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!
- Liven up even first meetings! A collection of fun games perfect for welcome parties
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- Get closer in no time, even with first-time meetings! Games that liven up welcome parties
- 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
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- [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!
Recommended fun games to help you get along with people you meet for the first time (31–40)
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!
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.
Hula hoop down
From the start of the new school year to farewell parties, it’s fun no matter when you play! Here’s an idea for “Hula Hoop Down.” The rules are simple: participants stand in a circle and rest a hula hoop on their index fingers, then lower it to the ground without letting their fingers lose contact.
It looks easy at first, but for some reason the balance gets off or the hula hoop slips from fingers, leading to unexpected mishaps that liven things up.
It’s great fun to try with close friends, and it can also be a good chance to unite hearts even among people who haven’t talked much before.
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.
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!
Fun game recommendations to make friends with people you’re meeting for the first time (41–50)
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.
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!