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Over 600 Icebreakers & Games

Jennifer Carter

Content

In Over 600 icebreakers and games, you will always find the right icebreaker. You can choose from over 6oo icebreakers as the title say. These icebreakers are divided in categories  from Getting To Know One Another and Hopes & Dreams to Fun Ice Beakers and Ideas & Creative Thinking. They will help you and your team to become more effective and have fun at the same time. It can be a great way to get acquinted with each other or to come up with new ideas and strategies. It can also help to find the strengths and weaknesses of the team. And this is just the top of the iceberg. It can stimulate skills from communication to Out-Of-The-Box thinking. This book make your team better and more productive in a fun and informal way.

Appearance

It has a very nice cover as you can see on the picture, it is very simple jet very suitable and elegant. When you open the book you see the same thing. It has a clear structure. Every Icebreakers starts with it’s purpose, title and a short explaination of how it works and when you can use it. Even more at the beginning of the book Carter explains some general ideas about icebreakers, which are very helpful.

If you want to order the book or read more about it, you can click here.

101 Icebreakers

By Gary Miller & Heather Horn

Content

In 101 Icebreakers you will find 0ver 100 activities that will make people feel connected and part of the group. They are very helpful when you want people to actively participate to accompish the goals of the group. The icebreakers can be used as a part of you business presentation but also on birthdayparties. No matter what age, gender, or level of experience, everybody can join. One of the best things in the book is that with almost every activity, there are variations and questions included. These can help to get a good picture of what the icebreaker has brought the group and the individuals in it.

Appearance

In 101 Icebreakers, the icebreakers are explained short and clear. And for most of the icebreakers you don’t need any materials or very few. Which is convenient especially when you use it at work. Group size, time limitations, purpose, and physical capabilities are all given, which makes it easy to find the right icebreaker very quickly. Above every new icebreaker there is a picture that is relevant to the icebreaker. This really adds up to the book as a whole and give it nice appearance.

If you want to order the book or read more about it, you can click here or on the picture.

The Magic Rope

The Magic Rope is one of my favorite icebreakers.
There is so much in it and a lot can happen.
The intention of the exercise is that the group gets a short assignment and that the assignment is only successful when everyone has done it.

After that, I let the group choose a challenge.
With this I stimulate the team to be self-steering.

This activity promotes:

instructions

Time: 20 – 30 min
Participants: 8 or more
Inside and outside
Active

Required materials
1 large rope and 1 or 2 people to turn the rope(2 turners if the rope can not be attached anywhere).

Arrangement
Set all participants on one side of the rope (keep the sun in mind)

Frame
Tell the participants that they get assignments and that these are only successful when it has been successfully completed by the whole group. The assignments start very easily and slowly become increasingly more difficult.

How it works:
The assignment is as follows:

  • Try to get to the other side of the rope without touching the rope.
  • First keep the rope still right above the ground ,so they can step over it. Repeat this with the rope twice. The second timeYou hold it up high enough, as a result they will have to walk underneath. But if they are smart, they run around it. This is allowed.
  • Keep turning the rope from now on and adjust the assignment;
  • First every time the rope turns around one person has to go under the rope.
  • Second go to the other side with 2 people at a time.
  • Now every time the rope turns around, there must be 4 people underneath.
  • After that go with 8 people and then with everybody.
  • Let the participants to make a plan to go underneath the rope at the same time. After they made it and told you, the instructor, they aren’t allowed to talk anymore.

Differentiation

Vary with the rules: Every time the rope turns, 1, 2, or more must pass under the rope.
You can have some participants blindfolded. So that it becomes more exciting.
Make duo’s and let them invent there own assignment.
Evaluation
What happened? (this is asking for actual behavior)
How do you feel about it?
What have you learned?

Security check
Try to avoid wet undergrounds. Also if someone touches the rope, then let loose of the rope.

Papersmash

This icebreaker is great with a group that just met.

this activity promotes

Instructions

Time: 10 – 15 min

Participants: 6 – 14

Inside as well as outside.

Active

Required materials

Newspaper

Arrangement

All the participants stand in a circle.

Frame

The participants just met each other and may have done some games already to get to know each other.

How it works

  • Everybody stands in a circle and “the smasher” stands in the middle.
  • Someone in the circle says the name of someone else. The smasher tries to find this person and hits that person with the newspaper on the legs.
  • To avoid getting hit the person, whose name has been called, says another name. Then the smasher has to go after this person. If he is too late and gets hit, he becomes the smasher.

Differentiation

  • Making the circle bigger or smaller.
  • Adding rules such as, a man can only say a woman’s name or you can’t say someone whose hair has the same colour as yours.
  • Before you say the name you have to clap in your hands.
  • Suggestions from the group.

Safety check

Make sure that the participants only hit under the knees, in such a way that it doesn’t hurt.

Attention points

Keep changing the rules. To make sure that it stays interesting.

 

 

Clap clap

A very simple energizer which can give a lot of new insights is ‘Clap Clap’. (I love it when it’s more than just an energizer).

The participants stand in a circle. You as the trainer start by making a quarter turn with your body and look at the person which stands left to you. While you are making eye contact with this person you clap in your hands. Ask the other person to clap in his or her hands at the same time. Ask him or her to turn to the person which stands left from him or her and to do the same.

In this way you can make a cycle until everyone has participated.

After this you can do it again and challenge the participants to clap at exactly the same time. This happens best if people make contact with one another.

You can challenge the participants by asking them to do it faster. Or you can ask them to choose between clapping at exactly the same time or not clapping at exactly the same time.

This is always hilarious and can give a lot of insights in making contact, cooperation and focus.

The stampdance

An energizer which immediately gives you energy and joy and can be finished within 2 minutes without a lot of explanation. icebreaker

How it works:

  1. Everyone stands in a circle.
  2. Stand firmly on the ground.
  3. first move your right hand from your chest to the front and back.
  4. Move eight times to the front in a rhythmic manner, you count since you are the trainer.
  5. Then your left arm; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. After that you stamp with your right foot on the ground until number 8. After this you do the same with your left foot.
  6. Subsequently you repeat the movements again with the arms and the feet but seven times, you keep counting.
  7. Then 6x, then 5x, then 4x, then 3x and then 2x and finally everyone just once.
  8. At a sudden moment you only need to call the number before you begin.
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