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Icebreakers and Heartwarmers: Activities to Build Connection
Games and play aren't just for kids! They're a fantastic way to build bonds of friendship and love among all ages. Starting a meeting with a game helps participants get to know each other better, warming them up for richer connection and conversation. Here are some ideas for heartwarming games that can help get your gatherings off to a good start.
Conversation Starters
♦ Community Connections
Make a simple wreath from a wire circle. Decorate the top with flowers and greenery. Tie pieces of ribbon to the bottom of the circle, with a clothespin attached to each. Clip a decorative piece of paper to each clothespin.
Write “get to know you” questions on the papers. Some examples: Where is home for you? What is one of your happiest memories? What is one of your favorite prayers or quotes? Invite guests to select a question from the wreath and ask it of several people during the event.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/SO18_Twin_Holy_Birthdays_RS.pdf
♦ Catch a Question
Write questions in permanent marker on a beach ball. For example, “What’s your favorite way to help others?” Everyone stands in a circle. Play music while tossing the ball from person to person.
Stop the music! The person holding the ball reads aloud the question closest to their right thumb and gives the answer. Start the music again and keep playing.
♦ Good News Interviews
Have everyone pair up. Give each person the same list of 5-10 questions to use in an interview. For example, “What’s a challenge you recently overcame, and how did you do it?” “What helps you feel hopeful?” “What’s something you’re looking forward to?”
After everyone has had a chance to be interviewed, rejoin the larger group. Take turns sharing one or two pieces of good news that each person learned about their partner.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/BstarTAB__SO16_Path.pdf
♦ Guessing Grid
Write get-to-know-you questions on the back (sticky side) of sticky notes (one question on each note). Post the sticky notes on a wall or poster board. The front should be blank so no one can see the questions on them.
Invite one person to choose a sticky note from the board. They read the question on the back and answer it. Then they choose one person from the group to answer the same question. That person answers the question, then chooses another sticky note to answer. Continue until everyone has had a chance to choose a sticky note.
♦ Roll With It
Ask everyone to sit in a circle. Each person rolls a six-sided dice, then answers the question for the number rolled. Post the questions on a poster board where everyone can see them.
1: Activity you love to do
2: Something you’d like to learn how to do
3: Favorite book or movie
4: Place you’d love to visit
5: Virtue you admire in others
6: One of your heroes
Continue around the circle until each person has rolled the dice three times.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/BstarTAB_MA_2017_springtime.pdf
♦ Spark a Story
Divide the group into pairs. Give each pair an index card with five prompts for starting a story, such as:
I’ve always wanted to try . . .
An important thing I’ve learned is . . .
If I could travel anywhere in the world . . .
In each pair, one person chooses a prompt and tells a story about themselves. The other person listens respectfully for three minutes. They then trade places.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Treasure_Box_MJ2018_Celebrate_Our_Human_Family.pdf
♦ Hopes in a Hat
Give each person a slip of paper and a pencil. Ask everyone to write down a hope that they have. They should be as honest and specific as possible, but not include any details about who they are. Collect the papers and put them in a hat.
Then ask each person to pull one out and read it aloud, without commenting. When all the papers are read, discuss what hopes you have in common, and how those shared hopes build unity.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Treasure_Box_MJ2018_Celebrate_Our_Human_Family.pdf
Connecting with Creativity
♦ Fun Flags
Hand out drawing paper and markers. Without showing anyone, each person draws a flag that represents him or her. It could include symbols of the person’s culture, job, hobbies, family, or other characteristics.
One person collects the flags. Each flag is shown, and the group guesses who created each one.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Treasure_Box_MA15_Festivities_with_Friends_RS.pdf
♦ Personal Poetry
Each person gets a sheet of paper and a pencil. Players write their name vertically down the left side of the paper, and next to each letter, they write a word that starts with that letter and describes them.
Then everyone passes their paper to the person on their left. Take turns reading the poems aloud. The person whose name is read explains why they chose those words.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/ND17_Follow-Up_Fun_v2_RS.pdf
Guessing Games
♦ Global Clues
Have fun playing detective. Ask guests to write down three clues that describe, but don’t give away, their home country, their favorite place on the globe, or a place they dream of visiting.
Each person takes a turn giving their three clues, and the rest of the group guesses the location. The first person to guess correctly then gives their own clues.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/BstarTAB_JA_2016_4_Haven.pdf
♦ Guess Who?
Strengthen friendships with a fun guessing game. Before the event, ask each community member for a photo of themselves as a baby or kid (no originals, please!), and three facts about their childhood.
Glue each photo to a colorful piece of paper, and write the facts on the back. Number the photos and attach them to a board. Ask each guest to write down who is in the photos. Then read the three facts on the back of each photo and let people share their guesses.
♦ Know Your Neighbor
Players sit in a circle, with a large bowl in the center. Each person writes down one fact that they think no one knows about them and puts it in the bowl.
Next, take turns pulling out someone else’s paper. Go around the circle, and one at a time, each person reads their paper out loud. Players write down a person’s name for each fact. Then go around the circle and read the facts again. This time, the person who wrote it raises their hand. The player with the most correct names wins.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/ND17_Follow-Up_Fun_v2_RS.pdf
♦ Who Am I?
Hand out paper. Without showing anyone else, have everyone write down their name and their favorite color, food, animal, hobby, and vacation spot.
One person collects the papers and reads the answers to the group, without the person’s name. Whoever guesses the correct name gets a point. See who can earn the most points.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Treasure_Box_MA15_Festivities_with_Friends_RS.pdf
Mingle and Discover
♦ Alphabet Mixer
Give each person a sheet of paper with the alphabet written vertically down the left side. The goal is to find out something about another person that starts with each letter (such as Susan visited Alaska; Amelia loves ballet).
Write the person’s name and answer, but don’t use the same person more than four times. Then share interesting discoveries about each other.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/BstarTAB_JA_2017_Know_You.pdf
♦ Join Up the Jokes
Write a different joke on each index card. Write the matching punch lines on another set of cards. The total number of cards should equal the number of people playing. Mix up all the cards, and give one to each person.
When the leader gives a signal, players mingle and look for the person with the other part of their joke. When the pairs find each other, they need to learn three things about each other. Then everyone regroups, and each pair tells their joke to the others.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/BstarTAB_JA_2017_Know_You.pdf
♦ Popping Popcorn
Everyone writes three facts about themselves on a piece of paper, and then crumples it into a ball. Have fun “popping popcorn,” batting the balls around with your hands, keeping as many in the air as possible.
After one minute, everyone grabs the closest ball and reads it. Mingle and ask questions until you find the person who wrote it. Introduce that person to the group, sharing the three facts.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Treasure_Box_MJ15_Celebrate_Unity.pdf
Personal Connections
♦ Snapshot Stories
Everyone brings a photo of a joyful memory. Each person has two minutes to share their photo and the story behind it.
When time is up, group members talk about virtues or insights from the story, or they ask questions to get to know the storyteller better.
♦ Uniquely Connected
Form groups of five, and give each a paper and pen. Have each group compile a list of five things they all have in common. For example, “We all play a musical instrument.” Avoid answers that are universal to all humans, such as “We all breathe air.”
Then find one thing about each person that is unique from everyone else in the group. At the end, groups take turns sharing their lists with everyone.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/explore/Article_Images/JF20_AyyamiHa_Adventures.pdf
♦ World Connections
In the front of the room, hang a map of your country and a map of the world. Separate pins or thumbtacks into piles of three colors — one color for where you were born, one for where you grew up, and one for where you’d most love to visit.
Participants take one pin of each color and place it on the map. When everyone is finished, go over the map together. For example, when you come across a pin or group of pins, ask, “Who was born in . . .?” That person or group stands up and shares something about where they’re from.
♦ Circle Story
Invite everyone to sit in a circle, and hand out a unique picture or photo to each person (such as an animal, object, or place). The first person holds up the image and starts to tell a story using whatever is in the picture.
The next person adds to the story, including his or her own picture. Keep going until each person has told part of the story. See what a silly tale you can spin!
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Treasure_Box_MA15_Festivities_with_Friends_RS.pdf
Thinking Challenges
♦ Blessings A to Z
Sit in a circle. The first person mentions something he or she is thankful for that starts with A (such as apples or art). The next person calls out a B blessing, and the next person does C. Continue until the group gets all the way to Z.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/TAB_MA_16_FG_Celebrations.pdf
♦ Guess My Virtue
Divide the group into teams of about three people each. Give every team several index cards with a virtue written on each (such as creativity or kindness).
One person on each team chooses an index card. They describe the virtue on the card to their teammates without saying the word or any part of it. Teams race to guess the word. When they guess correctly, the whole team raises their hands and play stops for all groups. The first team to guess the virtue on their index card correctly gets a point. Continue playing with different virtues. Make sure each person on the team gets a turn as the describer. The team with the most points wins.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/BstarTAB_JA_2017_Know_You.pdf
♦ Name My Virtue
For each person, write a virtue (such as joyfulness or courage) at the top of a 3”x5” index card. Everyone puts on a stretchy headband, and the leader tucks a virtue into each headband without the person seeing it.
The group mingles, and people ask each other “yes or no” questions about their virtue (e.g., Does it often involve laughter? Would I need it if I were climbing a mountain?). People can also give clues, such as acting out the virtue. Continue until everyone has guessed their own virtue.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Treasure_Box_MA15_Festivities_with_Friends_RS.pdf
Up and Moving
♦ Dancing Chain
Stand in a circle. One person makes up a simple dance move, such as waving their hands or spinning. The person to the left repeats the first move, then adds a new simple move to the dance chain.
The game continues around the circle. In the end, the entire group performs their new dance together.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/MA20_Spirit_of_Spring.pdf
♦ Rhythm Stomp
Divide into groups of three or four. Each group finds objects to use as percussion instruments (such as sticks, rocks, buckets, etc.). They can also use body movements, such as clapping, snapping, or stomping.
Groups cooperate to create a short, rhythmic song with the instruments. Then they each perform for the larger group.
https://brilliantstarmagazine.org/uploads/play/Luminous_Library_TAB/MA19_Spring_RS.pdf
♦ Walk as One
Form teams of 4–6 people. Everyone on a team links arms. The outsides of their shoes must touch the shoes of the people on either side. The whole team moves from a starting line to a finish line without their feet losing contact (as if glued together). If anyone’s feet stop touching, the team goes back to start. The first team to reach the finish line wins.
Virtual Activities
♦ Memory Challenge
Leader asks players to put their hands up, so they can’t take screenshots, then puts 15 objects on tray. Players study them for 15 seconds.
Then the leader hides the tray, and players write as many items as they can remember. The player with the most correct answers wins.
♦ Who’s Who Online
Before you meet online, ask everyone to send you a digital photo of themselves when they were younger or wearing a fun costume.
At your virtual meeting, share one photo at a time on your screen. Participants guess who is in each photo. The person in the photo then shares a favorite memory. Everyone gets one point for each correct guess. The person with the most points wins.
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Updated on 1.29.21