Mixers & Group Games (Tips & Tricks)

Mixers & group games are a staple part of many clubs & groups that seek to form a bond amongst its participants, help everyone loosen up & feel comfortable & interact with someone they don't usually gravitate towards, and to give everyone something new and fun to look forward to each time they gather.

Suggestions on how to successfully implement mixers & games…

Mixers can be led by anyone!  Leaders, students, guardians or volunteers which means that this is an aspect of your club that you can “outsource.”  When it comes to allowing students to lead a mixer or game I view this as a leadership learning opportunity.  Or, sometimes I notice one student who is sort of on the fringes of the activities, looking sad or uninterested, so I might ask that student to lead next week's mixer, so they can feel valued and seen.

It's best to do games before your teaching times or practicing plays/skits/talent acts to get everyone’s energy out, then have social time or free time following your teaching times.

Some solutions to common problems that occur when leading mixers & games…

1. No time to prepare a game?

Most groups have one or two games or activities that are always welcomed and become a staple of the group.  Keep these games in your back pocket just in case.  I remember my Wednesday night childhood club always fell back on a good old fashioned game of dodgeball two or three times a year.

1. Hurt feelings!

For a lot of mixers & games you will need to divide people into teams.  

-When doing an athletic competition where the teams need an equal division of skill level, have each person pick a partner (and they usually pick someone their age and gender), then have them each be the #1 or #2, then make a team with all the #1's and a team with all the #2's so each pair gets divided. 

-For times when you need to make more than 2 teams, count off as you go around the room, giving each student a number and all students with the same number are on a team together.  Or, have them line up by age and count off in group numbers. 

-If you have the time, you can select groups before the meeting based on a goal you might have.

-It’s ok to let them just pick a partner from time to time, or have people pick a partner that they don't know very well on purpose.

-No “school yard pics”.  Ever!

1. Embarrassing incidents: 

Sometimes a student gets embarrassed in front of the whole group. As a leader, you need to recognize when you need to step in and be the“scapegoat.” Divert the attention to yourself by becoming part of the game somehow or moving the group’s attention to the next activity.  It’s ok if everyone knows what you are trying to do, it’s mostly just important to give the embarrassed student a way to exit under the guise of distraction.

1. The fun gets out of control: 

Invest in a whistle if it makes sense for your space.  Or come up with a fun way for everyone to learn to be quiet.  Holding up your hands with a peace sign, coming up with a call & response saying they repeat that is funny and they know means to be quiet, for example you might say, “Macaroni and cheese” and they respond with …Everybody freeze!

Resources for finding mixers & games…

There are plenty of resources online to find mixers and team building games & activities with little or no prep work. You will want to search using phrases like: Ice breakers, “Get to know you games”, group activities, group games, youth group games, team-building activities, and of course “mixers.”  It can also help to type in these keywords with the age category of the people you are providing the activities for.

-here is one of my favorite books for finding group activities (Drama Menu,  Glyn Trefor-Jones)

-here is a website with options https://teambuilding.com/blog/icebreaker-games

https://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/entertaining/party-games-ideas

-and a YouTuber with ideas, Ministry Coach at https://www.youtube.com/@MinistryCoach

-and sometimes it’s fun to do something extra quirky or grand for a bonding activity or party theme and I head to “My Ultimate Bucket List” journal on Amazon for ideas.

~Coach Baldwin