200 icebreaker questions for any group

Here are all of my icebreaker questions, collected over 15 years of youth ministry. In many different groups of children and teenagers, and in teams too, they have helped me connect with the participants. My favorite method is to print about 30 to 40 of these questions on small slips of paper and pass them around the circle in a bowl. Everyone draws a slip without looking and answers their question in turn. Great for getting started, and just as good in between, whether you’re waiting for the food or need to loosen things up on long meeting days.

I hope they will help you, too, to deepen your relationships with teens and to start your meetings well. Bye-bye, awkward silence, here come 200 conversation starters!

At the end of this article you’ll find a free printable PDF with the question cards and an e-book with icebreaker questions.

200 icebreaker questions

What is your favorite emoji?
What is the most embarrassing item you own?
If you could be invisible for an hour, what would you do?
Suppose you could pick one quality from someone in this room: which one would you want? From whom?
What three qualities would a person have who is the exact opposite of you?
Tell us something about yourself that most people in this group probably don’t know yet.
If a movie could come true for you, which one would you pick? Why?
Which place you’ve been to before would you love to go back to?
Which event in the Bible would you have loved to witness? Why?
If you could ask God one question and he would answer it right away, what would it be?
Looking back, which hard experience in your life do you now see as a gain and a great blessing?
Who in your life would you say is or was a spiritual role model for you?
If you had a time machine, where would you travel?
Do you talk to yourself? About what?
Name three people you really owe something to.
What tradition would you like to start in the group?
Tell us about the book you’re reading or have just read.
Tell us a story from your elementary school days.
Did you have a crush in preschool?
Which kitchen appliance would you be?
If you could live your life over again, what would you change? (Fielmann)
Tell us a joke.
What I really find unfair is that …
My confirmation or baptism verse (or a favorite Bible verse) is …
A church service I still remember years later …
My favorite thing to watch on YouTube is …
An invention that absolutely needs to be made …
You can wake me up at 3 a.m. to …
My funeral should …
If I could have decided how many siblings I would have …
If I could have chosen my own first name …
What is your earliest memory?
Name every place you have lived!
What was your nickname as a kid?
What was your worst experience in a bad storm?
What was your best experience at camp?
Do you have a favorite spot in nature?
What is your favorite food?
What is your favorite music?
What has been the most unusual experience of your life so far?
What has been the best experience of your life so far?
In which school subject do you get (or did you get) the best grades?
When do you usually go to bed?
What is typical of you?
What do you remember from your preschool days?
What do you find unfair?
What is under your bed?
What are your hobbies?
Who was the last person to really surprise you?
What do you like to drink most?
What do you recommend seeing in your city?
What is your relationship with your grandparents like?
Are you more of an emotional person (heart) or a rational person (head)?
What kind of place do you live in?
Would you like to be younger again?
Do you like being out in nature?
How big is your bed?
Which toothpaste do you use?
Which celebrity would you like to meet someday?
Would you like to go into outer space someday?
What is your favorite song right now?
What languages do you speak?
What is your favorite book?
What color is the wall in your (bed)room?
Who is your favorite author?
What is your favorite movie?
What hobbies did you have as a kid?
Do you keep a diary?
Are you a morning or night person?
Do you like to cook?
What do you think makes a person rich?
When was the first time you came home after midnight?
What is your favorite day of the week?
Where do you most like to go on vacation?
Which food do you not like at all?
What was the last movie you saw in a theater?
What is your favorite sport?
What do you do when you are bored?
What would you do with a million euros?
What would you name your first child?
What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
Which of your friends lives the farthest away?
Have you ever been tempted to steal something?
What is the most important thing in life to you?
What did you do with your allowance as a kid?
Do you worry about the future? About what exactly?
What would you do if you were only 10 cm (4 inches) tall for a day?
Would you walk alone through an unfamiliar forest at night?
What is important to you in your friends?
What is the best thing about getting older?
Does it matter to you what other people think of you?
What must your fridge never run out of?
Do you cross the street on a red light?
Do you give money to people who beg on the street?
Who would you take with you to a deserted island?
Do you read a newspaper or a magazine?
Which children’s book shaped you?
What would a movie about you be called?
Who would you like to give a medal to, and for what?
What did your room look like as a child?
What have you gotten stronger or better at lately?
Which resolution did you follow through on this year?
What was the happiest day of your life?
If everything in life were easy, what would you do?
Tell us about a nice moment from last week.
What is the best way for you to relax?
Do you remember your first day of school?
What fascinates you?
What would you not part with for all the money in the world?
Does your mood depend on the weather?
Who is a role model for you?
Which event has shaped your life?
Do you have a life motto? If not, what could be one for you?
Which stories did you especially like as a child?
Have you ever had to go to the hospital?
What story from your life do you like to tell most?
Do you believe in miracles?
How much would you donate if you won a million in the lottery?
Have you ever skipped school to do something else?
Do you jump off the five-meter (16-foot) diving tower at the pool?
What name would you have been given if you had been born a boy/girl instead?
What did you need to fall asleep as a child?
Which wish would you like to fulfill as soon as possible?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Which electronic device could you do without?
What is (or was) your favorite school subject?
Who is the coolest person you know?
What were you afraid of as a child?
Do you believe in love at first sight?
What would you like to do when you are old?
What was your family’s first car, or an old car you remember?
What would you wish for if you had three wishes?
What is the last thing you do before falling asleep?
What did you buy with your first allowance or paycheck?
Have you ever been in a car accident?
What is your current screen wallpaper?
What do you especially like about yourself?
What question would you like to ask the opposite sex?
Which planet would you like to visit for a day?
How would you describe yourself in three adjectives?
Which car would you like to have?
Which historical event would you have liked to be there for?
Who would you like to keep quiet for a year?
How much money would someone have to pay you to give up your favorite food forever?
Who would you like to get to know?
Which invention impresses you the most?
If you owned your own TV channel, what would it broadcast?
How would you like to be living in 10 years?
What would you like to have achieved by the time you are 30 (for parents and mentors: 60)?
What ruins your day the fastest?
What would you be doing right now if you weren’t here?
Which event in the Bible would you have loved to witness?
What would you sacrifice your life for?
What was the best gift you have ever received?
What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
Which countries have you visited?
Which of your five senses could you most easily do without?
What should your gravestone say someday?
Would you like to take a look into the future?
Who told you about God?
Where is home for you?
Do you tell other people about your faith?
Would you like to be a superhero for a day? Which one?
Whose thoughts would you like to be able to read?
If you could subscribe to one magazine on a deserted island, which would it be?
If you could own any building in the world, which would it be?
How would you furnish your place if you had unlimited money?
Which crime would you want to commit if you knew you would not be prosecuted?
What would you do first if you won a million?
What are your wishes for the coming year?
What talent would you like to have?
What dreams do you have?
Which recent dream do you remember?
Who do you ask when you need personal advice?
On which talk show would you like to be a guest?
How do you picture heaven?
Do you like to prank people? What was the funniest prank you ever pulled or experienced?
Which month of the year would you like to get rid of for good?
What would you do if you were locked in a department store overnight?
Do you have a favorite TV series?
If you could replace the current head of state of any country, which one would it be?
What does a perfect day start with for you?
If you could rule the world for a day, what would you change?
What is the first thing you do after getting up?
How was your last Christmas?
When do your parents annoy you the most?
What are you really grateful for right now?
Imagine your house is on fire. All the people and animals are safe. You can run back in one last time to save something. What would it be?
Is there a fashion trend you once followed that you find a bit embarrassing today?
Tell us a useless fact that you know.
What could you talk about for 15 minutes straight without any preparation?
What was the most embarrassing text message you ever sent to the wrong person?
What annoys you about social media?
Which app do you use the most?
What do you think you are really good at?
How often do you hit the snooze button in the morning?
What do you think of small talk?
Does money make people happy?
If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life, which would it be?
What would you change about your school if you were in charge of it?

Downloads for the 200 icebreaker questions

Get practical tools for your work with groups! Download the free printable question cards and grab the e-book with exciting icebreaker questions. Perfect for bringing a fresh dynamic into your conversations, quickly and easily.

Printable icebreaker question cards
All 200 questions on cards, ready to print and cut out.

Download the question cards

E-book: 200 icebreaker questions
All 200 questions as a PDF.

Download the e-book