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Perfect for small groups, large groups, women’s groups, mixed groups, and youth groups. Having more icebreaker games can help make your Bible studies, meetings, and events more successful. They are an easy way to open the door for interaction, sharing, and getting to know others in a friendly and non-intimidating way. These activities help your participants identify connections with others, leading to future conversations and friendships.

We compiled this list from favorites in our Facebook community, Creative Solutions for Small Churches. Keep reading to see what others like and what works in their small churches!

Icebreaker Games Offer More Than Ordinary Party Games

Icebreaker activities are more than simple party games. The benefits of using icebreakers at meetings and events often go unrecognized.

Icebreaker games:

  • help create a casual, informal, and relaxed environment
  • provide meaningful connections
  • help with team building
  • help us feel comfortable around those we don’t know well
  • help to identify commonalities we have with others
  • put new visitors at ease
  • encourage sharing and authenticity

These icebreaker games help your participants find others in your group with similar favorites, hobbies, and experiences. Encourage people to start conversations with those they have found common ground with.

18 of the Best Icebreaker Games For Smaller Groups

1. Colored Candy Icebreaker 

  • Ahead Of Time: Purchase bags of your favorite little colored candies (M&M’s, Skittles, Smarties, or jelly beans). Have a small bowl on each table for the candy. Make a list of the candy colors and assign a topic to each color. Topics can include things such as something that happened yesterday, things you do well, favorite books or movies, something you would like to do in the next 6 months, appliances you would not want to live without, things you enjoy doing in your favorite season, things you do to relax, etc. Have enough copies of the list for each table or small group of people.
  • Let’s Do It! Pass the bag of candy around the table or have your women take some from a candy dish. Then, pass out the color lists. Let your group members have a moment to gather their thoughts, and then share one item for each piece of candy they have. Consider limiting each person to sharing 5 things, even if they have more than 5 pieces of candy. This is the best way to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to share.

2. This Side Or That Side

No purchased supplies are needed, just a little creative thinking.

  • Ahead Of Time: Create a list of statements you will read to the group. These are statements about hobbies, likes, places they’ve been, actions they’ve done, dreams, and things they do, wear, watch, and like. They all start with, “If you … ” and include such statements as “love summer, drink tea, like to quilt, love fishing, ever lived in another country, read your Bible today, prefer a beach vacation over a mountain vacay, like to watch mystery shows on tv, prefer fiction over non-fiction books, been to a Small Church Summits conference”, etc.
  • Let’s Do It! Split the group into two –– the groups standing (or sitting) on opposite sides of the room. Read your first statement, finishing it with “ … move to the right side of the room. If that’s not you, go to the left side.” Give everyone a moment to look around to see who is in their new group –– people who have the same interests. Repeat with the next question. Feel free to switch up which side of the room they go to.  

3. What’s In Your Purse? (For Women’s Groups)

  • Ahead Of Time: Create a list of items that you might find in a woman’s purse. Everyday items could include a gum wrapper, a receipt from the grocery store, a $10 bill, a movie theater ticket stub, a comb, sunglasses, a safety pin, tissues, mints, a needle and thread, a granola bar, etc. Include random items that someone might have such as a bungee cord, duct tape, or even a pocket knife.  
  • Let’s Do It! Once everyone is sitting down, the team leader asks everyone to get out their purses and then asks the questions. (Start with general questions that most everyone could have and slowly move to more specific and unique items.) “Who has ____ in their purse?” It’s such a fun game, and there’s always that one lady who is prepared for anything.

4. The Little-Known Fact

  • Ahead Of Time: Gather enough pens and index cards for each woman.  
  • Let’s Do It! As people arrive, have them take an index card and write one little-known fact about themselves. Once everyone has written on their cards, collect them. Standing in the front of the group, read a little-known fact and ask for guesses about who may have written it. Instruct the women to identify themselves if someone guesses correctly. Allow 3 guesses, and if the writer isn’t identified, ask her to acknowledge herself. Continue until all cards have been read.  

5. Blackout Bingo Game 

  • Ahead Of Time: Create bingo sheets with tidbits of information in each square, such as: born the same month as you, has been to New Hampshire, wears contacts, has been to the ocean, has the same hobby as you, knows a missionary, etc. Have on hand enough pens for each person. Have a small prize for the winner.
  • Let’s Do It! Allow 7 minutes for this game, more or less, depending on the size of your group. Having a precise time limit helps engage people quickly and makes the stakes a little bit higher! Pass out the bingo cards and pens. Instruct the participants: The goal of this game is to find someone to whom a square applies to them and have that person sign that square. Get as many signatures as you can. If you have larger groups, set a limit for only one signature per person on each paper. The first one to get signatures in each box wins a prize! This game gets people mixing quickly. It’s a fun way to make connections and is perfect for new team members!

6. Same As Me Bingo

  • Ahead Of Time: Create bingo sheets with tidbits of information in each square, such as birth month, born in the same state, same hobby, favorite season, favorite snack food, cats or dogs, number of states you’ve been to, snow or palm trees, orchestra or circus, the same number of siblings, etc. Also, have enough pens on hand for everyone.
  • Let’s Do It! This game should take about 5-10 minutes to play, depending on the size of your group. Pass out the Same As Me Bingo sheets. The goal is for each participant to find someone who has the same answer. When you identify someone with the same answer, have them sign your card on that specific square. If you have a large group, limit the number of times a person can sign each card.

7. Farmyard Animals

  • Ahead Of Time: Create 2 sets of cards with animal names written on them (2 cards that list duck, 2 cards that list cow, etc.). Have enough cards to give each person in your group one card. If you do this with children, print out pictures instead of words for the cards.
  • Let’s Do It! Before passing out the cards, instruct everyone not to say a word. They can look at their cards but not show them to anyone else. When you say “Go!” they will start making their animal sound until they find their “partner” making the same sound. Pass out cards, one to each person. Hint: Try to mix up the cards so that friends next to each other don’t have the same animals. Say “Go!” and start the game. The game ends when everyone has found their animal partner. Everyone will have a good laugh, and it’s an excellent way to bond with new people!

8. Seating By Cup Colors

Although this is not an icebreaker game, we’ve included it here because it is a fantastic way to vary the normal seating patterns and allow for discussion with different people at your tables.

  • Ahead Of Time: Purchase the same style cups in 3 or 4 different colors. Stack them together, alternating the colors red, yellow, and blue, and repeat. Put a red cup on the first table as part of a centerpiece, blue on another, and yellow on a different table.  
  • Let’s Do It! After the attendees have gotten their drinks, have them sit (or move) to the table whose centerpiece cup is the same color as their cup. Allow for a short time of sharing among the people at the table, sharing something about themselves. Encourage tables to see if they can identify a common hobby, like, or favorite for their entire table.

9. Guess The Hidden Object

  • Ahead Of Time: Ask the ladies to bring in an object from home, concealed in a container or a bag, so nobody can see what it is. As a team leader, bring an extra hidden object or two. (You will give these to any guests who may not have brought one.)
  • Let’s Do It! To start, have one woman slowly give hints about what is hidden in her container or bag. The goal is to try to be the first person to guess the object.

10. Where Are You Going?

  • Ahead Of Time: Prepare the tables with small scrap sheets of paper, pens, and baskets. Create a list of 3-7 good icebreaker questions, depending on group size, such as “You are going shopping; where are you going? You are outdoors; what are you doing? You have a talent to teach others. What will you teach them? You are going out to eat; what will you be eating? You are going on a trip, where to? You are crafting; what are you doing? You are on a desert island; what did you bring with you? You are making a dessert; what are you making?”
  • Let’s Do It! Instruct your women to write only one answer on each piece of paper. Ask your questions, allowing about thirty seconds for each answer. Once you have your questions asked and answered, read the first question and let the ladies share their responses. Repeat for the remaining questions. (As a leader, make note of the ones that have several of the same responses. This is a great way to help plan future activities.)

11. Commonalities

This is the perfect icebreaker to consider for a last-minute idea. It requires only a few sheets of paper and some pens. Each table serves as its own group.

  • Ahead Of Time: You will need a few sheets of paper and a couple of pens for each table.
  • Let’s Do It! The idea of this icebreaker is to identify things we have in common with each other (all women, all over 38 years old, all under 25 years old, all brown hair, all born in this state, all like peach pie, etc.). Allow 10 minutes, or a little more if needed, for this activity. Say “Go!” and let the women try to identify things they all have in common. Someone at the table should keep a list. The table with the most commonalities wins. After 10 minutes, stop the game. Have one person from each table share with the entire group their table’s commonalities.  

12. Table Talk Cards

  • Ahead Of Time: Write out random questions on cardstock or index cards and place them on the tables. Write out questions that are pretty general and not too personal, such as: Where is your favorite place to vacation? What is your favorite snack? Name a food you don’t like and why. Name your favorite season and something specific to that season you enjoy doing. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?  
  • Let’s Do It! Ask that one person to read the cards at their table (or in their small group.) Allow time for everyone to answer. This is a great conversation starter!

33 Questions To Ask For Deeper Conversations At Church is a great place to find more questions for your Table Talk Cards! The questions take you beyond “Hello” and “How are you?” and lead you into a deeper level of conversation. I wouldn’t use all of these for icebreaker games, but many of them would work well to get to know each other a little bit and can even be perfect for team-building activities.

13. Clothespin Prayer Reminders

  • Ahead Of Time: Gather or purchase enough wood clothespins, one for each person. A jar or hat is needed to gather the clothespins. Set up one table with the clothespins, jar, and pens.
  • Let’s Do It! Have people write their names on a clothespin and put it into the jar. Once everyone has their name on a clothespin, pass the jar around and have each person choose one clothespin. If they get their own name, choose again and put their name back into the jar. Find the person whose name is on the clothespin you chose. Each should share 3 things they normally do in a week or each day. Keep the clothespin with the person’s name and let them know where you will put it to use as a reminder to pray for them.  

14. Is This You? 

  • Ahead Of Time: Prepare a list of statements you will read to the group. Write ideas such as:
    • “I did a load of laundry today.”
    • “I have a sister.” 
    • “My favorite genre to read, watch, or listen to is mysteries.”
    • “I am the mother of a teenager.” 
    • “I ate breakfast today.”
    • “My favorite color is yellow.”
    • “I have flown in an airplane.” 
    • “I have a dog.”
    • “One of my favorite things to do is quilt.”
    • “I love to ski.” 
    • “I play a musical instrument.”
  • Let’s Do It! Read the statements one at a time. Then, ask people to stand (or raise their hands) if this statement applies to them. Don’t rush this game; allow time for everyone to look around and see who has common interests or experiences.

15. Phone Picture Game

This is one of the best icebreakers to reserve for when you need a game and don’t have time to plan or purchase supplies.

  • Ahead Of Time: There is no prep needed for this game. 
  • Let’s Do It! Have everyone share the last picture they took with their phones. Allow time for ooohs and aaaahs.

16. Paper Plate Drawing 

  • Ahead Of Time: Gather supplies. One paper plate and pen for each person. Chinet brand plates are great for this game because of their sturdiness. Plan out a scene you will describe for each participant to draw. Example: Draw a house in the center. To the right, draw a pine tree. Draw a flower garden on the left side of the house. Add two white, fluffy clouds in the sky on the left side. Draw a V-shaped bird flying over the tree.
  • Let’s Do It! Give everyone one plate and pen. Instruct them to draw the scene you describe. But to add some excitement and fun, everyone must draw the scene with the plate on the top of their head. This is so much fun, and will leave everyone laughing and having a good time!

17. Reverse Charades

This icebreaker game is similar to charades, EXCEPT one person is the guesser, and the rest of the group works together to act something out. It’s not quite as intimidating as one person standing up in front of everyone.

  • Ahead Of Time: Write out scenes for small teams to act out. It would be best if you planned for 6 or 7 per team. Some examples include a pie-eating contest, the wave at a sporting event, a tea party, cheerleaders, pizza delivery, 4th of July.  
  • Let’s Do It! Teams take turns trying to guess as many as they can in 1 minute. 

18. 2 Truths & A Lie

No prep or supplies are needed.

  • Ahead Of Time: No prep is needed!
  • Let’s Do It! Everyone gets a turn telling 2 things that are true about themselves and 1 that is not true. Then, those listening must decide which is the untruth. Whoever provides the correct answers gets to go next!

Super Easy Icebreaker Games For Your Small Church

Many icebreaker games are easy to do, inexpensive (or free), and set up is uncomplicated. Try one of these fun icebreakers at your next meeting, Bible study, or event!

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