Brain Breaks
Quick-to-play games and activites to help reset and refresh
This collection features ideas for quick-to-play games which are perfect to use as brain-breaks. Ideal for the last five to fifteen minutes of a school classroom lesson or great for an ice breaker at youth group. Brain breaks should be simple to learn and fast to play, with the aim to provide a chance for students brains to rest, reset and refocus, ready for the next activity.
Celebrity Head Mania
Grab a whole bunch of sticky labels or masking tape and write the names of celebrities on the non-sticky...
Mute Organisation
Simply announce that you want everyone lined up across the room by birth-date. Only catch: no talking. Once they...
House of Cards
Pretty much self explanitory, as the name suggests - get each player/team to build a house of cards....
Silent Ball
Get everyone to stand around the room in random places. Then it's as simple as telling everyone to be...
Bible Drill
When youth leader says "draw weapons", each person sits on a pew or chair with their Bible held up...
Jell-o-rama
Using gellatine, make a slab of jelly in an ice-cream container (you have to increase the consistency to enable...
Secret Dancer
A fun group game, sure to provide a whole lot of laughs. Might be suitable for a disco night...
True or False?
A great way to reinforce what has just been taught... Instead of the traditional pop-quiz to see how much...
Heads or Tails?
A good game for revising what has been learnt. Similar to heads or tails, person up the front asks...
If I Went to Mars...
Group is seated in circle. First person begins, 'My name is ... If I went to Mars, I would take....
Poetry in Motion
This is a nice quiet activity when you've got a small cozy group and have some time to kill....
Trains
Everybody sits in a circle holding hands, you nominate 2 people to be 'stations' and 1 person to sit in the...
Mr Squiggle
This is a rip off of the old TV show Mr. Squiggle. We used this activity as the finale...
Rock Paper Scissors Evolution
This game is a fantastic group mixer ice breaker activity. Players must wander around the room and battle each...
What If?
You give each person the two pieces of paper. Tell them to write on one piece a random question...
Poetry Jumble
The goal is to make poetry from the words provided. Out of 100 interesting words, cut-out into little squares big...
Tongue Twister Slip Up
Take 5-6 volunteer. Ask them to say a tongue twister or something that can be difficult to say. ie....
Spot The Difference
Divide your group into two teams. Stand the first group in a line facing the second group. The second...
Rock Paper Anything
This game could work really well as an "up the front duel" type of game or as an "all...
Who Am I?
Give everyone in the group a piece of paper and pen, then get them to write down three facts...
to-yo-ta
Let everyone stand in a circle facing inwards. one person should start by saying the first phrase "TO" (like...
The Invisible Ball
This game might sound weird but I have never played with people who didn't like it. It is a...
Tap
1. Have everyone gather around a table or flat surface. 2. Have players place each of their hands on a table...
Category Chaos
This game can be played as individuals or in teams. Each player (or team) will need a piece of...
Beanbag Toss
Mark a line and then arrange a collection of targets a few metres away. The targets could be buckets,...
