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!
- Break the ice with intros and team battles! Party games to spice up your welcome event
- A simple and fun co-op game that enhances teamwork
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- Games to Liven Up the Freshers’ Welcome Party
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- Fun activities that liven up the office: recreation games
- A collection of simple indoor recreational games
- Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
- [For University Students] A Roundup of Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- 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 game recommendations to break the ice with people you’re meeting for the first time (21–30)
Training by blocks
A no-right-answers game using blocks that’s great for icebreakers.
Participants intuitively choose one piece from a set of block parts and then assign their own meaning—thoughts or feelings—to that piece in a dialogue-based game.
The act of “choosing” a block reflects the subconscious, bringing out genuine opinions and values we don’t usually notice.
The rules are: “no correct answers,” “no negativity,” and “everyone speaks,” with a facilitator guiding the process.
In a short time, diverse viewpoints are made visible, making it effective for building team understanding and trust, and improving workplace relationships.
It enables easy yet deep conversations and is also well-suited for sharing visions.
Ritz Fighter
A popular game for head-to-head battles is Ritz Fighter.
The rules are simple: you stuff Ritz crackers into your mouth all at once, and whoever finishes eating first wins.
Imagine it for a moment—Ritz crackers suck the moisture out of your mouth, right? That difficulty is what makes the game fun.
Try putting about five crackers in your mouth per person as a guideline.
Of course, drinking water partway through is not allowed.
That said, please only try it within a safe and reasonable limit.
Finding commonalities
Common-ground finding is a fun game that helps you talk with people you’re meeting for the first time and feel closer to them.
There are various ways to play: for example, participants form pairs or groups and, within a time limit, look for things they have in common through conversation; or they present common points they’ve written down in advance—those are standard approaches.
Conversations can stall without a prompt, so set simple topics like “How you spend your days off” or “Favorite foods.” It’s also a good idea to set a target number of commonalities to find beforehand.
No equipment needed! Air catch ball
“Air Catch,” a make-believe game of tossing an imaginary ball without any props, is a very simple team-building activity.
Participants form a circle.
Someone calls another person’s name while miming a throw of the “air ball,” and the next person pretends to catch it and continues in the same way.
The rules are: make eye contact and call the person’s name before you throw.
Once everyone gets used to it, you can increase the difficulty by tossing multiple balls at once or speeding things up.
It builds communication skills and concentration and gets people laughing, making it great for training icebreakers and strengthening team cohesion.
It takes about 5–15 minutes, so give it a try!
Enjoy instantly! “Shingenchi Game”
Choose one person from the players to be the guesser.
The remaining members decide who will be the “epicenter,” then either stand in front of the guesser or form a circle with the guesser at the center.
At the start signal, the epicenter naturally strikes a pose—anything is fine, such as folding their arms, switching their pivot foot, or scratching their head.
The other members, with a slight delay, imitate the epicenter’s pose.
The guesser must observe who started the pose and identify the epicenter.
The more people there are, the harder it gets! Finger Catch
The “Finger Catch Game,” which trains your reflexes and lets everyone have fun, is played with everyone standing in a circle.
Put the index finger of your right hand into the open palm of the person to your right, just lightly touching it.
In turn, participants chant, “Ka, ka, ka, catch,” and at the moment someone says “catch,” everyone tries to pull out the finger they had inserted.
At the same time, you must quickly grab the finger that’s been inserted into your own open hand before it escapes.
If you fail to pull your finger out or fail to catch your neighbor’s finger, you’re out.
The last person remaining wins.
The exact timing of saying “catch” is key.
It’s a game that tests concentration, timing, and careful observation of others.
late hand in rock-paper-scissors
A normal rock-paper-scissors game is too easy! In that case, try playing “after-the-fact rock-paper-scissors.” The leader plays as usual by saying “Jan-ken-pon” and showing rock, paper, or scissors.
The participants must then respond after seeing it and beat that hand.
Because you have to instantly recognize what the leader showed and choose the winning hand, it’s trickier than it sounds.
A few people will slip up and lose or end in a tie.
Try turning it into a knockout format or speeding it up to increase the difficulty and have fun!