11 Virtual icebreaker games that your community will LOVE

A good icebreaker can save any occasion from a dreadful awkward silence at the start. Especially online, these awkward moments might be extra hard to get through. Virtual icebreaker games will help you get everyone loosened up and the conversations flowing.

We have put together a list of 10 virtual icebreaker games (plus some additional useful online tools) that your community might enjoy. These were tested and are deeply enjoyed by our team - even by the most introverted folks! These are great for virtual meetings, virtual classroom activities, virtual college classes, virtual workshops, webinars, virtual networking events, virtual happy hours, virtual game nights, etc. You guessed it - if it’s virtual, these are the icebreakers for your event.

Enjoy!

Our favorite virtual icebreaker games

🧊 Virtual icebreaker questions

Rules: Start with easy questions so you can let people get comfortable. If you are in a larger group of people, try to split into smaller groups. Ask lots of random and funny ones. We have a blog post with a selection of our team’s favorite virtual icebreaker questions for team-building - but they are a great fit for other occasions too! Or check this random question generator.

Why do we love it? Everyone needs a little push to get the socializing fluids going. Virtual icebreaker questions usually help everyone form valuable bonds. And people that feel more comfortable around each other will naturally cooperate better.

🕯️ Live-action games from The Adventure is Real

Rules: Have an open mind and a positive attitude. That’s it! The Adventure is Real has several games that they have built themselves, where you work alongside your colleagues and friends to solve puzzles, piece together clues, and/or uncover mysteries.

Why do we love it? The Adventure is Real truly cares about you having a fantastic time. Their team of trained actors is completely dedicated to each of their roles, making the experience immersive. It’s so hard not to smile while participating in one of their activities.

😅 Two Truths and a Lie

Rules: Make everyone think about two truths and one lie about themselves. Have everyone get up one by one and share them. Then, ask everyone to vote on which statement they think is the lie. Once everyone has voted, reveal the correct answer and give team members the chance to ask any follow-up questions!

Why do we love it? This is a great virtual icebreaker game for people who don’t know each other, but it’s also a fun way for good friends to learn even more about each other. This means that it is great for onboarding a new team member or for your classroom at the beginning of the school year. And it’s a great opportunity for more introverted folks to share a bit more about themselves in a safe environment.

❓ Virtual team trivia quiz

Rules: Collect interesting (and fun!) facts about each team member and let other colleagues guess who the fun fact is about. Try using an online tool like Kahoot!, as it makes the experience more visual and interactive.

Why do we love it? First of all, it’s incredible the number of fun facts you can find out about the people that you work closest with. This is perfect for a holiday activity for your community!

🧑‍🚀 Virtual charades

Rules: Use a random image generator or word generator (we recommend this one and this one). On each turn, one player must act out what they see in the image and the teammates need to guess to earn points. Repeat for as many rounds as you have time for.

Why do we love it? It’s a game that everyone has played growing up, which makes it super familiar and fun. Everyone loves a good throwback and nostalgic moment.

🏺 At-home scavenger hunt

Rules: Tell everyone that they need to get ready to stand up from their chairs. Give everyone a task like “You have 30 seconds to fetch something fluffy!” (Get ready to see some people grabbing their pets!) And then everyone shares what they grabbed.

Why do we love it? It makes people get up and move! Which is great as we tend to spend most of our days sitting. Plus, it brings people closer since they will end up sharing personal items and the stories behind them. Laughs are 100% guaranteed.

🤸 Play Jackbox games

Rules: Full disclosure, you do need to buy these games and download them to your computer. But once you’ve downloaded the game, everyone can play online with their phone. It’s that simple!

Why do we love it? Jackbox Games have plenty of good choices. And all the games have unexpected and creative dynamics. It requires a bit of an investment, but we definitely recommend it!

🗝️ Online escape room

Rules: Get ready to solve challenges, work through riddles, find codes, complete puzzles, and make connections. Do whatever it takes to “get out of the room.” There are plenty of choices online, such as Escape Live and Let’s Roam.

Why do we love it? It is an experience for all ages, everyone loves a good game, and it is great for bonding. Plus, there is a themed virtual escape room for every occasion!

🤔 Would you rather…?

Rules: Everything you need to do is ask everyone thought-provoking questions. The type of “this or that” decisions. The idea is to make everyone say what they would prefer and explain why. Some examples of questions: “Would you rather be always overdressed or underdressed?”, “Would you rather have 6-foot-long legs or 6-foot-long arms?”, “Would you rather travel back in time or forward?”. If you are lacking inspiration or want to spice things up a bit, we recommend Slido because it’s an amazing interactive tool. And have a look at this blog post with “101 would you rather questions” that their team put together.

Why do we love it? A round of “would you rather” questions will spark conversations at any virtual event you host or plan.

🥗 Guess the Refrigerator

Rules: Choose an organizer for this game. Everyone needs to submit a photo of the inside of their refrigerator to that person. The organizer will then post those on a group chat or even broadcast them on a video call. Players will speak their minds and guess which fridge belongs to whom. You could keep score, or you could just play for the laughs!

Why do we love it? A refrigerator is something very personal… It’s almost like looking into other people’s souls. What better game to play to get to know each other better? Vulnerability usually helps people bond.

🔘 Jeopardy

Rules: There are a few websites that have premade Jeopardy games, like Jeopardy Arcadium. But we’ve had a great time making our own. Download the Jeopardy slide deck from Slides Carnival. It’s programmed such that, when you click on any of the $ amounts in the Jeopardy grid, the slideshow immediately jumps to that question. Split all the players up into a few teams (on Toucan, you could have up to 4 teams, with a gamemaster/moderator. Have a representative from each team get up in Presenter Mode to share what their team discusses on stage. You can read more about how we play Jeopardy here.

Why do we love it? Who doesn’t like Jeopardy? Plus, it gives you an opportunity to frame the questions around common knowledge among members of your community.

Toucan is designed so that you and your community have more fun.

Your virtual icebreaker games will only be as fun as you allow them to be. Choosing the right platform might be key to ensuring that everyone has the most memorable experience, especially on those days where zoom fatigue is real. Also, you want to encourage as much participation as possible.

Toucan is built for this sort of thing. The flexibility, the agency, the ability to decide who you talk to and what you talk about make for a much more comfortable environment for socializing -  especially icebreakers!

We have plenty of features that will help you create the best dynamic possible. You can send emoticon reactions, choose your background, broadcast and share your screen, divide into groups, lock groups to make them more private, and check out each other’s Toucan profiles for some extra fun and flair. Plus, in a group, everyone is in the same order on everyone’s screens. So feel free to go around the circle when you share.

We hope you have a great time with our favorite games! We sure do so.