Get Aquainted Games
Acquaintance games are always employed when a group must get to know each other at the beginning. This is usually the case at the beginning of a new group meeting or on the first evening of a children’s or youth’s camp.
- Elf, Giant, Magician
On the leaders command, the couples must assume positions to show the character and they must also make the sounds of that character. This game is similar to Rock-Paper-Scissors.
- A blind pair
Players turn, walk towards each other and meet up while blindfolded.
- Partner body positions
When the music stops, the leader will announce two body positions.
- Line up
The groups must line up in correct order.
The chosen player must name the player on his left (right).
- Shoe Pile
Everyone takes off one shoe and throws it onto a pile in the middle of the group. Then everyone will choose a shoe and try to find the player who owns the shoe.
- Stand up
Two (or more) players sit back to back with legs stretched out in front of them. They must try to stand up without using their arms.
- Greeting Rituals
The members of the group greet each other using different greetings rituals.
- The ball with names
The group sits or stands in a circle. A ball is thrown to someone whose name is called out at the same time.
- Backwards names
Your own name is said backwards.
- Name crossword
Each letter of your name is represented by a question where the first letter of the answer gives the different letters of the name.
- Making gestures
Like "I went to the market" but with gestures and movements.
Out of the game is either: the person who ducked too slowly.
- Pip squeak
The blind person in the middle must guess who made the noise.
- Introduction - Starter questions
A few questions which can be posed during an introductory round.
- Smarties and stories
Each player takes a few numbers of M & M’s or Smarties out of a bag. After all have taken from the bag, each person tells one thing about themselves for each piece of candy taken.
- Who is it?
Everyone writes down 4-5 personal characteristics about themselves. The group then guesses who the characteristics belong to.
- The group (spider) net
A ball of yarn is thrown randomly from one person to the next while posing a question with each throw.
- Newspaper Slaps
The player in the middle must “tap” the person named with the newspaper before that person can call out another person’s name.
- 3 wishes, 3 truths, 3 important things
Each person writes down 3 wishes. Afterwards the group guesses whose wish is whose.
- Formation line
The entire group must stand on a board. On command, they line up by alphabet, height or age in the right order without speaking.
Hands behind a stretched over a blanket screen must be recognised.
- Group estimations
The group estimates themselves (total age, height, distance to school.)
- Whose balloon is this?
Everyone snaps a balloon and brings it to the person whose name is on the balloon.
- Secret calls
Each group agrees on a special signal. All members are blindfolded and must try to find each other.
- Blindly sorted
All members of the group are blindfolded and have the challenge of standing in a row according to size, age, etc.
- Animals find their partner
Each blindfolded member of the group must now try to find his partner by making animal sounds.
- Spoon grab
A blindfolded member of the group must try to recognise another group member with a table spoon.
- Who knows all of the group members by name?
On the command, the members of staff let the blanket fall. Whoever names the person sitting opposite them first has won.
- What Belongs to Whom?
Volunteers stretch out their arms or legs out from under a blanket.
- I love…
This is a good game to learn about the others’ hobbies and such.
- The perfect chaos
Each group member receives a task. An exact opposite task exists for each task.
- Family Maier, Meier, Mayer and Meyer
A game for allocating and finding groups with initial communication difficulties.
- Like to like
A game for allocating groups with noises.
- Lipstick kiss or footprint
Every player makes a fingerprint, a lipstick kiss or a shoe print on his paper. The group guesses whose paper belongs to whom.
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