Break the ice with intros and team battles! Party games to spice up your welcome event
It’s about time for welcome parties, isn’t it?
With new students and fresh graduates coming in, many of you are probably planning welcome events.
In this article, we’ll introduce party games and fun activities that will liven up your welcome party.
If you’re thinking, “I want games that are fun even with people meeting for the first time,” or “I want to plan simple, easy-to-run games,” this will be a great reference.
In particular, games that help you learn about each other through self-introductions, and team-based cooperative games, are recommended because they make it easier to get to know one another and create a friendly atmosphere.
Now, let’s take a look at our recommended games!
- Games to Liven Up the Freshers’ Welcome Party
- [Self-Introduction & Games] Icebreaker Ideas Collection
- Fun games recommended for making friends with people you’ve just met
- Team-based recreational activities for adults that are fun even with large groups
- 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
- A great way to get to know each other! Entertainment and performances to liven up a welcome party
- Ideas for team-based games to enliven a party
- [Let’s Get Closer] A Collection of Engaging Questions for Self-Introductions
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- [For University Students] A Roundup of Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- A roundup of recommended icebreakers for college students
- Games that liven up social and networking gatherings
Break the ice with intros and team battles! Party games to spice up welcome gatherings (21–30)
Blindfold drink: perfect chuu-chuu!
It’s a perfect game for welcome parties and other gatherings since all you need is a bottle or glass with a drink and some straws.
The rules are simple: put on a blindfold and try to drink a specified amount through a straw.
For example, mark a line on a bottle of juice, and the person who drinks to the level closest to that mark wins.
As long as you bring straws to the venue, you’re good to go.
If you get creative with the blindfold design, it’s sure to make things even more exciting!
Who am I? game
The “Who Am I?” game, a staple of quiz variety shows.
Choose one person to be the answerer and have them guess a given topic within a time limit.
The answerer starts the game without knowing the topic, and by asking questions repeatedly, they try to deduce the answer.
Questions must be ones that can be answered with “yes” or “no”—anything else is not allowed.
You can ask as many questions as you like within the time limit.
If the answer isn’t coming easily, you might give a hint.
It’s a game that also strengthens team bonds, so be sure to play it at welcome parties to help everyone get friendly!
6 icebreakers that will energize your training!
If you want to communicate more with your teammates or refresh your mind by playing games when things feel stuck, try enjoying a variety of icebreakers! For example, puzzle-solving games and marshmallow towers help build teamwork toward achieving a goal, while the “common-ground” game gives you a chance to learn more about your team members.
With all-out rock–paper–scissors and high-five games, you can forget your shyness and create moments where everyone shares joy and fun together.
Let’s use different games to improve the team atmosphere!
Fun for communication! Pokan Game
Words that seem obvious to you can be completely unclear to everyone else—what do they even refer to? In the “Pokan Game,” you guess the true topic hidden behind such words through conversation.
First, the person who’s “it” gives a single-sentence line or phrase as the prompt.
The others then figure out what it refers to by asking the leader questions and proposing guesses.
It’s best to choose prompts that aren’t easily solved, ones that require some real thought.
Talk a lot and deepen your bonds as you play!
Bucket Catch
Prepare a bucket and a ball, pair up, and play a simple game where you catch the ball with the bucket.
The difficulty changes with the distance, it tests your teamwork, and it’s a great way to build rapport.
It’s also an easy game to join at welcome parties, so I recommend it.
Look that way, hoi!
Because the rules are simple, it’s perfect as an icebreaker game for a welcome party.
It’s the classic party trick “Acchi Muite Hoi.” You play rock–paper–scissors, and the winner points in any direction; if the loser turns to face that direction, they lose.
Even if you win at rock–paper–scissors, that’s not the end—there’s an extra step before the outcome is decided, which is the key.
Using Acchi Muite Hoi in place of rock–paper–scissors to decide turn order is also recommended, since the back-and-forth until a decision is reached is part of the fun.
Finding commonalities
Common-ground finding is a fun game that helps you talk with people you’re meeting for the first time and feel closer to them.
There are various ways to play: for example, participants form pairs or groups and, within a time limit, look for things they have in common through conversation; or they present common points they’ve written down in advance—those are standard approaches.
Conversations can stall without a prompt, so set simple topics like “How you spend your days off” or “Favorite foods.” It’s also a good idea to set a target number of commonalities to find beforehand.
Russian roulette with candy
They look like delicious treats at first glance—but some are filled with wasabi or mustard! This “Candy Russian Roulette” is an easy-to-prepare game everyone can enjoy.
Just get some treats where you can’t see the filling and quietly add a bit of wasabi or mustard inside.
Have each participant pick one, and whoever ends up with the wasabi- or mustard-filled treat loses! Be careful not to use anything too extreme, and make sure to have drinks ready.
Let’s become friends through a communication game!
To get to know others, communication is essential! In this game, you talk a lot while discovering unexpected sides of each other—welcome to the “Unexpected Me! Game.” Find people who match the surprising prompts written on paper, and whoever finds the most wins.
Prompts like “Surprisingly, I like ___” or “Surprisingly, I can ___” are all fair game.
You won’t rack up points unless you talk to many people, so keep the conversations going and learn more about those around you!
Training by blocks
A no-right-answers game using blocks that’s great for icebreakers.
Participants intuitively choose one piece from a set of block parts and then assign their own meaning—thoughts or feelings—to that piece in a dialogue-based game.
The act of “choosing” a block reflects the subconscious, bringing out genuine opinions and values we don’t usually notice.
The rules are: “no correct answers,” “no negativity,” and “everyone speaks,” with a facilitator guiding the process.
In a short time, diverse viewpoints are made visible, making it effective for building team understanding and trust, and improving workplace relationships.
It enables easy yet deep conversations and is also well-suited for sharing visions.
