Energizers
Goal: Wake up and have fun!
Apple, Banana, Orange
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 10-50
All participants stand in a line with their hands on the shoulders of the person next to them.
The leader will explain the rules:
When they say "apple," everyone in the circle jumps forward keeping their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them.
When they say "banana" everyone jumps backwards.
When they say "orange," everyone jumps 180 degrees so they are facing the back of the person on their other side (or who use to be behind them) and put their hands on their shoulders.
Practice a few times so everyone gets the hang of it.
Switch up which fruit is called to create confusion.
Begin calling out sequences to make the task more challenging.
Ex:
Apple
Apple, Banana
Orange, Banana, Orange Apple
Balloon Battle
Supplies: Non-helium balloons, Tape/Chalk, Sharpie
Amount of People: 2-20
Create a circle or square using masking tape/chalk. The size of the circle is determined by the size of the group.
Give everyone a balloon and instruct them to blow it up completely and write their name on it.
All participants stand in the circle with their balloons. When the group leader says go, participants must keep their balloon in the air while trying to knock other balloons out of the circle.
Participants can use any part of their body to hit balloons.
If your balloon hits the ground or leaves the circle, you’re out.
Last balloon in the circle wins.
Come On Six
Supplies: 1 die, paper and pen or white board and marker
Amount of People: 6-16
Break participants into two teams.
A member from each team rolls the die. The team that rolls the lower number rolls first.
Taking turns rolling the die, each team member tries to roll a six. As the opposing team is rolling the die, the other team sends one member up to the board. This person must write the numbers 1-50 before the opposing team rolls a six. Once a six is rolled, the round is over and the teams switch. Now the team that was rolling is now writing numbers and vice versa.
Number writing starts over once a six is rolled. You cannot resume your place in the next round.
Teams win by writing 1-50 before the opposing team rolls a six.
Cookie Face
Supplies: Oreos
Number of people: Any amount
Each participant places an Oreo cookie in the middle of their forward.
Without using their hands, participants must make the Oreo cookie go into their mouth.
First to catch the Oreo in their mouth wins.
For large groups, break into small groups and do it tournament style
Copy Cat
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 7-50
Participants sit or stand in a circle. One person is "it" and leaves the room while the others decide who is the Cat and who are the Copy Cats.
The Cat does different motions (clapping patterns, dance moves, hand motions, etc.) and the Copy Cats must follow. The Cat should change the motions every 30 seconds or so.
The "it" person comes back and watches the group and tries to determine who is the Cat leading them. They get three guess before they loose and have to start over with a new Cat.
Extreme Pictionary
Supplies: white board, white board markers, slips of paper with prompts
Amount of People: 6-100
Split players into even teams
Designate a space on the white board, a marker, and a pile of prompts for each team
One person from each team runs to their designate prompt pile and grabs a folded prompt. They run back to the white board and draw whatever is on the paper. Their team must guess what the drawing is meant to be.
If the team guesses correctly, the drawer marks a point for the team.
Drawers can give up at any point but must run back and get a new prompt.
Drawers switch once the prompt is guessed correctly.
In 3 minutes (times can range), each time simultaneously tries to guess as many drawings as possible. The team with the most correct guesses at the end of 3 minutes wins.
Embrace the chaos and have fun!
FaceTime
Supplies: None
Participants: 10-30
The 21st century version of telephone!
Participants stand in a line all facing one way so their backs are facing the beginning of the line
The group leader comes up with a short story that is mimed to the first participant in line. No words or sounds can be made
The first participants sees the story once then turns, taps the next participant on the should to prompt them to turn, and reenacts the story
This continues to the last person who then performs the story for the entire group
For more fun, have the last participant explain verbally what story they think they just performed
Follow Instructions
Supplies: cards with different instructions written on them (1 per player)
Number of People: Any amount
Played during staff meetings
Everyone is given a card with instructions. Each player needs to do as the card is instructed without the other players realizing they are following their instructions
Ex: incorporate Poptarts into the conversation, drop your pen 5 times, etc.
Each player only has one guess to figure out someone else’s instructed action
Get The Point
Supplies: None
Number of People: 6+
Participants can either sit in a circle or rows (if larger group)
Participants hold out their left hand to the side with their palm facing up and place their right pointer finger in the palm of the person on their right.
The facilitator will explain that on the count of three, they will try to catch their neighbors pointer finger with their left hand while simultaneously trying to keep their own pointer finger from being caught.
Repeat a few times.
Debrief:
Did you think this game was fun or pointless? Everyone has a different opinion and they are all valid.
Ha, Ha
Supplies: None
Number of People: 7-25
Everyone sits in a circle.
The first participant starts the game by saying “ha” once.
The player standing next to the right of them then says “ha” twice.
Following the pattern, the third participant says “ha” three times.
Participants are eliminated if they laugh or make any other noise at any point.
Hot Po'Selfie
Supplies: iPad/iPhone (any camera with a timer)
Number of people: 6+
Set the camera on selfie mode and set the timer
Pass the camera around the circle but be sure to pay attention to the timer. Counting down may help.
When the timer goes off, whoever is holding the camera has to take a selfie.
Participants with the least amount of selfies taken at the end wins
Whoever took the best selfie get a -1 on their score so make them good!
Jump In, Jump Out
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 7-100
Have everyone stand in a circle and hold hands.
Round 1: Say as I say and do as I do
The leader says the instructions and the participants repeat after them and mimic their actions
Jump in, jump out, jump right, jump left
Repeat a few times
Round 2: Say the opposite of what I say and do the opposite of what I do
Jump in = Jump out
Jump out = Jump in
Jump right = Jump left
Jump left = Jump right
Repeat multiple times until everyone gets it
Round 3: Say what I say and do the opposite of what I do
Jump in = Say jump in but jump out
Jump out = Say jump out but jump in
Jump right = say jump right but jump left
Jump left = say jump left but jump right
Repeat multiple times until everyone gets it
Mafia
Supplies: playing cards (1 King, 1 Queen, 3 Aces , number cards)
Number of people: 10+
All participants pick one card from the deck. Do not show it to anyone.
The moderator reads the roles:
King: The Detective
Queen: The Doctor
Aces: Mafia
Number cards: Town People
The moderator tells everyone to go to sleep then goes through the following: “Mafia wake up, quietly point to the person you want to kill. Mafia go back to sleep. Detective wake up. Detective quietly point to one person who you think is a mafia member. Detective go back to sleep. Doctor wake up. Doctor quietly point to one person who you want to try to save. Doctor go back to sleep.
Moderator reads: “everyone wake up. Last night there was a murder. The mafia killed ____. The detective tried to catch them but could not (or could if they guessed correctly). The doctor tried to save ____ but couldn’t (or could if they guessed correctly).
It is more fun if you make the story personal and the participant who is “killed” goes dramatically
Repeat the above narrative until all the townspeople have been killed or until the detective catches all of the mafia members.
If the doctor and detective are killed they are out of the game (the doctor can choose to save themselves at any time).
Make It Rain
Supplies: An auditorium-type setting
Number of people: 100+
Participants sit in an auditorium and follow the leaders’ actions as s/he walks in front of them. There is no talking. The leader has everyone begin by rubbing their hands together.
The leader starts on either side and has participants start to snap slowly and walks along the group until everyone is snapping.
Repeat with patting on your thighs
Have parts of the room stomp their feet all together one or twice loudly (boom-boom like thunder)
Reverse (pat, snap, rub)
Movie Mix Up
Supplies: Movie descriptions
Number of People: 6-20
Facilitator prepares a list of bad movie descriptions ahead of time.
Ex: "Group spends 9 hours returning Jewelry" Lord of the Rings.
Participants can either shout out guesses or secretly write them down to be discussed after.
Reveal each movie after the guesses have been made.
Ninja
Supplies: None
Number of People: 7-50
Everyone stands in a circle.
Count 1,2,3 (or sing the “Let’s get down to business, to defeat the hun!”) and everyone strikes their best ninja pose.
Choose one participant to start. That participant will attempt to lightly hit another participant’s hand quickly before they pull it away. The other participant can move to avoid the slap.
All movements must be one swift motion. Countermoves to void slaps can only be done once the “attack” is made.
If a hand is hit, it is out and should be held behind the participants back. Once both hands are out, that participant is out and leaves the circle.
Old McDonald
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 7-20
Have all participants stand in a circle facing inwards
One participant stands in the center of the circle, closes their eyes, and spins 5 times.
Silently, the participants in the outer circle decide who will go first.
The first person makes an animal noise of their choice and the person in the center must guess who made the noise.
If they guess correctly, they are out of the circle and are replaced by whoever made the noise.
If they guess incorrectly, they spin again and wait for another animal noise to guess.
One Word Story
Each participant will help craft a story one word at a time. Each participant can say only one word each turn.
Keep the story running as long as you can!
Supplies: None
Number of People: 2-100
Pterodactyl
Supplies: None
Number of People: Any Amount
Participants stand in a circle and try to say the word “pterodactyl” to the person to their right without showing their teeth.
This continues until someone screams or acts like a pterodactyl which changes the direction of the turn.
If someone shows their teeth, they are out.
Res Hall Man Hunt
Supplies: Phones
Number of People: Any
One participant is the seeker while all others hide throughout the empty residence hall (can only be played before opening when there are no residents in the buildings and all rooms are unlocked).
Once someone is found they join in seeking.
Phones can be used to send clues to the group (utilize the GroupMe app) but be sure to keep phones on silent so you don’t give away your hiding spot.
Reverse Hide And Seek
One participant hides while everyone else searches for the hidden person.
When someone finds the person, they secretly join them in hiding.
Make sure the hider is given a set amount of time to hide and that they know to hide somewhere where others will be able to join.
Supplies: None
Number of People: Any
Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 20-500
Participants find a partner and play a normal game of Rock, Paper, Scissors
Be sure everyone in the group knows how to play rock, paper, scissors. If not explain: rock beats paper, paper beats scissors, scissors beats rock
It is up to the leader's discretion whether to play a single game or best 2 out of 3.
The winner of the first game now finds another winner and plays again against the new person.
When someone loses, they become the cheerleader to whoever they lost to.
If that person loses, they become the cheerleader to whoever beat them and so on.
Winners continue to play winners until there are only two left and everyone remaining is cheering for either side
The final winner is the ultimate rock, paper, scissors champion
Screaming Toes
Participants stand in a circle and look at their toes.
The group leader counts to 3 and everyone looks up at a specific person.
If two people make eye contact, both participants scream and are out.
The last people standing win!
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 7-50
Silent Swap
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 7-50
Participants stand in a circle. One person is “it” and stands in the middle.
Silently, everyone looks around and makes eye contact with the others in the circle.
When eye contact is made, participants silently determine to swap spots without the person who is it knowing. The goal is to swap spots before the person who is it takes your spot.
Whoever is left without a spot is it. Repeat as many times as desired.
Skootch Over
Supplies: 2 bath towels
Number of people: 6+
Break participants into two teams (can create more teams if needed)
Each member of the team must take a turn sitting on the towel and skootching to a designated end spot. Participants cannot place their hands down and all parts of their body must stay on the towel.
This is a relay race. First team to have everyone take a turn wins
Smurf
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 2-25
One person is the “smurfer.”
The smurfer chooses a verb which will be replaced with the word "smurf."
Everyone else then asks the smurfer questions to try to figure out what smurf means.
Ex: If smurf was brushing your teeth people might ask "How often do you smurf?" and the smurfer would say "twice a day" etc.
Repeat as desired.
Telephone Charades
Supplies: prepared scenarios
Amount of People: 7-100
Have participant stand in a single-file line facing the same directions.
Give the end of the line the scenario.
The person starts by tapping the shoulder of the person in front of them prompting them to turn around. They then act out the scenario given. No words or noises are permitted.
The second in-line taps the should of the person in front of them and acts out the scenario they think was given to them.
Repeat down the line.
The last person in line must verbally explain what they think the original scenario was.
Telestrations
Supplies: laminated telestrations books (can print from internet), white board markers
Number of People: 8 (or however many books you have)
Everyone writes down a word or phrase then passes the book to their right.
You now have 10 seconds to draw a picture of the word or phrase that you just received. Pass it to the right again.
Look at the picture that was passed to you. You have 10 seconds to make a guess of what the word or phrase is based on the drawing.
Repeat until end of book.
Share words, drawings, and guesses
The Hand Game
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 7-50
Have everyone sit in a circle or lay on their stomachs forming a circle.
Participants should place their palms on the table or ground and cross arms with the people next to them.
Right arms should be on top
Left arms should be on the bottom
Have one participant in the circle start by slapping their hand down.
Each hand slaps in a clock-wise rotation.
If anyone double slaps, the rotation changes to counter-clockwise.
Anyone who hesitates or slaps out of turn takes that hand out of the game.
When both hands are out, the participant is eliminated.
Vroom
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 7-50
Participants sit or stand in a circle with their thumbs up.
The group leader says “vroom” and points their thumbs in one direction.
The game continues with everyone saying vroom and going the same directions. When someone says “screech” they point their thumbs in the other direction and everyone follows.
Go faster as the game progresses. When someone messes up, they are out.
Work Of Art
Supplies: Pen and Paper
Number of People: 6-10
Give each participant a sheet of paper and pen and instruct them to write their name on the top.
Pass the paper to the right and instruct the participants to draw the head shape of the person who's paper is in front of them.
Pass again and repeat with eyes, nose, ears, hair, mouth, etc.
Once complete, each participant should have a rather interesting self portrait.
Zip, Zap, Zop
Supplies: None
Amount of People: 7-20
Participants stand in a circle.
One person starts y saying “zip” and points to another participant. That participant then says “zap” and points to some else. That person then says “zop” while pointing to the next person. This continues in a repeating sequence (zip, zap, zop)
Whoever does not notice that they have been pointed to ord does not respond quickly enough is out.
Make it harder by adding “zoop.” Anyone can say “zoop” if they are pointed to. Saying “zoop” changes the sequence from “zip, zap, zop” to “zop, zap, zip.” Start from the beginning of the sequence each time “zoop” is said.