each person in the circle takes his/her turn by telling three things about him/herself. Two are true, but one is a lie.
For example, it is Natasha's turn, and she states the following three:
- "I saw a rat in my backyard."
- "I was born in Montana."
- "I am a vegetarian."
Make sure that each person has a chance to take a turn stating the two truths and a lie, and have people guess which facts are true, and which fact is not true. Try to give everybody who wants to an oppurtunity to participate. It is important to respect people's desires to pass. You may want to go first to model.
Name Toss
Ages: 6 and up
Group Size: Any
Space: Enough for the group to stand in a circle.
Supplies: Soft balls (koosh balls, tennis balls, etc.)
Directions:
Have the group stand or sit in a circle. Before playing, each person in the room says his/her name once. Using a soft ball (koosh ball, tennis ball, etc.), call out someone's name and toss the ball gently to someone else, saying, "What's up, (name)?" The recipient says "Thanks, (name of tosser)" then calls out someone else's name and tosses the ball to him/her - thanking the person who tossed the ball. This repeats until the ball gets back to the person who started. Each person only gets the ball and tosses it once.
Then, challenge the group to toss the ball through the same order, but faster. (The names and thank you must still happen.) Time the group and continue to challenge their speed until it seems that the optimal speed has been achieved.
Variation:
Additional balls can be added so that there are additional balls being tossed and caught at once, as long as they follow the same order.
Line Up
Ages: 6 and up
Group Size: 5 to 80
Space: Enough space for the group to make a single file line (in small spaces you can make a "U" shape or a circle)
Supplies: none
Directions:
Choose a topic, such as birth dates (with or without the year) and ask the group to line up in order of that topic. Set two points between which the line should be made and designate which end is, in this case, January 1 and which is December 31. To make the game more challenging (and fun) prohibit speaking. Example of topics: birth date, shoe size, height, favorite color, grade in school, etc.
Variation:
With a more experienced group, blindfold a small number of the players and don't allow anyone to talk. It is very interesting to watch how different groups will or will not help the blindfolded players to find their place in line. Don't let the game end until everyone is in line, but don't specifically tell people to help those who are blindfolded. When the game is done, take some time to process:
- How long did it take to help a person who was blindfolded?
- Why did it take this long?
- What made you go help those who were blindfolded?
- What does it feel like to be blindfolded?
If there are one or two people who are dominating the group, blindfold them and watch the change in group dynamics. This variation of the activity can often lead to a good discussion about group dynamics and working together.
Commons
Ages: 8 and up
Group Size: 2 or more
Space: An open space large enough for a group to move around in.
Supplies: Pieces of paper with pairs written on them (optional).
Special Note: Nice for almost any age, younger children may need help thinking of commons.
Version One:
Have everyone in the group get into groups of two or three. Once pairs have found each other, give the group two minutes (or appropriate time) to find 3 (or more) things that they have in common. You can make this harder by ruling out visibly obvious characteristics such as clothing, skin color, or gender. Once the pairs have had a chance to find 3 things that they have in common, you can 1) Have the pairs introduce each other to the rest of the group, sharing what they had in common, or 2) have each pair join with another, or form groups of 3, then 4, etc. continuing to find things in common, until the groups have gotten very large, or until everyone is in one big group (small groups only).
Version Two:
In this version, keep the group as a whole. Call out a subject such as "toothpaste." Everyone in the group must then move to stand with those who use the same brand of toothpaste as they themselves use. Possible categories include: home state, favorite animal, favorite color, favorite food, favorite kitchen appliance, favorite genre of books/movies, animal you would be, etc.
Mystery Person
Age: 8 and above
Group Size: 15 to 30
Space: Enough space for the group to sit in a circle.
Supplies: Blanket or sheet
Version One:
This version is a good warm-up for a group that is just getting to know each other. Divide the group into two teams. Hold up a blanket or sheet between the two groups, so that they can not see each other sitting in semi-circles on either side of the sheet. Each team silently chooses one of their members to sit as close to the blanket as possible, facing the blanket. As both people are in place, the blanket is dropped. Each team tries to yell out the name of the other team's person before the other team correctly names their person. So, if for example, Team A sends Troy to sit on their side and Team B sends Katie, someone on Team A must say "Katie" before Team B calls out "Troy." Which ever team correctly guesses first "wins" that round and the person they correctly named joins their team.
Version Two:
This version is for a group that knows each other and is experienced enough to use appropriate descriptions (i.e. nothing insulting or inappropriate). In this version, the game begins the same as in Version One. However, the person from each team sits with their back to the blanket, facing the rest of their team. Once a member of each team is sitting with their backs towards the blanket, drop the blanket. As soon as the blanket is dropped, each team begins to describe to their team member, the person sitting directly behind their team member. For example, Orlando sits with his back to the blanket facing his team, Team A. Jessica, from Team B, does the same on the other side, such that the two are sitting almost back to back and will not be able to see each other when the blanket is dropped. Once the blanket is dropped, Team A will describe Jessica to Orlando and Team B will describe Orlando to Jessica. If Jessica correctly guesses Orlando, then he joins Jessica's team. The game continues until everyone is on one side, or people become ready for a new game. The game can be made much harder by limiting the descriptive details people may use, such as no visual cues may be used.
