Empires icebreaker will see you compete against your team to be the last man standing. You’ll need to have a sharp memory and keep your cool as you try and guess the identities of your team whilst keeping your own identity hidden. There can only be one emperor left at the end of the game…

Tools Required

• Pens
• Paper

Method

1. Ask everyone to think of a character (celebrity, superhero, politician etc.) and write that character down on a piece of paper, then fold the paper in half without showing anyone else.
2. Collect the papers from the group - if you’re facilitating, you can play too. You’ll now read out the characters on the pieces of paper to the group, but only once! The group has one opportunity to hear the characters and memorise them.
3. Pick someone at random to begin gameplay. Let’s say Jack goes first. Jack will pick someone and take a guess at their character:“Hey Jill, are you Minnie Mouse?”If Jill isn’t Minnie Mouse, she simply replies “No” - the turn passes to her and it’s now Jill’s turn to take a guess at anyone in the group.If Jill is, in fact, Minnie Mouse, she must say “Yes, I am” and then she joins Jack’s empire. Jill must physically move to sit with Jack and can now help Jack to expand his empire by advising on future guesses. The turn stays with Jack and he may guess again.

Rules

• Once the list has been read out at the beginning, it must not be read out again during the game.
• Only the emperor can make a guess when it’s their turn - the emperors' subjects must make their suggestions to the emperor directly.
• You have 30 seconds to make your guess. If you can't make a guess within the timebox, then the turn passes to the emperor to your left.

Conclusion

The game finishes once there is only one emperor left, and they have the entire group in their empire. The winning emperors’ character has usually been forgotten amongst the rounds of guessing, and they’ve done well to remember the other characters in the group as well as who’s been guessed already.This icebreaker is a great way to get to know a new team as you’ll be sure to remember everyone's names by the end of the game. It’s also great for long-standing teams who have a competitive streak.Enjoy the Empires icebreaker and let us know how you get on!