40 Icebreakers for Small Groups is a FREE ebook compiled from several articles posted on Insight. I thought it might be helpful to put them together in an eBook (708kb) for youth leaders to download. In addition, I’ve added several icebreakers which don’t appear in the articles!

The 40 icebreakers are simple to use and suitable for a wide age range. They are great with a small youth group and can be used in a small space. They require very few props and can easily be used in a home without feeling a hurricane just came through!

Divided into two sections, ‘Getting To Know You’ and ‘Group Builders’, these icebreakers encourage sharing, listening, co-operation and discussion, providing a creative foundation for a small group study or teaching time.

There’s other stuff to check out on Insight too, including a growing selection of free youth group discussion starters. Here’s four simple word play icebreakers from the eBook;

Around the World

The leader begins by saying the name of any country, city, river, ocean or mountain that can be found in an atlas. The young person next to him must then say another name that begins with the last letter of the word just given. Each person has a definite time limit (e.g. three seconds) and no names can be repeated. For example;

First person: London
Second Person: Niagara Falls
Third Person: Switzerland

Supermarket

The first player says: ‘I went to the supermarket to buy an Apple (or any other object you can buy in a supermarket that begins with an A). The next player repeats the sentence, including the ‘A’ word and adds a ‘B’ word. Each successive player recites the sentence with all the alphabet items, adding one of his own. For example; ‘I went to the supermarket and bought an Apple, Banana, CD, dog food, envelopes, frozen fish’. It’s not too hard to reach the end of the alphabet, usually with a little help! Mild panic sets in when ‘Q’ or ‘X’ approaches!

Tall stories

The leader starts a story with a sentence that ends in SUDDENLY. The next person then has to add to the story with his own sentence that ends in SUDDENLY. Continue the story until everyone has contributed. The story becomes crazier as each young person adds their sentence. Tape it and play it back. For example; ‘Yesterday I went to the zoo and was passing the elephant enclosure when SUDDENLY’…

Add Words

Simple, completely ridiculous and a lot of fun. The first person says a word, for example ‘The.’ The second person says the first word and ADDS a second word of their choice, and so on. At the end you might have a complete sentence! For example, ‘The aardvark spiralled into the puddle of custard clutching his skateboard while whistling his favourite Bjork melody.’ The fun thing is putting twists in the sentence so that the others have a hard time coming up with a word that fits. ADD WORDS can be played a few times without being boring.