2014-2015
Pacific Northwest
CKI District
Icebreakers
Name Games
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CKI Bingo
o Before the activity create “bingo” cards with bits of
information in each block like “I have been curling”, “I have
been inside the St. Louis Arch”, “My first and last name begin
with the same letter”, etc.
o Give each member a game card and they then walk around
and have people sign a box that applies to them.
o No name can be used more than twice.
o Give a prize to the first person done.
Name Bingo
o Kind of like CKI Bingo, except the card is blank.
o Each person takes a card and fills it with names from other
members they meet.
o Then the leader calls out different names.
o The person called stands up and introduces himself or herself.
o The first person with a Bingo wins, go until blackout or play
several games so that each person is introduced.
Classic Name Game
o Members create small groups.
o The first person says their name and an adjective or
alliteration or place or animal and/or does an action.
 “Little Lia”
 Lia, cows
 Lia, *peace sign *
o The next person must mimic the person before and then say
his or her name in the same model.
o It goes around until the last person in the group gets to say
everybody’s name plus their own.
Juggling
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o Members are put into small groups.
o The leader takes one ball and throws it to another person in
the circle and says their name.
o That person throws it to somebody else and says his or her
name.
o This continues until it is back in the hands of the leader.
o You can spice this up by having them then reverse the order
that people threw the ball in.
o You can also see how fast they can complete the circuit with
getting everyone’s name correct.
o Adding a second or third ball to the equation makes it a little
more interesting and keeps the members on their toes.
o For added difficulty have one ball going forward through the
circle and a second ball going backwards.
Incorporating
o This game is about grouping and regrouping quickly.
o The leader specifies a certain group and members must act
quickly to form that group.
o If you are not in a group when the leader changes groups,
just go on to the next group.
o Example groups
 Group of 3 who don’t know each other
 Group of 4 with the same color eyes
 Group of 5 with the same birth months
Web
o Supplies: ball of yarn (laundry line or a light rope)
o Start with a ball of yarn.
o Say your name and an interesting fact about yourself.
o Then, holding the end, toss the ball to someone.
o That person will say his/her name and an interesting fact.
o Then, holding on to part of the yarn, toss the ball to someone
else.
o By the time everyone was spoken, there will be a large web
of yarn.
 A great time to talk about how the group is connected
together.
Sell Something
o Supplies: paper or index cards
o Have everyone make up an ad for something they have and
don’t need.
o Everyone passes their ad to someone else in the group.
o Everyone takes turn reading the new ad to everyone, but
instead of saying the item being sold, they insert their own
name.
Getting to Know You
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Show Game
o Everyone takes off one show and puts them in a pile.
o Mix the pile up and have everyone grab a show that isn’t his
or hers.
o Then find the owner of the shoe and exchange information:
 Name
 Hometown
 Major
 Hobbies
 Most Embarrassing moment
 Etc.
Mingling Scrabble
o Give each member a card with a letter on it.
o The group has a couple minutes to form words using those
letters.
o Make sure every letter in the alphabet is used!
 We don’t want to leave anybody out!
o After they have formed their words each person introduces
himself or herself and shares something fun.
o Continue until you have exhausted the dictionary or are
exhausted.
Humming Songs
o Give each member a note card with a simple song.
 Mary Had a Little Lamb
 Row Row Row Your Boat
o Everyone begins humming the song on their notecard and
tries to find other members humming the same song.
o Once they have found each other, let the introductions
begin.
o Afterward you may want to put on a concert.
Hi-Lo
o Go around the room and have everyone share their high
point of the week and low point of the week.
M&M’s
o Pass around a bag of M&M’s (or any similar single serving
type candy of your choosing).
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o Tell them they must grab at least 3 but can take as many as
they want as long as everybody gets 3.
o After they have the candy tell them they must tell us one
piece of information for each piece of candy.
o To make it more interesting each color of M&M can be a
certain topic.
o Or you can have different types of candy and they must
answer a specific question depending on the type of candy
they pick.
o This can be a long game if you have a greedy Gus or two!
Information List
o At one of the meetings have the members fill out a sheet of
questions:
 Favorite ice cream and why
 Most embarrassing moment
 Earliest memory
 Biggest fear
 Biggest ambition
o Have somebody take one piece of information off each
sheet.
o At the next meeting the members must decide who said
each piece of information.
o Have them explain their answers.
Mingle
o Have everybody in the group crowd to the center with their
arms at their sides.
o The leader waits until they are really close together and then
blows a whistle and yells out a number.
o The number must form a group of that many people, lock
arms, and sit down.
o Anybody not in a group in 10 seconds is eliminated.
o Continue until most/all have been eliminated.
Four Corners
o Supplies: Paper and pen
o Everyone has a piece of paper and they are told to write
their name in the middle.
o In one corner draw a favorite hobby
o In another corner, what they want to do when they grow up
o In another corner, favorite travel destination
o These can be anything really!
o When everyone is done, they share their answers.
o This can also be done on the corner of nametags.
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What’s in Your Bag?
o Each person must find something that they currently have
with him or her in their backpack, purse, or pocket that
represents them.
o Everyone shares their object with the group, and then
explains why it says something about them.
2 Truths, 1 Lie
o Supplies: Paper or index cards
o Give the group time to write down two things about
themselves that are true and one that is a lie.
o Each group member will then share these facts about
themselves and the rest of the group was to figure out which
is the lie.
Guess Who
o Supplies: Paper or index cards
o Have everyone write 2 things about themselves and turn it
into one person.
o That person will read each thing and everyone will guess who
wrote it.
I Like _____
o Have everyone (except one) form a circle with chairs or have
everyone form a very tight circle.
o Have the extra person stand in the middle and say something
about themselves in the form of “I like ____.”
o This could be anything from:
 I like people who wear tennis shoes.
 I like science majors.
o Everyone who has this in common must then step out from
the circle and try to move to another spot in the circle.
o The person who said the “I like ____” can try to get into one of
the empty spots too.
o The person who can’t make it into a spot must then say
something that they like.
o This can continue for as long as you like, but everyone should
have stepped out from the circle at least once.
Do you love your neighbor?
o Arrange chairs in a circle, with one person in the middle.
o That person approaches one person that they do not know
and says “Hi! My name is _____.”, the person responds with the
same thing. Person in the middle then says “Well, ___, do you
love your neighbor?”
o The respondent can say either “yes, but I would love them
more if *insert something about themselves*” or “no”
o If “yes” then anyone who relates to the statement afterwards
has to get up, run around the circle and try to find a new seat
(and are not allowed to sit in the chair next to them).
o If “no” then all players have to get up and find a new seat.
o Whoever doesn’t find a seat is in the middle.
 “Hi! My name is Tarzan.” “Hi! My name is Jane.” “Jane,
do you love your neighbor?” “Yes, but I would love
them more if they were wearing yellow!” (All players
wearing yellow have to get up and run around to find
a new seat)
Team Builders
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Knots
o Divide the group into sections of 8-10.
o Have the members stand in a circle facing in and grab hands
with somebody across the circle from them.
o You must now untangle yourselves without letting go of hands.
o This activity emphasizes teamwork and communication; both
are necessary to get untangled.
Stand Up
o Try this in pairs first and then expand the groups.
o Have members sit on the ground back to back with knees
bent and elbows linked.
o Try to stand up without falling down.
o The larger the group gets the harder it is.
Lap Sit
o Members stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle facing in.
o Everyone turns to their right and takes a couple steps into the
middle of the circle to tighten it up.
o Make sure there are no gaps and the corners are rounded.
o Place your hands on the hips of the person in front of you and
count to 3.
o At 3, everybody sits down onto the laps of the person behind
them.
o This emphasizes trust and trustworthiness, plus it looks pretty
cool!
Relays
o Anything can be turned into a relay race. Some ideas:
Dizzy bats: first person runs to the bat, spins a specific
number of times with forehead to bat, bat on ground,
then runs back to team and next person goes.
 Spoon on a string: tie a spoon (or similar object) to a
string long enough to connect everybody in the group.
Then have the members pass the string through their
shirtsleeves to the next person until all the members on
the team are connected by the string.
 Grapefruit pass: Each group gets a grapefruit that must
be passed down the line, neck to neck.
Build a Structure
o Divide a large group of people into smaller groups (around 38).
o Give each group certain materials (can be anything – paper,
straws, balloons, pipe cleaners, paper plates, usually a few
different materials).
o Tell then they have x amount of time to build a structure.
o The tallest structure wins.
Island Hopping
o You can either do this in teams or with an entire group.
o The object is to get everyone in the group from one island to
the other.
o You cannot “swim” – you can only use the milk crates given
to get from one side to the other.
o If anyone falls off the milk crate into the “water” the group
must start over again.
o The milk crates start on the island with the people.
o The group must place the milk crates in the water to get
across.
o Milk crates can be towels, paper, etc.
Tarp Flip
o Have everyone stand on a tarp (or blanket).
o Everyone must stay standing on the tarp at all times.
o The group must work together to flip the tarp over.
o If someone accidently steps off, the group must start over.
o Individual accountability is a huge part of this game.
Blind Line Up
o The group has to put themselves in order by something
 Birthday, alphabetical mothers’ first name, etc.
o NO ONE CAN SPEAK
o Pick at least one person in the group to be blind and tie a
bandana around their eyes and pick at least one person in
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the group to be both blind and unable to touch, tying a
bandana around their eyes and their hands behind their
backs.
The group has to put themselves in order based on the
category you assign like birthdays.
You will like that people will communicate by touch or by
stamping their feet on the floor.
There may also be people who help out those who can’t see
or touch find their place in the order.
Double check at the end to see if they got the order correct.
Then ask them some questions like what was most difficult
about the activity, who stood out as a leader, etc.
Just for Fun!
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Secret Celebrity
o The leader pins the name of a famous celebrity on the back
of each member.
o The member must ask others questions to find out who they
are!
Indian Chief
o One person leaves the group.
o The group stands in a circle formation and selects one person
as their chief.
o The chief leads the group in various actions and the returning
person tries to guess who the chief is.
Egg-Baby-Dinosaur
o Have everyone pair up.
o Each pair plays a round of rock-paper-scissors.
o The winner moves up the age bracket
(eggbabydinosaur) and the losers move down an age
bracket (dinosaurbabyegg).
o Each participant can only play against someone in their age
bracket (dinosaurs must play dinosaurs).
o Players must act their age.
 Eggs must be scrunched down
 Babies toddle
 Dinosaurs walk like a t-rex with arms curled into their
bodies
o Everyone starts as a baby!
Kitty Wants a Corner
o Make a big circle and have one person be Kitty.
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o The kitty goes round the circle, stopping at each person and
saying “kitty wants a corner.”
o Each person will respond by saying, “go ask your neighbor”
and the kitty moves on.
o While this is happening, the other members of the circle are
trying to switch places without the kitty noticing.
o If the kitty notices two people trying to switch places in the
circle, he/she can steal a spot and whoever is left without a
spot ends up as the new kitty.
A Singing Corner
o Split into groups (4 recommended)
o Choose a common word like night, day, love, girl, etc.
o Go around and have each group SING a song lyric that was
the chosen word in it
o Groups are eliminated if everyone does not sing or come up
with a lyric fast enough