Common Ground, free and nothing to download
Common Ground is a classic icebreaker for a group who don't know each other: the phone splits people into small groups, from two to five people as you choose, and each group has a few minutes to find things all its members share that aren't obvious, like having a younger sibling, having been to the same city or hating the same dish. To find them you have to ask, listen and compare, which is exactly what breaks the ice. If a group gets stuck, the game gives it hints by topic: something about food, a place, a pet peeve or something from when you were little. When time's up, each group presents its list and the one with the most valid things wins. On a single phone, the organizer shows the groups, runs the timer and notes how many things count on each list. Each on your own phone, with a room, every phone shows your group, the hint and a shared list where anyone in the group writes down what you find; the other groups only see it at the end.
Tips and variations
- Five minutes and groups of three or four work well: there's time to go from the easy things to the surprising ones.
- Agree beforehand on what counts as obvious: being in the same class or company doesn't count.
- When presenting, ask each group to share the most curious thing they discovered: it usually gets everyone talking.