Games to Liven Up the Freshers’ Welcome Party
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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[Welcome Event] Games to Liven Up the Freshers’ Welcome Party (11–20)
Tasting Umaibo Blind (Flavor Identification)
Let’s enjoy the welcome party with a “Umai-bō Taste Test Showdown” that gets both the audience and the participants excited! As the name suggests, you rely solely on your sense of taste to guess the flavor.
Everyone knows Umai-bō, and there are actually quite a lot of flavors sold, so it’s perfect for this game.
Participants will eat the Umai-bō while blindfolded, then remove the blindfold, check the lineup of options, and give their answer.
You can also provide a list of descriptions for each flavor.
It might feel easy to guess, but once your vision is taken away by the blindfold, it turns out to be surprisingly challenging.
Name demon
A natural way to learn each other’s names: the Name Tag game.
First, choose one person to be “It.” That person calls out someone’s name among the participants.
The person whose name is called must immediately call someone else’s name.
However, if “It” tags them before they call another name, they switch and become “It.” If they manage to call another name before being tagged, they’re safe.
In a large space, it’s fun to run around like regular tag, but in a smaller space, have everyone form a circle around “It,” keep their hands out in front, and stay in place.
This version feels even faster than the running one, so the key to winning is how well you remember everyone’s names and how quickly you can say them on the spot!
Russian roulette
Is the dud a super-spicy chili pepper? Let’s bond over Russian roulette! Here’s a simple idea using the chocolate eggs you can find in the snack aisles of supermarkets and convenience stores.
Split the chocolate eggs in half, place marshmallows or gummies inside, and stick them back together.
Using the bottom of a warmed pot makes it easy to seal them.
Peanut butter or prunes can be fun fillings, too.
For the “losers,” add pickled plum—and for the ultimate dud, a fiery hot chili pepper! Finally, place the chocolate eggs into an empty egg carton and you’re done.
No matter what you get, it’s sure to liven things up—perfect as a welcome-party activity.
Who did what, when, and where game
A game where you make funny sentences using the new students’ names: the “When, Where, Who, and What did they do?” game.
You freely write words for each category: “When,” “Where,” “Who,” and “What did they do?” For the “Who” category, write the new students’ names.
For the others, for example, for “When,” you could write “tomorrow” or “in 10 years.” For “Where,” “at the park” or “at school.” For “What did they do,” “ate sweets” or “danced,” and so on.
Once you’ve collected a fair number of words in each category, draw one slip of paper for each category in the order of When, Where, Who, and What they did, and make a sentence.
You’ll end up with funny sentences or, by some miracle, sentences about things that actually happened—perfect for breaking the ice with lots of laughs and surprises!
Rock-Paper-Scissors: Bonk and Cover
A game that’s familiar from variety shows: “Tataite Kabutte Janken Pon.” On the call of “Tataite Kabutte Janken Pon,” you play rock-paper-scissors.
If you win, you try to bonk your opponent’s head with a squeaky hammer; if you lose, you quickly put on a helmet to evade the hammer.
If you successfully block the hammer with the helmet, you’re safe and play rock-paper-scissors again.
If you manage to tap your opponent’s head with the squeaky hammer without being blocked, you win! It’s a simple, long-standing game, but the excitement level is off the charts!
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!
[New Student Welcome] Games to Liven Up the Welcome Party (21–30)
Drink exactly the amount of juice
A juice-drinking game where you try to drink exactly to a line drawn on a cup.
Prepare a clear cup and draw a line anywhere you like.
The person drinking wears a blindfold so they can’t see the contents and, while guessing “The line is around here, right?”, uses a straw to drink the juice.
Whoever stops drinking exactly at the line wins; if no one hits it perfectly, the person closest to the line wins! It’s a simple, easy-to-enjoy game that only takes a little prep.