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!
- Liven up even first meetings! A collection of fun games perfect for welcome parties
- [For University Students] A Roundup of Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- Fun games recommended for making friends with people you’ve just met
- A fun, everyone-joins-in game that gets everyone excited!
- Party games that get everyone excited at school
- Party games collection that get everyone excited in a big group
- Office party games that get everyone excited
- Icebreaker acts for welcome parties that rapidly bring people closer: surefire, easy crowd-pleasers
- Games that liven up social and networking gatherings
- [From small to large groups] Drinking games recommended for college students
- Recommended for college students! Punishment game ideas that will make everyone laugh and hype things up
- Party and drinking games to liven up a company welcome party
- [Let’s Get Closer] A Collection of Engaging Questions for Self-Introductions
Get close in no time, even on your first meeting! Icebreaker games to liven up welcome parties (11–20)
Picture shiritori
Picture shiritori: a way to get even closer than with word-only shiritori! In regular shiritori, you take the last letter of the word someone says and connect it to make the next word.
Picture shiritori keeps the same rule but has you draw the word and pass it along.
Even if something is easy to say in words, drawing it so the other person understands makes it a bit tricky.
The receiver also has to figure out what was drawn, so you end up thinking about the other person more than in normal shiritori.
Plus, noticing things like “This person is really good at drawing!” can spark new conversations.
All you need is paper and a pen—let’s use picture shiritori to break the ice and get closer!
Intro QuizNEW!
In this quiz, you guess the song title by listening only to the intro, the opening part of the track.
It’s a popular quiz anyone can join casually, and it has a nostalgic feel.
How about gathering songs that were hits during the participants’ youth and enjoying the quiz? You can make it a fastest-finger individual match, or turn it into a team competition where you discuss answers—great as an icebreaker with people you’ve just met and a way to become friends.
The hyper intro quiz, where you answer after just one second of the intro, is also a blast and highly recommended!
Gesture ShiritoriNEW!
Shiritori is a game everyone enjoyed as children.
It’s usually played with words, but this time let’s try it using gestures.
The difficulty goes up, which makes it a game adults can enjoy too! Participants decide the order with rock-paper-scissors or similar, and the first person conveys a word using only gestures.
The second person watches the first person’s movements and answers.
Continue this pattern, and if the turn successfully reaches the last person, the challenge is a success! To succeed, choose words everyone knows and communicate them with simple, easily associated movements.
It’s a fun game to watch as well!
Marshmallow ChallengeNEW!
If you want everyone to get closer through an activity, how about the Marshmallow Challenge, which is also popular for team building? Split into groups and use pasta, string, tape, and a marshmallow to build a tower and compete for height.
You can’t anchor the tower’s base, so making it stand on its own is surprisingly tricky.
Since you’ll need to discuss with your group members how to build it higher, it’s a great icebreaker that helps you naturally get to know first-timers.
Word Wolf
A game very similar to Werewolf: Word Wolf.
Each participant is given a prompt, but one person receives a completely different prompt.
Even if you get the different prompt, you won’t know at that moment that yours is different from everyone else’s.
If, through conversation with everyone, you realize you’re the Wolf with a different prompt, you try to blend in and deceive the others.
If you think you have the same citizen prompt as everyone else, you join the discussion while deducing who the Wolf is.
After the conversation ends, everyone votes on who the Wolf is.
If the number of people who correctly vote for the Wolf is greater than the number who vote for a citizen, the citizens win.
If more people vote for a citizen, the Wolf wins.
If you want to enjoy a thrilling welcome event, give it a try!
Introducing someone else
If you’re tired of introducing yourself, try doing a “tako-shokai” (introducing someone else)! As the name suggests, you introduce a person other than yourself—but you might wonder, how can you do that when you’ve only just met? To introduce someone else, you need to gather information.
Before the introduction, set a time and draw out as much information from the other person as possible.
Then summarize it and present them as, “This person is the kind of person who…” You’ll have to convey that information to yet another person, which is surprisingly challenging! But it’s a great way to get to know each other better, making it perfect for welcome events.
Close the gap instantly even on first meeting! Icebreaker games that hype up welcome parties (21–30)
Icebreaker Bingo
To get to know each other at a welcome event, it’s important to start by learning about one another, right? A great activity for that is Introduction Bingo.
Instead of using a card with numbers like regular bingo, you fill in each space with things you like or facts about yourself.
Then, during introductions, if a word or topic someone mentions matches something on your card, you mark that space.
If you complete a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, it’s bingo! It helps you discover common interests and creates a chance to break the ice and become friends.