Get closer in no time, even with first-time meetings! Games that liven up welcome parties
It’s hard to decide what games to play at a welcome party for new students, isn’t it? Everyone’s meeting for the first time or feeling nervous, and it’s hard to know what will get people excited.
So here, we’ll introduce games that are likely to liven up a new-student welcome party.
We’ve included plenty of games that help you learn everyone’s names and encourage communication.
We’ve focused on games that everyone can enjoy, even those who aren’t comfortable with self-introductions or speaking in front of others.
Most of them don’t require any props, so feel free to give them a try!
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Get close in no time, even on your first meeting! Icebreaker games to energize welcome parties (1–10)
We can’t go home until everything is ready.
@ayk213 Okinawa#FreshersWelcomeWe can’t stop until we’re all lined up
Classic Medley 2019 – Pianica Magician
The “You can’t go home until your answers match” game! For prompts like “When you think of snacks?” or “When you think of juice?”, everyone answers or shows an item at the same time, and if everyone’s choices match, you clear the round.
On social media, a popular rule is to go on a shopping run to a convenience store and succeed if everyone’s purchases match.
For a new-hire welcome party, it’s fun to adapt it by writing answers in sketchbooks at hand or picking items from personal belongings.
When you match perfectly with someone, it kind of feels like you’ll get along better, doesn’t it?
Finding commonalities
A game where you look for commonalities and have fun: the Common Ground Hunt.
Set a time limit of about three minutes, and during that time, talk within your group or pair to see how many things you share in common.
The group or pair that finds the most commonalities wins.
Even though the time is short, you’ll need plenty of conversation to draw out those common points.
Finding commonalities not only brings people closer, but the act of conversing itself also helps build rapport.
If the team that couldn’t find many common points gets a lighthearted penalty to help them bond more, the activity gets even more exciting!
fast typing on a smartphone
A game that favors people who are used to smartphones: the Smartphone Speed Typing Challenge! The rules are simple—compete to see who can finish typing a given prompt on their smartphone the fastest.
Using predictive text is allowed, but if you want to raise the difficulty, you can ban predictive text.
Line breaks and punctuation must match the prompt exactly.
For those from the feature phone generation, fast typing on a smartphone might be tough, but younger people whose first phone was already a smartphone might have the edge with their mastery of flick input and everything else.
No matter how fast you finish, typos will cost you points.
It’s a game you can play anytime as long as you have a smartphone—why not try it during some downtime at a welcome event?
Get close in no time, even on your first meeting! Icebreaker games to liven up welcome parties (11–20)
Russian roulette
Is the dud a super-spicy chili pepper? Let’s deepen our bonds with Russian roulette! Using chocolate eggs from the candy aisle at supermarkets or convenience stores, we’ll make a Russian roulette game.
Split the chocolate eggs in half, put marshmallows or gummies inside, and stick them back together.
Using the warmed bottom of a pot makes it easy to seal them.
Peanut butter or prunes could be fun fillings, too.
The dud is a pickled plum, and the mega-dud is a super-spicy chili pepper…! Finally, place the chocolate eggs in an empty egg carton and you’re all set.
No matter what you get, it’s sure to be a hit—how about this Russian roulette as an activity for a welcome party?
Two-choice game
The two-choice game that went viral in short videos on social media! You present two options for a prompt, and everyone moves to the side they choose.
If you’re doing this at a welcome party for new students, topics that help people warm up to each other are great, like “Cat person? Dog person?” or “Cute style? Cool style?” It’s also recommended to use prompts that help you learn about others, such as “Humanities? Sciences?” or “Outdoorsy? Indoorsy?” The game gets more exciting when you keep a brisk pace, so prepare lots of prompts that people can answer without overthinking.
Drawing Telephone Game
A drawing-based telephone game where you pass on the given prompt through pictures! It demands not only drawing skill but also the imagination to guess the prompt from an image, and the artistry to correct a message that’s veering off course with your own drawing.
It’s great fun for those good at drawing, but pure hell for those who aren’t! Precisely because you don’t yet know each other’s strengths, it’s a perfect game for welcome events, where you can get excited together—being surprised by unexpected talents and laughing out loud at quirky artistic senses.
The choice of prompts is key, too! Aim for that borderline level—something you can imagine but is hard to draw—and it gets even more entertaining!
Earphone Loud Telephone Game
The Blast-Your-Ears Telephone Game! While trying to figure out what someone you barely know is trying to say, you keep passing the message along.
All participants wear headphones blasting loud music, and without hearing the other person’s voice, they read only their lips to guess what they’re saying, then pass it on to the next person.
You can use any phrase you like, but the longer the sentence, the funnier it gets as it morphs in bizarre ways! Even if you’re not close yet, you’ll naturally build a bond by really trying to catch what the other person is saying.
Even if the message ends up completely different from the start, you’ll end up laughing together—guaranteed to bring everyone closer!