14 Funny Icebreakers for Kids, Adults and Teens

Icebreakers usually have a specific purpose – team building, preparing participants for activities, and introducing people to each other. However, sometimes you just need a fun activity to add to the effectiveness of a meeting, class, or other group. Our selection of funny icebreakers includes those for adults, teens, and kids. However, most of these fun icebreaker games can be adapted for any age.

Funny Icebreakers for Adults

A kid that loves to have fun is hiding in every adult. Bring out that child-like playful spirit with our selection of fun icebreakers for adults.

Teeth

1. Begin this fun icebreaker with everyone sitting in a circle.
2. Have each player choose a fruit or vegetable.
3. The fun part of this game is that they will be saying the name of their fruit or vegetable without showing teeth; they must speak with their lips over their teeth.
4. The first player says their chosen fruit or veggie two times and then another player’s fruit or veggie twice.

For example, if the first player has chosen potato and they want to pass the play to someone who chose celery, they would say, “Potato, potato, celery, celery.” Player number two would say, “Celery, celery, squash, squash.”

Additionally, if someone shows their teeth, the player who sees them tells the group by screaming, “Teeth, teeth!” and flapping their arms like wings, without showing their teeth in the process. Play continues with people eliminated when they show their teeth. This game works well as an adult icebreaker for introductions by substituting names for the fruits and vegetables.

Quiet

There is nothing quite as contagious as laughter. For this adult icebreaker, the goal is to keep from laughing.

1. Instruct participants to pair back to back.
2. Count to three and have everyone turn and face their partner.
3. They are to look into each other’s eyes and stay solemn and serious with no speaking.
4. If someone smiles or laughs, they sit down.
5. Those who remain standing find a new partner.
6. The activity continues until there is only one person left – the winner.

This works well also as a team game with two teams lined up and facing each other. At the end of a given time, the team with the most members still standing wins.

Boom Chicka Boom

This is a fun game relying on accurate repetition of a phrase. This can be more difficult than it sounds, especially when variations cause laughter. Choose a person to serve as the leader. When the leader changes style, the adults must follow. Instruct the leader to begin the pattern, as follows:

Leader – “I say BOOM!”

Adults – “I say boom!”

Leader – “I say boom – chicka!”

Adults – “I say boom-chicka!”

Leader – “I say boom-chicka-boom!”

Adults – “I say boom-chicka-boom!”

Leader – “I say boom-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka-chicka-boom!”

Adults – “I say boom-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka-chicka-boom!”

Leader – “Oh yeah!”

Adults – “Oh yeah!”

Leader – “One more time!”

Adults – “One more time!”

Leader – “In _____ (opera, jive, rap, preacher revival, sign language, whisper, etc.)” or “Sounding _____ (sexy, fast, slow, etc.)”

Then leader starts the recitation over in the chosen manner or sound.

Grandma’s (Grandpa’s) Footsteps

A fun icebreaker game for adults, this works best with a group of 10 to 15 adults, although if you have adequate space, it will work with a larger group. You can also use this as a team game.

1. The host or leader chooses one person to be Grandma (Grandpa) and face a wall.
2. The rest of the players start on the opposite side of the room and attempt to sneak up on Grandma (Grandpa) and tap a shoulder.
3. However, they cannot be caught doing so and Grandma (Grandpa) may turn around at any time.
4. If a person is caught moving and pointed out, they must return to the start.
5. No one can move while being watched.
6. If a player manages to tap Grandma’s (Grandpa’s) shoulder, he or she takes their place facing the wall and the game starts over.

You can make this fun adult icebreaker more challenging by scattering clothing items on the floor between the start and Grandma and add the rule that one item of clothing must be put on before tapping Grandma’s (Grandpa’s) shoulder.

Captain Is Calling

A great blood pumping game, Captain Is Calling lasts about 15 minutes. One leader who is outgoing and loud plays Captain, explains the rules, and controls the game. Another leader serves as the Jailer. The group forms lines with individuals standing one behind the other, facing front. The Captain says the following: “You are crew members on a ship and I am your captain. Whatever I say to do, you do. If you disobey my orders then you go to jail, where the jailer will make you do push-ups, jumping jacks, and other exercises.” The captain uses the following commands in any order:

• Stern – the crew must go backwards.
• Bow – the crew must come to the front.
• Port – the crew must go left.
• Starboard – the crew must go right.
• Captain’s Ball – two people get together and dances with one another.
• Rowboat – three people get together and row a boat.
• Octopus – four people get together, sit back to back, and kick their legs up.
• Starfish – six people link arms and swing around in a circle.

Make sure the crew understands these commands before you begin the game. When an order is given, it must continue until the Captain says. “Captain is calling.” When the captain says this, all players must stand at attention. If a player does not follow a command correctly or are not in a group for a group command, they are out. The game ends when there are only two people left.

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Funny Icebreakers for Teens

Teens are often self-conscious and hesitate to participate in activities. A funny icebreaker game involves teens in a non-threatening way and gets them ready to participate in other, more serious activities. Our funny icebreakers for teens act as warm-ups and, although they can be messy, guarantee involvement of even the shiest participants.

Zip Zap Zoop

1. Start by having all the teens sit in a circle.
2. One of the teens points to someone next to him or her and says, “Zip!”
3. The teens point and repeat, “Zip!” around the circle in one direction.
4. At any time, a teen can say, “Zap!” “Zap!” changes direction, with the teens pointing and saying, “Zip!” around the circle in the opposite direction.
5. At any point, a person told, “Zip!” may choose to say, “Zoop!”
6. If they do so, they point at someone anywhere in the circle who can then restart the “Zip” in any whichever direction they choose.

If you wish, you can take those who mess up out of the group and have as a winner the one teen remaining at the end.

What If . . .?

A really crazy and fun icebreaker for teens, this game begins with each person receiving two notecards (or pieces of paper).

1. On one card, the teen writes a random questions starting with, “What if . . .? For example, “What if your cat could talk?” or “What if vegetables tasted like candy?”
2. On the second card, they write a possible answer such as, “They might ask you to breed pet mice.” or “We would want to eat them all the time.”
3. When the teens are done, collect all the note cards, divide them into questions and answers and shuffle them.
4. The leader or host picks a random question and answer and reads them aloud. There will be some hilarious results.

Note: It is a good idea for the leader to read the question and answer first to himself to make sure the pairing is not “unacceptable.”

Balloon War

1. Divide your group of teens into teams.
2. Give each of the teams a packet of balloons all one color.
3. Make sure each packet contains the same number of balloons.
4. Teams have 10 minutes to blow up as many balloons as possible.
5. Each team chooses one or more Poppers who get a set amount of time to destroy balloons that belong to other teams.
6. The team that has maximum balloons remaining wins.

You can vary the number of balloons, balloon poppers, and the amounts of time for blowing up balloons and popping them depending on the number of team members involved.

Russian Roulette Balloon Pop

Another balloon game and one of the most fun icebreakers, this takes some advance preparation.

1. Ask for volunteers and pick five to sit in front of the group.
2. Blind fold each and give them an inflated balloon.
3. Before the activity, the leader puts shaving cream inside one of the inflated balloons.
4. The leader has each of the five volunteers pick a balloon and explains that they are to sit on their balloon and pop it when the leader says, “Go!”
5. One of the teens popping their balloon and all of the spectators will be surprised!
6. If you wish, you can repeat with the remaining teens until only one is left – the winner.

Note: Do not fill up the balloon too full and use a darker colored balloon. Also, it is a good have a few extra inflated balloons filled and not filled in case you need them.

Do Not Laugh!

Teens are notorious for doing the opposite of what they are told. This funny icebreaker game builds on this premise.

1. The teens stand in a line and each one places a hand on the back of the person in front of him.
2. The last person in the line says, “Ha, Ha, He, He!”
3. Each person says this in turn for the whole line and the goal is for everyone to repeat the phrase without smiling or laughing – a highly unlikely outcome!

Those who smile or laugh are out and the last teen remaining wins. You can also set up this funny icebreaker as a team game with a timer set and the team with the most members remaining at the end of a set time wins

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Funny Icebreakers for Kids

Kids and fun naturally go together, so funny icebreakers are perfect to use with children at parties, in classrooms, or anytime you need a quick and fun way to get children to participate.

Chubby Bunny

A very fun icebreaker for children, the goal of this game is to see how many marshmallows you can stuff in your mouth without chewing or swallowing any of them while saying, “Chubby Bunny.” Have the kids take turns one at a time with the others observing. If you wish, you can use other types of food – jellybeans, or cotton candy both work well. Using different phrases is also fun.

Note: Watch participants carefully to make sure no one chokes.

Bring Back My Bonny

A short, fun icebreaker, this only takes about five minutes. Have the kids sit in a large circle with the leader in the middle. The leader explains that every time he says a word beginning with the letter B, the group members are to stand if seated, and sit down if standing. Once the leader is sure everyone understands, he sings, “Bring Back My Bonny.”

My Bonny lies over the ocean. My Bonny lies over the sea.

My Bonny lies over the ocean. Oh, bring back my Bonny to me.

Bring back, bring back, bring back my Bonny to me, to me.

Bring back, bring back, oh, bring back my Bonny to me.

Anyone who messes up is “out” and the last kid remaining is the winner.

Buffoon

As the name implies, someone is going to be a buffoon – a ridiculous, but amusing person or clown. Have the kids sit in a circle and ask a volunteer to be in the center. The goal of the Buffoon is to get the other kids to laugh by making sad, annoyed, gloomy, or silly faces. The first person to do so becomes the next Buffoon. This continues until all have had at least one turn.

Flag of Me

A fun but “quiet” ice-breaking activity for a group of older children, this takes some time, but is a great way to settle down a large group. Finished flags make a fabulous display for a classroom or meeting place, and provide a fun “party favor” for kids to take home.

Give each child a piece of white paper and crayons, markers, or colored pencils. Tell them to design a flag that tells something about them. It is a good idea to suggest the following possibilities if children are slow to start:

• What their interests are
• Where they come from
• What they believe in
• Favorite colors, animals, or sports
• Their families or pets
• Places they have visited or want to visit

After the children take 15-20 minutes to create their flags, ask them to stand up, one by one, hold up their flags, and explain the design to the other children.

Funny icebreakers work well at any time or in any place. They set the stage for a memorable experience participants remember far beyond the event, meeting, or activity for which they are used.