A roundup of recommended icebreakers for college students
An icebreaker refers to simple activities or games designed to ease tension among participants, shorten the emotional distance between them, and facilitate smooth communication.
They’re especially effective in situations where people are meeting for the first time.
If you’re a university student, you’ve probably encountered them in first classes, group work, club activities, or even during job hunting.
In this article, we’ll introduce a range of easy icebreakers that help people get closer to one another.
We’ve focused on activities based on self-introductions and fun games that progress through mutual communication, so pick the ones that fit the situation where you want to use an icebreaker.
- [For University Students] A Roundup of Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- [Self-Introduction & Games] Icebreaker Ideas Collection
- Icebreaker Ideas and Games Collection
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
- Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for college students
- Fun games recommended for making friends with people you’ve just met
- Break the ice with intros and team battles! Party games to spice up your welcome event
- A roundup of recommended personality tests for icebreakers
- Games to Liven Up the Freshers’ Welcome Party
- A simple and fun co-op game that enhances teamwork
- Get the Fun Going! Easy Classroom Games You Can Play at School: Recreational Activities for the Whole Class
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- [In a Short Time] Icebreakers and Fun Games That Shine at Morning Meetings
Recommended Icebreakers for University Students (21–30)
Prince Shōtoku game
The Shotoku Taishi game—the name itself makes you curious, right? (lol) It’s an icebreaker where everyone says different words all at once, and the listener tries to guess them: how many can they catch? If it’s too random, it becomes impossible to imagine and very difficult, so it might help to set a theme for the words.
For example, have everyone say things related but varied, like “favorite foods” or “prefectures you want to visit.” It’s also hard with too many people, so about five people per group is a good number.
Communication Training Learned Through the Werewolf Game
The party game “Werewolf” is perfect for deepening communication with friends.
The rules are simple: find the werewolves hiding among the humans.
First, a moderator assigns roles to each player.
The werewolves know who their teammates are, but everyone else doesn’t know who the werewolves are or what roles others have.
Players then talk things through, and each turn they eliminate one person by “executing” whoever they suspect is a werewolf.
The werewolf team also chooses one human to eliminate each turn.
If all werewolves are eliminated, the human team wins; if the number of humans and werewolves becomes equal, the werewolf team wins.
Picture matching game
Let me introduce a conversation-friendly “Picture Pairing Game.” Prepare sets of matching pictures according to the number of players.
Everyone holds their picture face down and the game starts without showing it to anyone.
Using conversation only, players discuss what their own picture might be like and whether they share common features with others, trying to find their matching partner.
Gestures are also forbidden.
Through free remarks and questions, players deepen their imagination, and at the end, they take turns guessing who has the same picture as they do.
By talking through similarities and differences, the game nurtures observation, active listening, and cooperation.
Each round takes just 10–15 minutes.
It’s an ideal team-building game for communication practice and as an icebreaker.
Poem of First Love
It’s a theme that lets you reflect on romance while enjoying a story packed with the sweet-and-sour freshness and poignancy of first love.
By thinking about why she exchanged emails and why she sent those words, you can imagine the movements of a person’s heart.
When she seemed to be happily spending time with the boy like a friend, why did I give up on my feelings? Beneath that might lie a lack of confidence or the inner struggle of not being able to muster the courage.
By discussing it with classmates, you can relive the characters’ emotions and overlay them with what you would have done yourself—that’s the appeal.
It’s a topic that invites lively exchanges of opinions, with the bittersweetness of love and personal growth as its themes.
Southern Cross Expedition
It’s an exciting theme where you become a member of the Southern Cross Expedition Team and go on a treasure hunt.
It begins when you receive a message from a teammate saying, “I found treasure on a southern island, but it’s heavy—please help.” However, communication is cut off partway through, and the story revolves around completing the remaining map.
Each member holds different pieces of information, and you can’t reach the answer unless everyone shares what they know.
The key is not to keep your own information to yourself, but to share it and work cooperatively with your teammates.
While enjoying the fun of deduction and organizing information, you also learn the importance of trusting your companions.
The very process of completing the map through repeated discussions is a stimulating theme that lets you experience a real sense of accomplishment.
Easy! Tim Tam Game
This is a simple word game invented by Yamana from the comedy duo Akina.
First, one person says “Tim” and “Tam” in a random order 14 times.
The other person predicts whether the 14th will be “Tim” or “Tam,” and at the moment the 14th comes, say the one you think it is together.
If you’re right, the predictor wins.
You can also do it so that after 13 times, the predictor answers the 14th alone like a quiz and then you check if it’s correct.
Feel free to change how many times you say “Tim” and “Tam,” or adjust how you answer—make your own rules through communication and enjoy!
Let’s try a management game!
The “Management Game” is a game in which each player becomes a company president and runs a business.
It’s known as a training game that Sony created for in-house use in 1976.
One round of the game represents one fiscal year, and at the end of each period you prepare a P&L and a balance sheet.
After five periods, the player with the highest equity wins.
Despite being a game, it offers the chance to learn practical know-how such as procurement, manufacturing, and bidding.
By experiencing the role of a president who must oversee everything, participants can expect to improve their proactiveness, sense of purpose, and team capabilities.
