Large group games

Icebreakers for large groups

For the first 20 minutes, when half the room has never met. Each one gets people moving and talking without anyone performing alone.

• Find someone who (people bingo)

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 12 to 150
  • Indoors

  You need: One printed sheet and a pen per person (make them below).

  Each sheet has 16 squares like "has been on a boat". Players mingle and find a different person for each square, who signs it. First to fill a row calls it out; keep going for a full sheet if the room is still buzzing.

  Tip: Make every sheet different (the maker below does this) so people cannot just copy a neighbor.

  Make the sheets

• Silent line-up

  • Ages 7 and up
  • 10 to 60
  • Indoors or out

  You need: Nothing.

  Without talking, the group lines up in order of birthday (month and day). Hand signals are fine. When they think they are done, go down the line and check out loud. Then try height order with eyes open or first-name alphabet order.

  Tip: With more than 30, split into two lines and race.

• Stand up, sit down

  • Ages 6 and up
  • 11 to 200
  • Indoors

  You need: A phone with the never have I ever generator.

  Everyone stands. Read a prompt; anyone it is true for sits down. Last few standing win the round, then everyone stands again. No scorekeeping, no drinks, and the stories come out naturally.

  Never have I ever generator

• This side or that side

  • Ages 5 and up
  • 10 to 200
  • Indoors or out

  You need: A phone with the would you rather generator, a room with two walls.

  Read a would you rather question and point to one wall for A and the other for B. Everyone walks to their side. Ask one person from each side to argue for 20 seconds, then let anyone switch.

  Would you rather generator

• Two truths and a lie, team style

  • Ages 10 and up
  • 8 to 40
  • Indoors

  You need: Nothing.

  Split into groups of four or five. Each person tells three short facts about themselves, one made up. The group votes on the lie. Each group then picks its best one to try on the whole room.

• Name and motion chain

  • Ages 5 and up
  • 8 to 30
  • Indoors or out

  You need: Space to stand in a circle.

  The first person says their name with a motion (a wave, a spin, a thumbs up). The next person repeats it, then adds their own. By the end, the last person does the whole chain, with help. Everyone knows every name.

Team building games

Small teams, the same supplies, a clock and a result you can measure. The talk afterward ("what would you change?") is the part that builds the team.

• Paper tower challenge

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 8 to 100 (teams of 4 or 5)
  • Indoors

  You need: 20 sheets of paper and a roll of tape per team, a tape measure.

  Each team gets the same supplies and 15 minutes to build the tallest tower that stands on its own for ten seconds. Measure, crown a winner, then ask each team what they would change. That last question is where the team building happens.

• Paper airplane distance contest

  • Ages 6 and up
  • 6 to 80 (teams of 3 to 5)
  • Indoors or out

  You need: Paper, a long hallway or gym, tape for a start line.

  Teams design one plane together and pick a thrower. Three throws each; the longest counts. Add a second round where the plane must land in a hula hoop for precision.

• Back-to-back drawing

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 6 to 100 (pairs)
  • At tables

  You need: Paper, pencils, simple picture cards.

  Pairs sit back to back. One describes a simple picture (a house with a tree and a sun) without naming it; the other draws. Compare and swap. Good for talking about clear instructions.

• Team charades

  • Ages 6 and up
  • 6 to 40 (two teams)
  • Indoors

  You need: A phone with our charades deck.

  Two teams take turns sending an actor up. Draw a prompt, start the 60-second timer, act with no words. One point per correct guess; the deck keeps the score.

  Charades deck with timer and scores

• Team trivia rounds

  • Ages 10 and up
  • 8 to 100 (teams of 4 to 6)
  • At tables

  You need: Questions, answer sheets, a host.

  Teams pick a name, write answers on one sheet per round, and swap sheets with a neighbor team for marking. Five rounds of ten questions fills an hour.

  Christmas trivia with sourced answers

• Category race

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 6 to 60 (teams)
  • At tables

  You need: Paper, pens, our category lists and random letter.

  Each team gets the same list of 12 categories and a letter. Three minutes to write an answer for each that starts with that letter. Only answers no other team wrote score.

  Category lists with a timer

• Drawing relay

  • Ages 6 and up
  • 8 to 40 (teams)
  • Indoors

  You need: A whiteboard or big paper per team, markers, our drawing words.

  One player from each team looks at the same word and runs back to draw it for their team. When the team guesses it, the next player runs up for the next word. First team through ten words wins.

  Words to draw

Active games for a gym or a field

For when the group needs to burn energy. Mix ages on every team so it stays fair and nobody sits out.

• Relay races

  • Ages 4 and up
  • 8 to 100 (teams of 4 to 8)
  • Outdoors

  You need: Cones or shoes for turn points, a spoon and a plastic egg or potato per team.

  Classic legs: spoon-and-egg walk, crab walk, hop on one foot, backward walk, and a final all-team leg holding hands. Mix ages on each team so a grandparent and a five-year-old run the same leg together.

• Capture the flag

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 10 to 60
  • Outdoors

  You need: Two flags (bandanas), a field split in half, cones for jails.

  Each team guards its flag on its own half. Tagged players go to the other team's jail until a teammate tags them free. First team to bring the other flag home wins.

  Tip: Agree on "two-hand touch" tags and a no-tackling rule before you start.

• Red light, green light

  • Ages 3 to 10
  • 6 to 50
  • Indoors or out

  You need: A long open space.

  One caller stands at the far end. On "green light" everyone walks toward them; on "red light" they freeze. Anyone caught moving goes back to the start. First to tag the caller takes over.

• Balloon keep-up

  • Ages 3 and up
  • 6 to 60 (circles of 6 to 10)
  • Indoors

  You need: One balloon per circle.

  Each circle holds hands and keeps its balloon in the air without letting go. Count the hits out loud. Add a second balloon when it gets easy.

• Tug of war

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 10 to 40
  • Outdoors

  You need: A thick rope rated for it, grass, a marker on the center.

  Two even teams pull until the center marker crosses a line. Best of three.

  Tip: Pull on grass, never wrap the rope around hands or waists, and let go together on "stop".

• Water balloon toss

  • Ages 5 and up
  • 6 to 60 (pairs)
  • Outdoors

  You need: Filled water balloons, a hot day.

  Partners face each other one step apart and toss. Each successful catch, both step back. A pop or a drop means you are out; the last pair standing wins.

Big group games at the tables

For a banquet hall, a classroom or a long dinner: games that seat 12 to 100 without anyone leaving their chair for long.

• Bunco

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 8 to 40 (tables of 4)
  • At tables

  You need: Three dice per table, score sheets, a bell.

  The classic party dice game for 12 or more: tables of four roll for the round's number, winners move up, and partners change each round, so everyone meets everyone.

  Bunco rules and score sheets

• Bingo

  • Ages 4 and up
  • 6 to 100
  • At tables

  You need: Printed cards, a caller.

  The one game that works for a classroom, a reunion hall and a nursing home alike. Print a different card for everyone and call from a phone.

  Halloween bingo cards

• White Elephant gift swap

  • Ages 10 and up
  • 6 to 40
  • Indoors

  You need: One wrapped gift per person, numbers.

  Players draw numbers, then take turns opening a gift or stealing one. The steal rules and a turn tracker are on our White Elephant page.

  White Elephant rules and tracker

• Left-right gift story

  • Ages 5 and up
  • 6 to 30
  • At tables

  You need: One small wrapped gift per person, a story read aloud.

  Everyone sits in a circle holding a gift. Each time the story says LEFT or RIGHT, pass your gift that way. Whatever you hold at the end is yours.

  Our printable left-right story

• Werewolf (Mafia)

  • Ages 11 and up
  • 8 to 20
  • Indoors

  You need: Role cards (playing cards work), a narrator.

  A few secret werewolves try to outnumber the villagers. Each night they pick a player to remove; each day the village debates and votes someone out. A narrator keeps it moving.

• Wink murder

  • Ages 9 and up
  • 8 to 30
  • Indoors

  You need: Slips of paper.

  One secret "murderer" removes players by winking at them. One detective tries to spot who it is. Players who are winked at wait five seconds, then make a dramatic exit.

Family reunion games

Games built around the thing a reunion has that no other party does: shared history. They give the cousins who meet every five years something to talk about.

• Baby photo match

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 10 to 100
  • Indoors

  You need: One childhood photo per relative (sent ahead or brought on the day), numbers, answer slips.

  Pin the photos on a board with numbers. Everyone writes who they think each baby grew up to be. Read the answers at dinner; most correct wins a prize.

• Family history trivia

  • Ages 10 and up
  • 10 to 100 (teams by branch)
  • At tables

  You need: 20 questions about the family, answer sheets.

  Ask an elder or two for the facts ahead of time: where grandparents met, the first car, who was born where. Teams are family branches, so every team has someone who knows some answers.

  Trivia answer sheets and scorer

• Cousin bingo

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 15 to 150
  • Indoors or out

  You need: Find-someone-who sheets (below).

  The people bingo icebreaker, run at the start of the reunion so relatives who only meet every few years have a reason to talk.

  Make the sheets

• Reunion olympics

  • Ages All ages
  • 15 to 150 (teams by branch or mixed)
  • Outdoors

  You need: Five or six simple events, a scoreboard, team names.

  Pick events every age can do (relay, balloon keep-up, paper airplanes, beanbag toss, tug of war). Points for each place, a medal for each team. Split the crowd and name the teams with the tool below.

  Family olympics scoreboard with certificates

• Lawn game tournament

  • Ages 8 and up
  • 8 to 64 (pairs)
  • Outdoors

  You need: Any lawn game (beanbag toss, ladder toss, bocce), a bracket.

  Pairs sign up, the bracket decides who plays whom, and the final is played with everyone watching.

  Tournament bracket generator

Printable "find someone who" bingo

Every sheet is different: 16 squares drawn from our 157 clean prompts, set for the crowd you expect. Players find a different person for each square and get their initials. Make as many sheets as you have guests (up to 60 at a time), then use your browser's Print (Ctrl+P, Cmd+P on a Mac, or Share then Print on a phone). Only the sheets print, one per US Letter page.

Split the crowd into named teams

Paste names (one per line or separated by commas), or just enter a head count. Pick how many teams and a name theme, and the page deals people out at random with sizes that never differ by more than one, then gives each team a name from our team name generator. For skill-balanced teams or people who must be kept apart, use the full team generator.

Three ready-made plans

Family reunion, two hours, 40 people of all ages

1. Arrival (20 minutes): cousin bingo sheets handed out at the door; baby photo board up for guesses.
2. Split into four teams by the splitter above, with family reunion names (10 minutes).
3. Reunion olympics outdoors: relay, balloon keep-up, paper airplanes, tug of war (50 minutes).
4. Food, then family history trivia at the tables by team (30 minutes).
5. Baby photo answers and medals (10 minutes).

Office team building, 45 minutes, 20 to 30 people

1. This side or that side with five would you rather questions (10 minutes).
2. Teams of five; paper tower challenge (20 minutes including the debrief).
3. Back-to-back drawing in pairs, one round each way (10 minutes).
4. Category race finale, one round (5 minutes).

Classroom or youth group, 30 minutes, 25 kids

1. Silent birthday line-up (8 minutes).
2. Stand up, sit down with kids prompts (7 minutes).
3. Team charades with the deck and timer, two teams (15 minutes).

What this page adds

Most lists of games for large groups are long articles you scroll through hoping something fits. This one filters by your actual head count, space and ages; every game says what you need and how many it really works for; the people bingo sheets are generated so no two guests hold the same one; and the team splitter names the teams, so the reunion olympics or the office challenge can start without a whiteboard. There are no drinking games here, so every one of them works with kids and grandparents in the room.

Questions about games for large groups

What games work for a group of 50 or more?

Games where everyone plays at once instead of taking turns: stand up, sit down; this side or that side; find-someone-who bingo; relay races in teams; and bingo at the tables. Set the picker to 50 to see them all.

What are good family reunion games for all ages?

Pick games where a grandparent and a five-year-old can be on the same team: relay races with mixed teams, balloon keep-up, bingo, the left-right gift story and a reunion olympics with gentle events. Baby photo match and family history trivia get the older generation talking.

What are quick team building games for work?

The paper tower challenge and back-to-back drawing each take 15 to 20 minutes and need only paper and tape. Team trivia and the category race work at the tables in a conference room. Skip anything that makes one person perform alone.

How do I split a big group into fair teams fast?

Use the splitter on this page: paste the names (or just enter how many people), choose the number of teams and a name theme. Team sizes never differ by more than one. For skill-balanced teams or people who must be kept apart, use the full team generator.