Why Break the Ice?

Icebreakers are a great way to engage your teammates before jumping head-on into the day’s activities. Icebreakers also come in a variety of formats from action-packed ones, to getting to know your team, to discussions, drawing, and finally team building because every company needs some of that to tighten workplace bonds!

Action

In this action-packed game, you’ll want your team to pair up and battle it out in Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors! First, pair up everyone in your group. If there is an odd number of people, do one quick battle for the winner. Then whoever loses follows around the winner cheering them on, and so on, as the group gets down to the final two players with two groups cheering them on at the end. We recommend the winner receives a prize or praise for being the ultimate champion of Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Get to Know You

A fantastic get to know your teammates kind of game is Candy Introductions, and it will get you mingling in the morning before your meeting. You’ll want a few bags of Skittles or M&Ms for this activity. To start, have everyone in your group grab a handful of candy or pass out individually wrapped packets. Have the group open them up to see their selection. Without eating anything right away, have your group introduce themselves and go through the colored list of questions describing themselves. You’ll get to know coworkers from a different and fun perspective. We wrote a few items down that pertain to corporate retreats to help you get started on your Candy Introductions!

Red – Favorite hobbies outside of work

Green – Favorite place to travel

Blue – Milestone you’ve made at your job

Yellow – Goals for this upcoming quarter

Orange – Wildcard (tell us anything about yourself!)

Talking

For a game that will get everyone talking, try Crazy Interview. Hand out five small strips of paper to each player. Have each player write down 1-5 traits on their papers. Pair up each player and bring forth one group of two at a time. Have them swap their five traits while also choosing who will be the first to interview for an imaginary job position.

The interviewee will be saying a speech as to why they are perfect for the job they were given. As they talk, your player must describe their three traits and reasons they would be ideal for the position they are seeking. This game can get pretty silly if you’re explaining that being an “Intellectual,” and, “House of Cards Fan,” makes them a great “designer.” You can have players go more in-depth with their answers too such as how their, “Bloodlust” has helped make them less “squeamish” than most because they “studied at Harvard.” Or how enjoying the show, “Dexter” makes them perfect for working as a “Doctor.” Whether it’s silly or not, your group will love what everyone comes up with during their Crazy Interview!

5 Traits can include:

1. Adjective
2. Background
3. Interest
4. Outlook on life
5. Job title

Drawing

For an excellent drawing game, Picture Whispers is a slight derivative of Pictionary and is sure to get everyone drawing, whether they are good or bad at art! Create smaller groups and pass out notebooks to everyone who is playing. You can sit around the meeting tables at Woodloch which makes this game ideal to be done here at our facilities.

On the first page have each player write a word then pass the notebook to the left. The person on the left reads the word, turns the page over, and must draw what comes to mind from that word. Then pass to your left; that player must write what you think the image could be then it continues as people guess the images/words until it reaches the end of the group. Finally, the group works from the back to the front of the book to speculate about what everyone drew and if it was the correct word or not!

So, if the original word was “Fairy,” but the person drew a picture that looked more like an “Angel.” The next player would write “Mermaid” if that’s what they thought the image appeared to be. Then the next player would have to draw a “mermaid” and so on.

Team Building

Team Building is ideal for any workplace and can help people see that they have a lot more in common with their co-workers than they might think. A great game for that is Unique and Shared. Gather groups of five, and hand out paper and writing utensils for everyone. The first half will be the sharing part. Create a list of standard traits and qualities of everyone in the group. The goal is not to have superficial topics but something that is deep and can pertain to your workspace. Then have each group read aloud their shared traits to the rest of the group.

For the Unique part, keep the same groups, and on another sheet of paper, write down two unique characteristics or qualities that pertain to every member of the small group. Then there are three ways for discussion:

1)  Have each person share their unique qualities about the others.

2)  Have each person read the merits for the person to their right.

3)  You can have a spokesperson read aloud the quality at one time for the group to guess who it was.

This game will highlight what is unique about each individual in your group and help promote unity.

Rejuvenate as a Company

No matter which icebreaker you choose, there are plenty of options for those wanting to engage their employees and teammates before jumping into meetings. When you stay at Woodloch Resorts for the best corporate Poconos weekend getaway, you’ll find that there is more than work. At our lovely lakeside resort, we’ve got over 30+ activities available for company bonding beyond the walls of our meeting facilities. You’ll be able to grow, renew, and rejuvenate together as a team at our beautiful Poconos resort!