Fun games recommended for making friends with people you’ve just met
There are plenty of times when you meet people for the first time, like at a new workplace or a school you’ve just entered.
Many people wonder how to get along with someone they’ve just met.
In this article, we’ll introduce games that help you become friendly with people you meet for the first time.
We’ve gathered a variety of games, including ones where you form teams and cooperate to clear challenges, and others where you open up about yourselves while having fun.
Try incorporating them at your company, school, or any other gathering where you meet new people!
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
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- A collection of hilarious questions that will liven up the conversation and might help you learn more about the other person
- [For Adults] Fun recreational games. Perfect for short breaks too!
Fun, recommended games to break the ice with people you’ve just met (11–20)
Puzzle Escape Game
A puzzle-solving escape game where you aim to break out from various locations—like amusement parks and subways—by tackling games and quizzes.
Because role assignment and information sharing within the team are crucial, it’s perfect for situations where you want to build rapport with people you’ve just met.
Many of the games test a broad range of knowledge, making them a great opportunity to discover each person’s strengths.
It’s a game that leverages every participant’s advantages—whether someone excels at carefully reasoning through answers or responding intuitively.
By working together to accomplish a single goal, it’s an ideal activity for team building.
Body Clock Game
The “Is Your Body Clock Accurate? Game,” which relies solely on your own sense of time, is exactly what it sounds like: trust your internal clock and measure 30 seconds.
Participants will be blindfolded.
The host will start the stopwatch on the cue.
Participants should raise their hand when they believe 30 seconds have passed.
The person who raises their hand most accurately wins.
The longer the duration, the higher the difficulty, so you can start with shorter intervals and gradually make them longer.
LEGO Serious Play
LEGO Serious Play, in which a single creation is built while dialogue among all participants expands.
Participants build a model based on a prompt given by the facilitator, and once it’s complete, they discuss the prompt and the model together.
By setting a broad theme—such as one related to a company or a school—participants’ free ideas can flourish.
It’s also good to weave in images and anecdotes related to the prompt, such as, “This block carries this kind of meaning.” It’s a game well-suited to situations involving first-time encounters, enabling the whole team to share their thoughts and perspectives.
Beef Tongue Game
The brain-teasing Gyutan game is perfect for group play, where focus and memory are key.
Players sit in a circle and say “Gyu” out loud, then on the “tan” part, they clap without speaking.
Pay extra attention because the final “tan” comes in succession.
After one round, move to the second, third, and so on, increasing the number of final “tan” claps by one each time.
As the rounds progress, the number of “tan” claps increases, so remember the count and try not to make mistakes.
Once you get used to it, picking up the tempo can make it even more exciting.
human disentanglement puzzle
The human knot game is a simple, crowd-pleasing activity that kids and adults can enjoy together.
Participants form a circle and hold hands—but you must hold hands with people who are not next to you, and you can only hold the same person with one hand.
Without letting go, twist and maneuver your bodies to untangle the human knot.
As everyone talks and works together to solve it, the excitement naturally builds.
When you succeed, the shared sense of accomplishment brings everyone together and strengthens team unity, making this a highly recommended game.
Training icebreaker
In training settings where you meet people for the first time or feel tense, using various icebreakers is recommended to ease the nerves.
For example, in the classic game where teammates try to give matching answers, matching responses help you find common ground, and even when they don’t match, discussing why you chose your answer encourages communication.
In a game where participants line up in ascending order by something like birthday or height without speaking, you can foster cooperation.
During introductions, asking slightly unusual questions can reveal unexpected sides of others.
Choose icebreakers that suit the group you’ve gathered.
Fun game recommendations to break the ice with people you’re meeting for the first time (21–30)
11 Recommended Games for Networking/ Social Gatherings
Games with simple, easy-to-understand rules can be enjoyed by everyone from kids to adults.
When there are many participants, head-to-head games are recommended.
Games like Werewolf, escape games, or competitions where you add up everyone’s step counts from a pedometer seem great for deepening bonds as participants cooperate and strategize together.
There are also various other ideas introduced, including online versions.
Be sure to try incorporating them and have fun!