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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Close the gap instantly even on first meeting! Icebreaker games that hype up welcome parties (21–30)
trifectaNEW!
What would you do if you had to spend 100 million yen in a single day? What would you do if you could stop time for an hour? How would you answer when asked such outlandish questions? Sanrentan is a game where you deduce the other person’s values and preferences and try to guess their answers perfectly.
Written in kanji as “三連単,” it sounds a bit like horse racing predictions.
It’s a great icebreaker for getting to know someone.
Although it’s sold as a card game, handwritten slips work perfectly well too.
No Katakana Game
The No-Katakana Game is about explaining something that’s usually written in katakana without using any katakana at all.
In everyday conversation, katakana words just slip out naturally, right? But in this game, you must not use any katakana.
For example, if the prompt is “basketball,” you have to describe basketball without using katakana.
The people listening then guess what you’re describing.
The person explaining may not use katakana words like “ball” or “goal.” Only the guessers are allowed to say the katakana word that is the answer.
It’s surprisingly difficult and really tests your vocabulary—perfect for a showdown between freshmen and upperclassmen!
Birthday line
Birthday Line is a game where all participants line up in a single row in order of their birthdays.
You simply arrange yourselves by exact birthday, including the month and day—but no talking is allowed! Using only gestures, you figure out where your own birthday belongs and when other people’s birthdays are.
Even though gestures are allowed, when you actually line up and check the result, you may find some “Huh?” mistakes.
The longer the time, the higher the accuracy, so it’s recommended to set a time limit and practice nonverbal communication in a short window.
It’s a perfect game for learning each other’s birthdays and building bonds through mutual understanding.
3-second try!NEW!
This game is perfect for livening up casual get-togethers or welcome parties among friends, rather than official occasions.
It’s extremely simple: you have three seconds to try whatever is written on the card.
For example, “shiritori.” Without a time limit it’s nothing special, but add the constraint of “three seconds” and, for some reason, you get nervous and the words won’t come out.
The prompts are things anyone can do—like turning on the spot or clapping—so it’s suitable for people of all ages.
If you can’t get the product, you can always make your own.
UNONEW!
Let me introduce the classic and popular card game UNO.
Shuffle the cards well and deal seven cards to each player.
Place the remaining cards in the center as the draw pile.
Then flip over the top card to start the discard pile.
Players take turns playing cards from their hands, and the first player to play all their cards wins.
You can play a card if it matches the number, color, or symbol.
If you can’t play, draw from the pile to add to your hand.
Name BingoNEW!
A perfect game for remembering the names of people you’re meeting for the first time is “Name Bingo.” When you think of bingo, it’s the game where you punch a hole in your card if a called number appears on it, and you win if you get a line of holes.
Name Bingo follows the same rules, except that you use names instead of numbers.
Prepare a list of participants in advance and create cards by selecting from that list.
It’s a good idea to have the person whose name is called introduce themselves.
Don’t copy me, okay? / No copying, okay?NEW!
Let’s play a game called “Don’t Overlap!” where players must not give the same answer to a prompt.
Prepare several prompts, and each participant writes down exactly one answer that fits the prompt.
If none of the participants’ answers overlap, the challenge is a success; if even one overlaps, the challenge fails.
Prepare prompts that are easy for anyone to answer, such as “What’s a fruit?” or “What’s a spring flower?” If there are many participants, divide into teams and compete to see how many times each team can succeed.