How To Play "Get To Know You Bingo" or "Icebreaker Bingo"

Getting to know new people doesn’t have to be difficult when you have fun games like icebreaker bingo. From first day of school activities for young students to orientation games for college and company retreats, icebreaker bingo is one of the best ways to start forming relationships and learn more about a group. Icebreaker activities promote self-disclosure and self-discovery, according to Goucher College. This allows participants to open up and feel a sense of closeness with a group. Icebreaker activities are also a good way to encourage honest communication between people.

Conducting icebreakers in a fun way can help alleviate some of the awkwardness of being around new people. And that’s where icebreaker bingo comes in. So, how do you play icebreaker bingo? It’s easy enough that anyone can set it up with a few people-focused questions, homemade gameboards and something to mark off the squares. Once you have your participants, you’re ready to go. Here’s a quick guide for playing icebreaker bingo at your next event.

Jump to Section

• How Do You Play Icebreaker Bingo?
• Icebreaker Bingo Questions For Work
• Icebreaker Bingo For Kids
• How Can I Make My Bingo Game More Fun?

How Do You Play Icebreaker Bingo?

What is the ice breaker name bingo game and how do you play it? Luckily, icebreaker bingo is incredibly easy to set up and play. Follow these steps.

1. Make Your Board

To play icebreaker bingo, you'll first need to create your boards. Here's how you do it. 

1. Make icebreaker bingo cards/boards. You can use a bingo board template or create a simple five-by-five square grid.
2. Write down questions. Create some questions to get to know someone, looking for specific traits you'd like to learn more about the person or people.
3. Fill in the squares. Then, fill in each square with icebreaker questions or traits. You want these questions and traits to allow everyone to mingle and ask deep questions rather than asking about superficial traits.
4. Select your questions. Choose between 40 and 50 questions and traits, so that each bingo card has a different assortment of answers. Do not repeat questions on your board; instead, mix up the questions and their placement.

2. Dish Out the Boards

Once the boards are made, distribute the bingo cards to all the players along with a marker. Everyone can take a moment to review their board and identify questions to ask or traits to look for.

3. Mingle, Mingle, Mingle

When everyone has their playing materials, instruct them to go and mingle among the group. Players should ask questions and have genuine conversations that help them get to know others as well as mark off spaces on their boards. Before they venture off, provide a note that people cannot answer with "yes" or "no," they will need to elaborate on their answers. 

4. Mark Off the Squares

As players find the answers to the questions and traits on their board, they can mark it off with the name of the person who answers the question to that specific square. Players can win by getting five in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Or make it more challenging in future rounds by having players have to get four corners, an x pattern, outside edges or full coverage to win.

This is truly one of the best icebreaker games because most people already know how to play bingo or can easily pick up the gameplay, so the focus will be more on meeting and connecting with people.

Icebreaker Bingo Questions For Work

Icebreaker bingo can bring an office together, allowing coworkers to learn more about each other, facilitate better communication and strengthen relationships. What is the ice breaker team building bingo game? It's exactly the same as the icebreaker bingo game described above, except now it's at the office.

During team-building icebreaker bingo, coworkers will ask questions to get to know someone and mark them off on a card to get five in a row to win. These questions can help bring coworkers or a team closer together and improve morale, which has a positive impact on the office and working conditions.

There are numerous icebreaker bingo questions suitable for the workplace. You can ask questions about previous experience with travel or adventurous things people have done. Ask about hobbies or secret talents, people’s favorite things, like foods or places, or ask questions about prior work experience to get to know what positions or places coworkers have worked in the past. Having a mix of questions allows coworkers to discuss a range of topics and gain a fuller understanding of one another.

This acts as a team-building event, whether you're based in Atlanta, Boston, or Houston. These team-building activities in your workplace can help you learn more about your coworkers, their roles in the office, their strengths and their communication styles.

Icebreaker Bingo For Kids

Kids can also play icebreaker bingo. It’s one of the best games to play on the first day of school, at summer camp or in team sports; anywhere where kids meet for the first time. And since it’s based on a game they’ll most likely be familiar with, you can play icebreaker bingo with younger or elementary-aged kids as well.

For younger kids, look for age-appropriate ice breaker questions. However, in general, you can use some of the same categories you would as ice breaker questions for adults. Ask about favorites, including food, colors, TV shows and sports. You can also ask about travel experiences, hobbies, talents and what activities they’re involved in. There are also funny questions to ask, such as superpowers or what animal they would be. Of course, you can also ask about their families or pets.

Icebreaker bingo is also a great option for kids' birthday parties where guests may be from different activities or clubs, such as school, dance, or karate. This will help the kids meet each other, come out of their shells, and prevent the party from staying cliquey. For the same reason, it’s a great school activity, as it helps kids from different social circles and clubs meet each other and learn about one another.

You can also tailor the questions to the activity or setting. In school, you can ask more school-related or academic-focused questions. In contrast, a summer camp can focus more on their favorite summer activities or travels. With a variety of topics and questions, you’ll be able to find questions to fill a bingo board no problem. 

How Can I Make My Bingo Game More Fun?

Bingo is already a game that people of all ages can enjoy playing and be competitive in. However, if you’re looking for ways to mix it up, you have options. So, how can I make my bingo game more fun?

1. Create Themes

One way is to create boards with themes. Categorize the questions under specific themes, such as travel, food, or hobbies. Or play the game by having random questions for each player to figure out the answers, rather than direct questions, so they have to learn things in a more roundabout way.

For a larger themed party, play icebreaker bingo with themes like a tropical Hawaiian paradise party, Decades Day or Halloween party themes and have everyone dress up in costumes to fit the theme. Then, you can have the bingo cards match the theme.

2. Draw Up Different Patterns

Rather than have the typical five in a row, you can challenge players to get certain patterns during different rounds. Try playing for four corners, star or postage stamp patterns for more fun and difficult icebreaker bingo rounds.

3. Offer Prizes

Of course, you can also make the game more fun by offering prizes to the winner of each round. These can be items like stuffed animals, gift cards and little trinkets. You can even provide a trophy for the person who collects the most fun facts throughout the game.

4. Use Food

For little kids, one way you can make the game more fun is by using food instead of markers. To mark off the cards, use M&M’s, Hershey’s Kisses or other small candies.

5. Do a Card Swap

An even more challenging way to play bingo is to have players swap cards during the game. After a player marks off a few spots, have the game facilitator call out that they must switch cards with someone else. This way, if they’re working towards a bingo, they may have to ask other questions or talk to new people to win. It’s a unique way to make the game more competitive.

Icebreaker bingo is already a fun game in itself because it requires a lot of participation. Players will enjoy going around and mingling with each other, having genuine conversations and finding the answers to each of the questions. But adding a few fun challenges within the game will make it even more fun to play.

If you ever need a game to play to get to know a new group of people, you should play a few rounds of icebreaker bingo. The cards can be easily made and printed yourself, and the materials are easy to gather. Get to know a group, learn more about their families, hobbies and themselves, improve communication and encourage closeness all with one fun game. No matter the age group or occasion, icebreaker bingo is sure to be your go-to game.

For even more fun ideas to build your teams, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!