Party Icebreaker Games: No-Prop Classics That Get a Room Talking

The best party icebreaker games need no props, no setup and nobody stuck alone in the middle of the room for long. Here are six classics, how to run each one, and prompts to get them going.

Two Truths and a Lie

Each person shares three statements about themselves — two true, one invented — and the group guesses the lie. Give everyone a minute to think first, because nobody lies well on the spot. The best rounds pair a believable lie with a truth that sounds made up. Suggest themes if people stall: something from childhood, a food, a job, a surprising encounter. Vote by show of hands, then the speaker reveals the lie and tells the story behind the strangest truth. Best for: four to fifteen people who don't know each other well.

Hot Seat

One person takes the hot seat, and the group fires questions at them for sixty to ninety seconds. Answers should be a sentence, not a speech, and the person in the seat gets two passes with no explanation needed. Keep the questions light and use a timer so nobody stays in the seat too long. Rotate until everyone who wants a turn has had one. Best for: five to twelve people who are already a little warmed up.

Take a Side

The host reads a would you rather question and points to opposite sides of the room — left for the first option, right for the second — and everyone walks to their pick. Each side sends a spokesperson to argue for thirty seconds, and anyone persuaded can cross over. It gets people moving and mixing without anyone performing alone. Our would you rather questions will keep it going all night. Best for: ten to forty people with room to move.

Never Have I Ever

Everyone holds up ten fingers. In turn, each person names something they've never done, and anyone who has done it puts a finger down. Last hand up wins. It works because the whole group plays at once. Keep it PG-13 and never aim a statement at one person — these never have I ever statements come with no-drinking ways to score it. Best for: five to twenty people.

Common Ground

Split into groups of three or four and give them three minutes to find three things they all have in common — nothing obvious. "We all like pizza" doesn't count; "we've all been locked out of the house in pajamas" does. Each group reports its strangest find. It's the best game for mixing people who arrived in separate cliques. Best for: nine or more people, especially mixed crowds.

Fortunately, Unfortunately

Sit in a circle and build a story one sentence at a time, alternating lines that begin with "Fortunately" and "Unfortunately." The host supplies a ridiculous opening line, and the story lurches from triumph to disaster and back. Nobody has to be funny alone — the laughs come from the swings. Stop after two laps or when the story reaches a natural (or absurd) ending. Best for: four to twelve people, later in the evening.

Prompts to get each game going

Hot Seat questions

• What's the last thing that made you laugh until you cried?
• What food did you refuse as a kid but love now?
• What's the best thing you've ever won?
• What skill would you download overnight if you could?
• What's the strangest thing you believed as a kid?
• Which fictional character would you trust to plan your birthday?
• What's a skill you learned from an online video that actually worked?
• What small habit are you secretly proud of?

Take a Side dilemmas

• Would you rather spend a day as a giant or as an ant?
• Would you rather be a professional cake taster or a professional mattress tester?
• Would you rather have a pet penguin or a pet owl?
• Would you rather live in a lighthouse or an old train car?
• Would you rather be a famous chef or a famous musician?
• Would you rather get a snow day every week or a beach day every week?

Fortunately, Unfortunately opening lines

• A raccoon walked into the office on Monday carrying a tiny briefcase.
• Grandpa entered the town hot-sauce contest with a secret recipe.
• The astronaut realized she had left her lunch on Earth.
• Our road trip began with a full tank and a cat who refused to stay in the back.

Never Have I Ever starters

• Never have I ever lost a shoe in public.
• Never have I ever ruined a group photo by laughing.
• Never have I ever had one song stuck in my head for a week.
• Never have I ever won a raffle.

Running any of them without the groans

The host goes first, every time. Taking the first hot-seat turn or sharing your own two truths shows the stakes are low and sets the length of a good answer. Match the game to the room: Common Ground and Take a Side for strangers, Hot Seat and Fortunately, Unfortunately once people have laughed together. Keep any one game to ten or fifteen minutes and end while people still want more. Everyone gets a no-questions-asked pass, and nothing should involve touching, drinking or embarrassing someone who didn't volunteer. For more on reading a room, see how to run an icebreaker.

Play it on your phone

Icebreaker turns a phone into a hot seat: add everyone's names in pass-the-phone mode and it shows whose turn it is, with an optional 30-, 60- or 90-second timer. Party Starters is one of three free decks, and a one-time purchase unlocks the rest, including Would You Rather and Never Have I Ever. It works offline with no account.

The bottom line

The best party icebreaker games keep everyone playing and nobody stuck on the spot. Go first yourself, match the game to how well people know each other, and stop before it drags. When the room just needs a laugh, start with these funny icebreaker questions.