Five Fun Icebreaker Games for Tweens and Teens

Icebreakers are games and activities that encourage people of all ages to get acquainted, relax, and become part of the group. I've worked as a youth leader for over 15 years and use icebreakers to ease new members into the group, encourage preteens and teens to get to know each other better, and get them loose and excited about the upcoming event. Icebreaker games work well for youth group meetings, kids' parties, and informal classroom settings. Below are five of my favorite standby icebreaker games to get tweens and teenagers talking and interacting with one another.

Five Icebreaker Games for Tweens and Teens

Beach Ball Tell All
This icebreaker game is one of my favorites for breaking the tension in group of kids that don't know each other well. The first time does require some preparation work, because you have to write all the questions down, but the ball can be reused in the future.

Buy a large inflatable beach ball. Before the youth activity, write a variety of questions all over it with a permanent marker. Use open-ended questions that require teens to give more than a yes or no response.

Have the group of kids scatter around the room, and toss the ball. The person who catches the ball gives his or her name, and then answers the question found under his or her right thumb. Once the response is given, the teen throws the ball into the crowd and the game continues.

Who Am I?
This icebreaker activity works well to get kids to mingle and chat with each other.

Write a different name of someone famous on each index card. The names you choose may depend on the location or purpose for the gathering. For instance, I've used Bible characters for a church youth activity, cartoon characters for kids' birthday party, and names of American presidents for a classroom environment.

Tape one to the back of each preteen and teenager, making sure they don't see the cards. The players must walk around the room asking questions that only require a yes or no reply to the other players to figure out who they are. Typical starting questions might be along the lines of "Am I a girl?" or "Is my hair black?"

Remember My Name
I love to use this fun icebreaker to help kids learn and remember everyone's names. Adults leading the youth activity or hosting the party will also benefit from participating in this one with the tweens and teens. I've found this game to be a great memory jogger to help me keep all the kids' names straight too.

Have the group form a circle. Choose someone to start the game by introducing herself, choosing a nickname that begins with the same letter as her first name, and telling the group why she selected that nickname. Move around the circle by the next person first repeating the nicknames of those before him, and then adding his own at the end. Continue until everyone in the group has a turn. If they make a mistake or forget one along the way, have them repeat them all again.

Here's an example: Her name is Crazy Carla, he's Funny Frank, she's Mellow Melanie, and my name is Jazzy Jo (because I love music and used to play the clarinet in a jazz band).

Autograph Chasers
Here's another icebreaker to encourage kids to talk to each other and mingle.

In advance, write a list and make copies of a list of dislikes, likes, and characteristics. For instance: is the youngest in the family, likes broccoli, doesn't like football, or has brown eyes. Give each player a copy of the list with a blank next to each item. Have them walk around the room asking questions until they find someone who fits the description for each. When they find someone who meets the criteria, they must have that person sign his or her beside it. For example, if John has brown eyes he must autograph the sheet beside that item on the list. Whoever collects all the autographs first - or has the most - is the winner.

The Chair Game
The Chair Game is a hilarious, more grown up version of musical chairs. It's another of my favorites because it gets tweens and teens moving, talking, and laughing together. It also is helpful for working off some of the rowdiness before sitting them down for calmer activities or discussions.

Set up the chairs (use one less chair than the number of players) to form a large circle and have all the preteens and teens sit in a chair, except for one person. The one teen without a chair stands in the center of the circle. He or she then makes one statement, such as "Anyone who did their homework today." Then everyone who did their homework that day must get up and find a new seat, not directly beside where they already are. The person in the middle must try to sit in a seat before someone else does. The kid left standing without a seat must then stand in the middle and call the next statement.

More by this contributor:
Interactive Games to Teach Kids Social Skills
Hosting a Wet and Wild Teen Birthday Party
Communication-Building Activity for Parents and Children