[In a Short Time] Icebreakers and Fun Games That Shine at Morning Meetings
Morning briefings at the start of a week or a day can catch people when they’re not fully alert or feeling sharp yet.
Here are some handy icebreakers and quick, fun games you can use during those meetings.
If your workplace relies on teamwork, it’s all the more important to boost the mood from the morning and approach work as one united team.
These ideas should help strengthen team cohesion.
They’re also great to use at companies with new hires—give them a try!
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
- A simple and fun co-op game that enhances teamwork
- [For Adults] Fun recreational games. Perfect for short breaks too!
- A collection of icebreakers you can enjoy with a small group
- Icebreakers that get people moving (for both small and large groups)
- Useful for workplace morning meetings! Recommended topics and trivia you can use for a one-minute speech.
- [Self-Introduction & Games] Icebreaker Ideas Collection
- Icebreaker Ideas and Games Collection
- Fun activities that liven up the office: recreation games
- Icebreaker ideas for large groups you can use in Zoom meetings
- Get the Fun Going! Easy Classroom Games You Can Play at School: Recreational Activities for the Whole Class
- Brain-teasing game roundup
- Fun games recommended for making friends with people you’ve just met
[In a short time] Icebreakers and fun games that shine in morning meetings (1–10)
All-out rock-paper-scissors
This icebreaker is simply playing rock-paper-scissors with full energy.
The key is to go all out—from the call to the celebration.
What’s different from regular rock-paper-scissors is that not only the winner but also the loser celebrates with full enthusiasm.
It turns rock-paper-scissors from a competition into a game and avoids creating negative feelings.
Pair up and play high-energy rock-paper-scissors; after a few rounds, switch partners and play again.
It works with any number of people and can be done in short breaks.
Finding commonalities
This icebreaker involves looking for things you have in common.
Pair up, face each other, and find similarities.
If you already know each other, it’s easier to identify commonalities from your usual conversations.
You might think it’s hard to find common ground with someone you don’t know, but you can start with visible similarities like “wearing glasses” or “wearing the same color today.” Even with someone you don’t know well, finding common points helps the conversation expand from there.
Decide in advance, for example, to find three things in common.
Teleportation Game
This is an icebreaker using newspapers called the “Teleportation Game.” Roll up sheets of newspaper tightly to make long, thin sticks that are all the same direction and length.
Each person holds one stick, and everyone stands in a circle.
At the cue “Ready, go!” let go of the stick you’re holding, move to your neighbor’s position, and grab their stick so it doesn’t fall.
If everyone succeeds, take one step back while holding the sticks to make the circle wider.
Anyone who fails to catch a stick is out; the last person remaining wins.
Getting your body moving a bit in the morning can really help you start work feeling sharp.
[In a short time] Icebreakers and fun games that shine in morning meetings (11–20)
Who am I?
An icebreaker called “Who am I?” where you don’t know who you are.
What you are is written on your back, but of course you can’t see it yourself.
Show your back to the people around you and say, “This is who I am.” Then everyone asks questions together.
For example, ask questions like “Am I in this country?” or “Am I food?” and have others answer with “yes” or “no” to figure out who you are and give your answer.
If it’s difficult, it’s okay to get hints.
Shooting Star, Moon, Tree
This is an icebreaker called “Shooting Star, Moon, Tree.” Give everyone paper and a pen, and have them draw a shooting star for one minute.
Then do the same for a moon for one minute, and after that, a tree.
When everyone is done, reveal the drawings at the same time and share your impressions.
Even if people draw the same subjects, no two drawings will be identical—each one will show individual personality.
Even in a tense setting, having a prompt makes conversation flow easily, helping to ease nerves and build rapport smoothly.
Try using this before a morning meeting or similar sessions.
Guess the caricature game
Are you all good at drawing? Sketching a portrait of someone who’s right there… even people who are good at drawing might find that a bit tricky.
And this activity has you draw a portrait in just one minute.
You draw a quick portrait of one person in one minute, and once everyone’s done, you line them all up and each person picks the one they think is of themselves—it’s an icebreaker.
It sounds a bit challenging, but also fun, right? (Haha.) It’s the kind of icebreaker that would probably get even more exciting when you check the answers afterward.
Hero interview
Haven’t we all wanted to try it at least once? How about doing that “hero interview” as an icebreaker—the one at the end of a baseball broadcast where the standout player from the winning team steps up on the podium? You can set up a fictional scenario to begin with, or tailor it to the situation by answering about your work achievements or what you plan to focus on today.
Try conducting the interview accordingly.
Becoming the star player and having a hero interview first thing in the morning sounds pretty great, doesn’t it?