Geometry Drill

This icebreaker will help group members understand what it takes to lead a group.  It will also give kids a chance to get to know each other better by seeing how each person takes charge.  Everyone in the group takes a turn leading the group through, and participating in, a simple drill step.  Instruct each person about what their leadership task is and determine when their task has been accomplished so you can move to the next person in the circle.  Read one of the following instructions to the first leader.  Repeat the process for each leader.

1. Lead everyone in standing in a perfect circle.
2. Lead everyone in standing in a single, perfectly straight line.
3. Lead everyone in standing in an equilateral triangle.
4. Lead everyone in standing in a square.
5. Lead everyone in standing in a pentagon.
6. Lead everyone in standing in a five-pointed star.
7. Lead everyone in clapping once, then in the formation of a single straight line.  etc.

After the crowd breaker, use the following questions to help kids explore the nature of leadership.  Ask: What was frustrating about this activity.  How easy is it to lead others?  Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  How important is it for a leader to adapt to the needs of the group?

Who me, embarrassed?

This is a fun ‘who is it?’ game. Pass out sheets of paper and have everyone write down one embarrassing thing that has happened to them. Crumple it up and then collect them in a bowl or paper plate. Then go around in a circle one-by-one and have each person take a crumpled paper and read the embarrassing situation aloud. They can then try to guess who the person is.

Two extremes

A game of two extremes! Instruct people to move to a point in the room where they stand on a particular issue. For example - move to the left hand side of the room if you like chocolate, the right hand side if you like strawberry.

Continue with other examples / extremes:

• Fold toilet paper or Scrunch
• Sleep in or Get up Early?
• Big party or intimate dinner?
• Dance or Alternative Music
• Sport or the Arts
• Sweet or Savory

The Toaster Game

Everyone sits in a circle.  In the middle of the circle is a toaster.

Put a piece of bread in the toaster and pop it down.  Once the toast is down, go round the circle and people have to quickly say one thing about themselves.  When the toast pops up, the person talking has to eat the toast with whatever topping you (the leader) decides.  Start off with simple ingredients such as jam, butter, etc. and slowly add more unusual ones (like potato, ice cream, mashed banana).  Works best if you have the toaster on a short cycle!

Sit down if...

Get everyone to stand up, then read through the following list.  The last person standing is the winner!

• Sit down if you have eaten chocolate today
• Sit down if you are wearing purple
• Sit down if you were born in September
• Sit down if you have blue eyes
• Sit down if you have never gone fishing
• Sit down if you are the youngest child
• you have broken a bone
• gone for two weeks without a shower
• can speak more than two languages

etc.

Questionnaire

Print out a questionnaire and hand out one to each person.  They only have a short amount of time to fill it out.  Use questions that would lead everybody to talk to each other, and get to know one another.

• Find someone who has 3 bathrooms in their house
• Write the name of someone with red hair
• Who plays guitar?
• Find someone who’s dad is a preacher
• Who does not like chocolate?
• Who likes pink?
• Find someone that pours salt on snails

etc.

The Animal Game

Each person begins by selecting an animal, and a noise/action associated with that animal.

For example:

Elephant: Hold nose and make a trunk with arms, and make elephant noise!
Lion: Show claws and roar like a Lion!
Snake: Join arms together, twist them like a snake and go Hiss...

Once everyone has their animal (you may need to help some of the more shy group members come up with theirs), sit everyone in a circle.  Pick one animal (suggest the Lion) to be the most "senior" or king of all the animals.  The positions get more 'junior' as you go around the circle in a clockwise direction.  The aim being to get to the Lion's seat.

The game starts with the Lion making his noise/action, then the noise/action of another animal.  It then becomes that animal's turn to make their noise then that of another animal and so on.  The turn ends when someone makes the wrong noise/action or doesn't respond within 3-5 seconds.  That person moves to the most junior of the positions and everyone moves up one seat.

The more outrageous the animal noises/actions, the better this game works.  It becomes a great game when some of the shyer group members come out of their shells!

Amnesia

Prepare beforehand slips on which are written the names of famous people.  As each guest enters, pin a slip on his back without letting him know what it says.  The guests observe each other’s slips and then converse with one another as though they were talking with the person named on the slip.  Each person tries to guess who they are supposed too be.  The remarks should not be so leading as to give away the identity too soon.

Song Partners

Have the names of familiar songs written out in duplicate.  Give one slip to the one half of the group, and the duplicate to the rest. At the signal of the leader all start singing or whistling their song.  They then try to find their partner who is whistling or singing the same song.  This will create a lot of noise and fun.  When the partners are found, they cease singing.

Odd or Even

Each person is given a dozen or so peanuts.  The object is to get as many nuts from the others as possible.  Will goes up to Sue with a number of nuts concealed in his hand and says, “Odd or Even?” Sue guesses, “Odd.” Since there are seven peanuts in Will’s hand, she collects the seven nuts from him.  If the guess had been wrong Sue would have had to turn seven peanuts over to Will.  A time limit is set and whoever has the most peanuts at the end wins a prize.  When your peanuts are all gone, you’re out!

Matching Verse

Type out Bible verses, print them and cut them in half. As the young people enter give each one a piece of paper.  Each person has to find the person who has the other half of their verse.

Split Proverbs

Write out proverbs on slips of paper and cut each slip in half.  There must be as many cut slips as there are people present.  They locate partners by finding the person who has the other half of the proverb.  For example, one half might read “is not gold” and the other “all that glitters.”

Examples:
A bad penny always comes back.
A barking dog never bites.
A cloudy morning often changes to a fine day.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
A new broom sweeps clean.
A person is known by the company he keeps.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
All’s well that ends well.
An empty barrel makes the most noise.
Beggars should not be choosers.
Better late than never.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Contentment is better than riches.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Everything comes to him who waits.
Evil to him who evil thinks.
He laughs best who laughs last.
Health is better than wealth.
Honesty is the best policy.
It never rains but it pours.
It takes a thief to catch a thief.
It takes two to make a quarrel.
Like father, like son.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
Never put off ‘till tomorrow what can be done today.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Out of sight out of mind.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Silence gives consent.
Strike while the iron is hot.
The early bird catches the worm.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
They can because they think they can.
Two wrongs do not make a right.
Well done or not at all.
Where there’s a will there’s a way.

Identification

Have each person bring a baby picture.  These pictures are numbered and placed about the room or pinned to the curtains, etc. Each guest is given a slip of paper which is numbered with as many numbers there are pictures.  They guess the name and write it opposite the corresponding number.  Give a prize to the one who has the largest number right.

Eye spy

Everyone gets four pieces of paper and each is to list everyone in the room according to the colour of his/her eyes.  The fist one to finish wins.  (Each piece of paper is for an eye colour: blue, green, brown, grey.)

A Can Stack

A number of fellows from each team see who can stack the highest stack of empty cans in a given amount of time.

Beach ball Info

Get one or two beach balls. Write questions all over the beach ball i.e. favourite ice-cream, most embarrassing moment etc.
Have everyone stand in a circle and pass the beach ball around the circle by throwing up in the air.
The person who threw the ball will then pick a finger i.e. left thumb. The person who caught the ball must then read out the question and answer (questions nearest to left thumb).