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 self-introductions and team battles! Fun games for welcome parties (41–50)
Gesture Game
Welcome parties—especially company onboarding parties—have their own unique tension, don’t they? While it’s important to have icebreaker activities to help people relax, how about giving them a small challenge instead? Enter the gesture game: now that’s quite a trial, isn’t it? Even a normal self-introduction is nerve-wracking, but relying only on gestures could make things pretty interesting!
Break the ice with intros and team battles! Party games to spice up welcome events (51–60)
Pencil Holder Game
The “Pencil Standing Game” is a simple yet exciting game that’s perfect for welcome parties—as long as you have pencils.
The rules are very easy! At the start signal, players try to stand pencils upright on the table.
The first person to get 10 pencils standing wins.
If a pencil you’ve stood up falls over, you have to start that one again, of course.
It’s a great test of concentration and balance! For a welcome party, you can do one-on-one matches or team competitions to liven things up.
Simple games like this don’t require much thinking, so people of all ages can enjoy them.
Team Battle Tic-Tac-Toe
https://www.tiktok.com/@soramame.sensei/video/7399617996366286098Here’s a game where you line up circles and crosses.
Split into two teams and give it a try.
There’s a 3×3 grid of empty squares.
One person from each team takes turns placing a circle or a cross card in a square.
The team that lines up three in a row—diagonally, vertically, or horizontally—wins.
Try to outwit each other so your opponent can’t make a line of three.
The real charm of this game is the battle of wits as offense and defense unfold.
It’s a simple game, but completing a line of three brings a special kind of joy.
Illustration Telephone Game
It’s a game that tests members’ ability to communicate and understand each other—both the willingness to convey your message and the skill to grasp what others want to express.
Players depict a given prompt through a drawing; the next person interprets the prompt from that drawing and then passes it along with their own drawing to the next participant, and so on.
The final person states, in words, what they believe the original prompt was, and everyone enjoys seeing whether they got it right.
If the group reaches the correct answer, you can feel a strong sense of unity; even if they don’t, it’s fun to analyze how the meaning shifted along the way.
The ability to capture distinctive features and one’s drawing skills are also part of what makes this game enjoyable.
Two-person hane-ori showdown
Does everyone know it? Let’s have a two-person haori showdown! Two people wear one big haori: the person in front sticks their face out, and the person in back puts both hands through the sleeves.
Let’s play a game in that setup.
How about a speed-eating contest with noodles or piping-hot oden? A smartphone puzzle game could get everyone excited too.
Two-choice game
The two-choice game that went viral in short videos on social media! You present two options for a prompt, and everyone moves to the side they choose.
If you’re doing this at a welcome party for new students, topics that help people warm up to each other are great, like “Cat person? Dog person?” or “Cute style? Cool style?” It’s also recommended to use prompts that help you learn about others, such as “Humanities? Sciences?” or “Outdoorsy? Indoorsy?” The game gets more exciting when you keep a brisk pace, so prepare lots of prompts that people can answer without overthinking.
In-joke quiz
How about making a quiz out of inside jokes and holding a quiz contest? You answer questions about your company or school’s bosses and seniors, or common “relatable” situations—but that can put new people at a disadvantage.
Still, it’s a great chance for them to get to know everyone through funny quiz topics!