Youth Group Icebreaker Games

You can use youth group icebreakers when you have a group of people who don’t know each other very well. When a new youth club meets for the first time or during summer camps, they can be used at retreats. You can use many icebreakers for youth groups at your next meeting or event.

Easy Icebreaker Games for Youth Groups

These games are perfect for tweens and teens who want to get to know each other through easy mixers.

Alphabet Get to Know You

There will be a pre-printed piece of paper for each member of the group with the letters A-Z on the left-hand side and a line next to each letter for them to write on. The person has to find out something about someone else in the room for each letter. Using the letter A, a person could write, “Bob likes apples or Jen has a broken arm.” 

The number of responses each person can provide depends on the number of people in the group. It is the purpose of the group to meet and get to know the other members as much as possible by asking them questions.

Blow Pop Rings or Candy Necklaces

For this youth group game, you will need to know how many people are in your group. As each person enters the room, they will receive three blow pop rings or candy necklaces. Tell them not to use the word “I” at all. The person who catches someone using “I” in a conversation gets one of the other person’s rings or necklaces. 

Whoever has the most rings or necklaces before the meeting begins wins. Provide them with a prize in addition to the blow-pops.

Share a Story

This game can be used to divide a large group into several smaller ones. The group can be divided up by a characteristic, such as wearing shorts, having brown hair, or wearing sneakers. Divvy up cliques so everyone has a chance to meet new people. As soon as the groups are established, ask them to share specific stories with each other. You can share a favorite childhood memory, a funny thing that happened to them recently, or something silly they said. Before you begin a meeting, do three or four rounds of this.

Love Your Faith

Have everyone stand or sit in a circle. Ask each to say what they love most about their faith. The youth group will enjoy hearing some of the answers that others can come up with and will begin opening up more about themselves.

Fun Youth Group Icebreakers

Young teens are often shyer than their older counterparts. You can try these fun icebreaker games to help the youth group to get to know each other better.

Jelly Bean Traders

Begin this game by giving everyone 10 jellybeans. The object is for each person to get 10 of one color by trading the jellybeans with each other.

Balloon Pop

You’ll need one balloon and a small piece of paper for each person in the group. As people arrive, have them write their name on a small piece of paper and roll it up into a small tube. Then they will blow up a balloon, put the small tube of paper into the balloon, and then tie it off. Collect the balloons in a corner of the room away from everyone. Once everyone has arrived, hand out the balloons for everyone to pop. Then find the person with name in the balloon that popped.

Speed Fellowship

Based on speed dating, this is a quick way for everyone to get to know each other. Half of the group will need to be sitting down before the speed fellowship begins. The other half will be standing until someone rings a bell to begin, then each member of this group will sit with a member of the other group for 5 minutes. 

The object is to ask each other questions to get to know each other better. When the bell rings, each person from the standing group moves to the next person who is sitting down. No line hopping! This ends when everyone has had a chance to meet all of the people individually in the group.

What Am I?

Write down items on note cards before the youth group arrives. As they come into the room, tape a note card to each person’s back. Each teen has to figure out the item is on their note card by asking others in the group yes or no questions. You can use items such as fruit, animals, nature, etc.

Keep the Balloon Up

This icebreaker will get the teens up and moving around. Begin by dividing the youth group into smaller teams and give each team an inflated balloon. Each team must pass the balloon around and keep it moving without touching the floor.

Pass the Beach Ball

Play this just like hot potato but with a beach ball. Begin by passing a ball around in a circle while music is playing. Once the music stops, whoever is left holding the ball is out. Continue until there is only one player remaining. You can pass around any object that you want for this game.

Online Ideas for Youth Group Icebreaker Games

There are literally hundreds of youth group icebreaker games that can be found online, and many can be made up on the spot with a little creativity. Check out the following websites for more games that you can try at your next meeting.

Youth Pastor

Youth Pastor has 366 games available to choose from. These games are all free, and for each one there is a description that tells you how to play, how long each activity takes, and what type of set up you’ll need to do beforehand. This site also mentions if you’ll get messy and suggests appropriate clothing based on the type of activity.

Icebreakers

Icebreakers has a ton of fun get to know you games. Each game gives you set up instructions as well as a suggested player number. The game times vary and there are plenty of options to choose from for both large and small groups.

Christian Icebreakers

Christian Icebreakers gives very detailed instructions on how to play each game, the likely noise level, materials required, and whether judges are needed to participate. The site notes which games are best for various age groups.

Youth Group Icebreaker Games Are Fun for Everyone

When planning icebreakers to use at youth group, remember to have a mix of games so that there is something for everyone. Even working together to choose your youth group name can be an ice breaker. 

If you see someone being left out or not joining in, suggest another game or try to get them involved in the fun. Before you know it, the group will be mingling and enjoying the games while getting to know one another.

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